Milton County fight back before Georgia Legislature (driveway, place)

[workaholics]

Does anybody know why Georgia has so many counties? I believe our state has the second highest number of counties next to Texas, and of course, Texas is huge. Does it have anything to do with the county unit vote system Georgia used to use in elections?

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by workaholics

Does anybody know why Georgia has so many counties? I believe our state has the second highest number of counties next to Texas, and of course, Texas is huge. Does it have anything to do with the county unit vote system Georgia used to use in elections?

Most of the counties in Georgia were created in th 19th century. Looking at the map I provided from 1832, you can see many current counties much larger than they stand today and many current counties that didn't exist then. Counties kept getting created out of these larger counties, the vast majority in the 1800s. The old thought (don't know if it is completely accurate) was that any Georgia citizen should be within a day's wagon ride from a county seat, thus the proliferation of many tiny counties.

I am sure the county unit system played to this abundance of rural counties, but don't think it was necessarily the cause of it.

[lastminutemom]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Most of the counties in Georgia were created in th 19th century. Looking at the map I provided from 1832, you can see many current counties much larger than they stand today and many current counties that didn't exist then. Counties kept getting created out of these larger counties, the vast majority in the 1800s. The old thought (don't know if it is completely accurate) was that any Georgia citizen should be within a day's wagon ride from a county seat, thus the proliferation of many tiny counties.

I am sure the county unit system played to this abundance of rural counties, but don't think it was necessarily the cause of it.

It was the wagon thing.

[GeorgiaLakeSearch]

Originally Posted by workaholics

Does anybody know why Georgia has so many counties? I believe our state has the second highest number of counties next to Texas, and of course, Texas is huge. Does it have anything to do with the county unit vote system Georgia used to use in elections?

Well the race baiters will be on to say it was racist whites... but Lastminutemom is correct with wagons.

The race baiters forget down here it was rural for a much longer time so the counties provided all the services that towns would provide in MA, CT, NY, etc.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaLakeSearch

Well the race baiters will be on to say it was racist whites... but Lastminutemom is correct with wagons.

The race baiters forget down here it was rural for a much longer time so the counties provided all the services that towns would provide in MA, CT, NY, etc.

But look at our neighboring states. Alabama, Florida, South Carolina all have much, much larger and far fewer counties than Georgia. Only North Carolina comes close to the amount of small counties as Georgia, and still that isn't close.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Check out this map from 1832 before Milton existed. Cobb went all the way to present day Johns Creek. Note that there is no Fulton at all, no Clayton, no Douglas, no Rockdale. I say go back to this map, this is closer to the size a county should be.

Indeed. With the recent trend of cutting government expenditures, I can hardly think of a better way to do it than by merging counties. (Which is part of why the desire to create Milton County is so silly.)

[DeadInSuburbia]

Originally Posted by joey86

Milton had to join Fulton because they were broke. Now that they are rich they want to abandon South Fulton. That's about as ungrateful as possible. They were bankrupt before Fulton saved them.

In 1920, Alpharetta alone had a population of....379.

Now it has over 50,000.

To argue that "they" are ungrateful for what Fulton did for "them" 95 years ago is ridiculous.

[DeadInSuburbia]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Whoa. There used to be a railway spur going into Roswell? And at one time it was in Cobb County?

Mind = blown.

Yes, as I recall, part of it was on what's now Roberts Drive, and a spur was created to deliver material to build the Morgan Falls dam.

[joey86]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Just to get history straight, south Fulton was then Campbell County and joined Fulton at the same time as Milton for the same reason.

I didn't say anything that contradicted that.

[joey86]

Originally Posted by DeadInSuburbia

In 1920, Alpharetta alone had a population of....379.

Now it has over 50,000.

To argue that "they" are ungrateful for what Fulton did for "them" 95 years ago is ridiculous.

Not really. The older families are much more influential. Trust me here. In your last post you mentioned a street named after my great-great-grandfather. I know the history of the area pretty well.