Upson County was created in 1824 from lands ceded to Georgia by the Creek Indians at the Treaty of Indian Springs in 1821. This area extended from Ocmulgee River to the Flint River through middle Georgia.
Resources about Creek Indians
All Creek Indian Treaties
Creek Indian Chief William McIntosh (1775 approx. - 1825)
The county was named in honor of Stephen Upson, one of Georgia's most successful lawyers. He died Aug, 1824 in his 40th year and is buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Lexington, Oglethorpe County. He had come to Oglethorpe County in 1807 and early distinguished himself with his perserverance and integrity. He worked closely with Mr. William H. Crawford.
Thomaston was incorporated in 1825 and made the county seat Upson. The town was named for General Jett Thomas, famous in the war of 1812.
There was a large influx of settlers into the area before Upson County was created from Monroe County, a portion of Pike County, and a small section of Crawford County in 1824. An even greater number came following the division of the land into lots and distributed among the citizens of Georgia to quickly settle the newly acquired lands. The first census of Upson County in 1830 showed a population of 7013. By 1860 the total had reached 10,172, almost equally divided between white and black.
Where did these settlers come from? The majority came from the eastern counties of Georgia between the Oconee River and Augusta. Many were wealthy and cultured plantation owners who owned many slaves. They were seeking new lands to establish new plantations, largely for growing cotton as they had exhausted the fertility of their original land holdings. There were the people that settled the eastern section of Upson County, around the Rock, on Logtown Road, and along the banks of the Flint River. Quite a number also came from North and South Carolina, and incredible a sizable colony came from New England to engage in textile manufacturing. The first cotton mill in Upson County was build on Tobler Creek in 1833 and call Franklin Factory. A total of four textile mills, all water-powered, was built in the county prior to the Civil War, making Upson the center of the textile industry in Middle Georgia.
While the eastern and southern sections of the county became well populated as well as prosperous and developed a typical plantation culture of the Old South, the northern and western section of Upson were sparsely settled, and Thomaston remained a small county-seat village. The old Alabama Stage Coach Road ran from the northeastern section through the length of the county, crossing flint River ad Double Bridges, It was a heavily traveled stage coach and wagon freight line between Augusta and Columbus. Two stage coach stops in Upson County John Castlen's at the junction of Old Alabama Road and Crest Highway, and Abner McCoy's near Flint River. In the northeastern section of Upson and on the Alabama Road, was a village called Jug Town, famous a century for its fine pottery made from clay found near Potato Creek. A few churches and small settlements grew up along the road. Century Nelson Church near Pike County line and Shiloh Baptist Church in Upson are still active.
The early settlers were interested in thorough education, and there was a known total of thirteen male and female academies established in Upson County in its first fifty years. Among them were United Friends Academy established in 1860 by Charles E. Lambdin, who came from Baltimore to tutor the Murphy children and head the academy which was located just north of the present town of Yatesville, Following the Civil War, Charles E. Lambdin founded Gordon Institute in Barnesville.
Among the pioneer religious leaders were Zachariah Gordon, father of John B. Gordon, and Jacob King who were cousins. They established many of the early Baptist churches in Upson County.
John B. Gordon
J.B. Gordon's Congressional Biography
The first newspapers published in Thomaston was "THE HICKORY NUT AND UPSON VIGIL" from 1830-1836. Next was the "UPSON PILOT" FROM 1859-1862, which folded at the beginning of the Civil War.
Upson and Thomaston continued to grow and prosper until the Civil War. The Citizens built, financed, and operated their own railroad. The Upson County Railroad between Thomaston and Barnes was completed in October 1857, and with the exception of a few years in the was period when it was partially destroyed, it was operated by local citizens until 1914 when it was sold to the Central of Georgia Railroad.
Upson County was paralyzed as a result of the Civil War. All of its textile Plants and other mills, as well as most of its plantations, were completely destroyed by Wilson's Federal Cavalry in April 1865. In addition, Thomaston suffered a disastrous fire in August 1863, which destroyed the entire business section, with the exception of the Courthouse. A total of thirty-seven business houses was completely destroyed. For this reason there are no business houses in the present business section of Thomaston built prior to the Civil War.
Upson County furnished 1,127 men to Confederate armies during the Civil War, many of whom did not return. It was many years before the county began to recover from its terrific losses, but by mid 1870 some progress was being made, particularly in agriculture. Thomaston became the second largest livestock market in the South and was known as the "Mule Capitol" of Georgia.
THE ROCK--The village of The Rock is eight miles east of Thomaston on Thomaston-Barnesville highway. On the eastern edge of the village is a granite marker sitting on top of the remnant of the larger bolder on which the early stage coach drivers left there bags of mail and from which the village derived it name.
YATESVILLE--Ten miles east of Thomaston, on State Route 74, is the town of Yatesville. Although incorporated in 1894, the area was the center of plantations, industry, and education institutions for many pioneer citizens in the early history of Upson County. Crossing Tolber Creek on the right approaching Yatesville are the remains of Hightower Grist Mill, built in 1824.
SOUTHEASTERN UPSON--The southeastern section of Upson County was the first to be settled and was once the wealthiest, most cultural, and most populous area in Upson, Logtown Road from the town of Yatesville to Highway 19 near Flint River was the main artery of travel through many large plantations with their two-storied, rather elegant homes for this period.
In the center of Thomaston stands the Upson County, Courthouse. The first courthouse was built on this spot in 1826-28. The second building was erected in 1852. The present courthouse was built in 1908, at a cost of $60,000. without a bond issue. It was a handsome edifice, well maintained and constantly improved to meet the needs of the county.
On the courthouse grounds are several markers and monuments commemorating important events in the history of the county. In the Southeast corner of the Square, on a marble base, is mounted a cannon ball, on the said to be the first fired at Fort Sumter. It was retrieved by P. W. Alexander, a citizen of Upson and a noted correspondent during the Civil War.
The above was extracted from the Upson County Sesquincentennial pamplet which was published for the Sesquicentennial Celebration which was April 10, 11, 12, 1975.
Thank you, Wylene for typing this material for us.
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Upson County Page last updated: Wednesday, 09-Feb-2005 18:22:17 MST