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Lincoln County,
Georgia History
The Story of Georgia and the Georgia People 1732 to 1860
by George Gillman Smith, D. D.
Originally published c. 1901
Submitted by K. Torp, ©2007
LINCOLN.
When Oglethorpe was cut off from Elbert on the north and Wilkes on the
west, a narrow strip was taken from it on the east, and in honor of
General Lincoln, of the Revolutionary army, the county was called
Lincoln. It was not a large county, but was in the main a county of
most ex cellent land. The Broad river was on the north, the Savannah
river on the east, and the Little river on the south. Much of the land
was rich red land, much of it fertile river and creek bottoms. It was
very thickly peopled before the Revolutionary war.
Mr. White gives as the first settlers:
John Lamar, Peter Lamar, John Dooly, Thomas Dooly, Thomas Murray, John
Lockhart, B. Lockhart, Thomas Mitchell, Sterne Simmons, J. Stovall,
Stephen Handspiker. M. Henly, Robert Flemming.
Those who are familiar with the names of Scotch-Irish people will see
how many of these first families of Lincoln were of that stock, who
came to Wilkes immediately from North Carolina, but more remotely from
Pennsylvania and Ireland.
There was a part of this county which was very sterile, but the lands
along the rivers and creeks were soon taken up by large plantations.
Lincoln was admirably suited to tobacco culture, and the wealthy
slaveholders from Virginia came into it at an early day, and in 1810
there were 2,443 whites and 2,212 negroes in the county. In 1830 there
were 2,869 whites and 3,276 negroes; in 1850 2,218 whites and 3,780
slaves. In 1890 the population was only 6,146.
Much of what is written of Wilkes refers to that part of Lincoln which
was in Wilkes up to 1796, and many of the celebrated Kiokee settlers
had their homes in Lincoln.
The county was abandoned by many of its best people as soon as the
lands in the western counties were opened. The fields grew up in
forests, and owing to the distance of the county from markets it has
rallied slowly.
Lincolnton was never a large town and is but little changed now from
what it was sixty years ago. Goshen was once a place of some
importance, but has long since ceased to exist.
The county was the hotbed of Whiggism during the Revolution. Jno.
Dooly, the father of Judge Dooly, was a Whig colonel. He was the terror
of the Tories and was cruelly murdered by them. His son, Judge Dooly,
was famous as a brilliant lawyer and an honored judge, but, alas! as
famous for the gross irregularities of his life. The worn-out stories
of his coarse wit have been a staple with all writers on early Georgia.
The nearness of the Kiokee church to Lincoln and the influence of
Daniel Marshall in this county has made Lincoln largely a Baptist
county, and there are some very solid and prosperous churches of that
denomination in it now. The Methodists, the only other denomination in
the county, have a good following, and it is perhaps somewhat
remarkable that the oldest Sunday-school which has had a continuous
life in Georgia is in a country church in Lincoln, where for over
eighty years a Sunday-school has been held every Sunday.
Judge Longstreet located the scene of the celebrated occurrence when
the man was seeing how he “could a fout” in the Dark Corner of Lincoln;
but I have been unable to find any part of Lincoln which would consent
to acknowledge that it was the part alluded to.
Towns, Hamlets and Villages
Gill, a post-hamlet in the northern
part of Lincoln county, is about five miles from the Savannah
river. Mt. Carmel, S. C., is the most convenient railroad station.
(Georgia:
Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and
Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. VOL III Publ. 1906. Transcribed
by Marilyn Clore)
Honora, a post-hamlet of Lincoln
county, is located in the northeastern part of the county near the
Savannah river. Bordeaux, S.C. is the nearest railway station.
(Source: Georgia
Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II,
by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Kim Mohler)
Kenna, a post-hamlet of Lincoln
county, is about seven miles east of Lincolnton. The nearest railroad
station is in South Carolina, on the line of the Charleston &
Western Carolina road.
(Source: Georgia
Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II,
by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Tracy McAllister)
Lisbon-The original name of this
place was the “Town of Lincoln.” It is located in the extreme
northern part of Lincoln county at the mouth of Broad River and was
founded during the colonial period. On the opposite side of Broad river
the town of Petersburg was established sometime later and as it grew
Lisbon waned. But the weak town outlived the strong one.
Petersburg has long since disappeared while Lisbon is still a post
village. In 1900 the population was 47. The nearest railway
station is Mount Carmel, S.C., on the line of the Charleston &
Western Carolina road.
(Source: Georgia
Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II,
by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Joanne Morgan)
Lockhart, A post-hamlet of Lincoln
county is on Little river, a few miles from its mouth. The nearest
railroad station is on the Charleston & Western Carolina, on the
opposite side of the Savannah river.
(Source: Georgia
Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II,
by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Joanne Morgan)
Loco, A post-hamlet of Lincoln
county is about six miles south of Lincolnton. Washington is the
most convenient railroad station.
(Source: Georgia
Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II,
by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Joanne Morgan)
Pansy, a post-hamlet of Lincoln
county, is on Soap creek, six miles northeast of Lincolnton. Washington
is the most convenient railroad station.
Comprising
Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons,
Arranged in Cyclopedic Form Transcribed by Kristen Bisanz
Raysville, a post-hamlet in the
extreme southwestern part of Lincoln county, is on the Little river and
is twelve miles north of Thomson, which is the most convenient railroad
station.
Comprising
Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons,
Arranged in Cyclopedic Form Transcribed by Kristen Bisanz
Sybert, a post-hamlet of Lincoln
county, is near the headwaters of Soap creek, six miles west of
Lincolnton. The most convenient railroad station is Washington.
Comprising
Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons,
Arranged in Cyclopedic Form Transcribed by Kristen Bisanz
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