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Jeffersonville, Georgia Romanesque Revival built in 1902. Twiggs County's first courthouse -- a two-story wooden building -- in 1812 on land lot 73, which was now known as Marion. When Jeffersonville became county seat in 1868, the old courthouse in Marion was dismantled and taken on a six-mile trip by wagon to the new county seat, where it was reassembled. It is not clear whether other courthouses succeeded the 1812 structure. In 1901, Twiggs County's courthouse was destroyed by fire. Construction of the present courthouse began in 1902 and was completed in 1904. The courthouse was renovated in 1979, followed by a major renovation and substantial expansion of the structure begun in 1996 and completed in 2003. County History: Jeffersonville. Twiggs County was created from Wilkinson County on Dec. 14, 1809, by an act of the General Assembly . Georgia's 37th county was named for Revolutionary War general John Twiggs. A portion of Twiggs County was used to created Bibb County on Dec. 9, 1822 County Seat: By 1811, land lot 73 had been laid out and was named Marion, after Revolutionary War hero Gen. Francis Marion. That year, the legislature incorporated Marion (Ga. Laws 1811, p. 183), though the town's charter was repealed two decades later (Ga. Laws 1834, p. 262). On Feb. 11, 1850, the legislature authorized a referendum on removal of the county seat from Marion to a site on land formerly owned by Henry Solomon, as designated by the Twiggs County inferior court (Ga. Laws 1849-50, p. 106). In an act of Dec. 10, 1866, the legislature authorized a referendum on moving the county seat from Marion to Jeffersonville, providing the citizens of Jeffersonville would fund construction of a courthouse and jail at no expense to the county (Ga. Laws 1866, p. 44). The referendum was held the first Wednesday in January of 1867, and voters approved making Jeffersonville the new county seat. Apparently, Jeffersonville residents were either unable or willing to finance construction of a new courthouse, so Marion continued to serve as county seat. Finally, in May 1868, the old courthouse in Marion was dismantled and moved by wagon six miles to Jeffersonville. Jeffersonville had been first settled in the 1820s and was initially known as Rain's Store. In 1849, the town's name was changed in recognition of the Jefferson family, which had played an important role in the county's early settlement. Jeffersonville was not incorporated until Nov. 29, 1901 (Ga. Laws 1901, p. 461). Photo courtesy of Ed Jackson, Carl Vinson Institute of Georgia, University of Georgia. |
