| HISTORY OF MUSCOGEE COUNTY |
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Go here for more Native American History.
From earliest times, both sides of the river have been closely intertwined. The Creek Indians were divided into two main parts--the Coweta's (Lower Creeks) living in GA, and the Coosa (Upper Creeks) living in Alabama. Fort Mitchell (the Alabama side) was erected in 1813 under General Floyd, the head of the State militia, to assist against the outbreak of the Creek Indians, who had been allies of the British.
Muscogee County has always played a significant role in history. By the Treaty of Indian Spring in 1825, the State of Georgia acquired from the Creeks the land.
Columbus, located on a the strategic bend in the river of the Chattahoochee River, grew from Coweta Town, an early Creek village. On December 24, 1827, by an act of Legislature signed by Governor Forsythe, laid out a trading post on the site. Lots were lay out for public sale covering 1,200 acres. There were 500 residence lots of an acre each and a square of 10 acres for public buildings. The proposed name, Columbus, was to honor Christopher Columbus.
Members of the commission were: Ignatius A. Few, Elias Beall, Philip H. Jones, James Hallam, and E.L DeGraffenreid. "Governor Forsythe himself attended the sale and camped out of doors, in a beautiful grove,"... not far from the River.
His successors included: James N. Bethune, Henry W. Hilliard, Wiley Williams, Thomas Ragland, Samuel W. Flournoy, G.A. Miller, John H. Martin, B.H. Richardson, and C.I. Groover.
Colonel Ulysses Lewis, was the first mayor of Columbus, being elected when the town was incorporated in the fall of 1829.
The first steamboat on the Chattahoochee River operated in the spring of 1828. The first bridge over the River was built in 1833 by John Godwin.
As early as 1828, the Muscogee Academy was incorporated.
Lots were donated to denominations: Methodists, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptist, Roman Catholics.
Columbus was the center of operation for the Creek Indian War of 1836. Most of the tribes were on the opposite side of the Chattahoochee. General Winfield Scott, the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. army established headquarters in Columbus. General Jessup was next in command. Col John H. Howard, a native of Columbus, was the head of State Troops.
See the Military page to explore more about those who were enrolled in the militia, the bounty land and pensions that may apply to your ancestor.
General Mirabeau B. Lamar Judge Walter T. Colquitt Colonel Nicholas Howard Colonel Ulysses Lewis Edward Lloyd Thomas A.S. Rutherford John Fontaine Hon Henry W. Hilliard Wm J.W. Wellborn Forbes Bradley Colonel John Milton Dr. Thomas W. Grimes Coloney John H. Howard Dr. S.M. Ingersoll Lambert Spencer (father of president of Southern Railway) John Beall Dozier (daughter Virginia married Hon William A. Little) James W. Fannin, Jr. Hon Alfred Iverson Rev. Ignatius A. Few Rev. Jesse Boring Rev. Thomas Goulding General Daniel McDougald, president of the Insurance Bank who killed Col Burton Hepburn, in self-defense, as the result of a business quarrel Louis T. Woodruff (operated steamboats between Columbus and Apalachicola) George W. Woodruff (owned empire flour mills) Col Nimrod W. Long Joel Hurt Judge Eli S. Shorter James S. Moore John Manley Flournoy Samuel W. Flournoy Judge Grigsby E. Thomas General James N. Bethune Julius C. Alford Jonathan A. Hudson Phio D. Woodruff J.T. Kilgore Charles A. Peabody Dr. E.L. DeGraffenreid Thomas G. Gordon Samuel T. Bailey Dr. H.C. Phelps Dr. Fitzgerald Bird Joel B. Scott General Sowell Woolfolk R.T. Woolfolk Elisha Avery Samuel R. Andrews (carpenter-judge of the inferior court) Thomas W. Cox L.J. Davies Andrew Harvill Dr. H.A. Thornton John Taylor Nathaniel P. Bird Major Joseph T. Camp A.R. Mershon Asa Bates T.H. Ball Moses M. Butt R.T. Marks John R. Page Major A.F. Moore H.R. Taylor David Dean William Mullaly E.L. Lucas W.D. Lucas David W. Upton G.B. Lucas J.R. Lyons E. Jewett B. Tarver A.L. Watkins Neill McNorton J.P. Jackson Thomas Davis A.Y. Gresham Dr. J.W. Malonw Dr. A.S. Clifton Lewis Allen T.T. Gammage M.R. Evans James Hitchcock Willis P. Baker G.W. Dillard John McClusky George W. Elliott W.H. Alston Harvey Hall J.B. Kennedy Lemuel Merrill Allen Lawhon James H. Shorter Dr. John J. Wilson James C. Watson Rev. John W. Baker James K. Redd John Hicks Bass Thomas J. Bates Joseph Biggers (soldier of Revolution from S.C.) John Godwin Samuel T. Hatcher Dr. Thomas Hoxey In the fall of 1828, Judge Walter T. Colquitt, held at Columbus the first session of the Superior Court. Andrew B. Griffin was the first clerk GRAND JURY E.E. Bissell, foreman John R. Page Samuel B. Head E.B. Lucas Stoddard Russell Robert Daniel Robert Henry Benjamin Tarver Thomas Rogers Samuel E. Buckler Thomas Lang Joseph White Henry Triplett Samuel Koockogy Thomas Cox Thomas Sluck Jonathan A. HudsonResource: History of Columbus compiled by John H. Martin from local newspaper files. Published by Thomas Gilbert in 1874
Here's what was on his tombstone:
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"his extraordinary powers of mind, his great energy of character, and his
extended feeling of benevolence of action had assigned to him a large space in
the public mind, and gathered around him in every struggle of his life a host of
as true warm-hearted, and devoted friends as ever clung to the fortune of the
living, or gathered around the grave of the dead. In his social and domestic
relations his virtues were conspicuous, few were his equal, and none his
superior. He lived and died with a conscience void of offense to God."
Researcher: Nancy Wilson
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