History

Columbia county was created 10 December 1790 and 5 March 1856 by taking land from Richmond County. It also took land from McDuffie county on 23 August 1872. Columbia gave up land to Warren County 19 December 1793 and again gave up land to McDuffie County on 18 October 1870 and 23 August 1872.

COLUMBIA, a county in the east part of Georgia, bordering on Savannah river, which separates it from South Carolina, contains about 500 square miles. The Little River forms the boundary on the north-west. The surface is uneven; the soil was once fertile, but has been injured by improvident cultivation. Cotton and maize are the chief productions. In 1850 this county produced 11,336 bales of cotton; 434,777 bushels of corn; 94,641 of oats; and 78,115 of sweet potatoes. There were 3 saw mills, 1 agricultural implement manufactory, and 1 tannery; 20 churches, and 490 pupils attending academies and other schools. The county contains granite, hornblende, and other primary rocks. A gold mine near Little river has been worked profitably. The Georgia railroad passes through the county. Formed in 1790, having been separated from Richmond county. Capital, Appling. Population, 11,959, of whom 3689 were free, and 8270, slaves.

Columbia County is situated to the north and west of Augusta, Georgia. The 1820 U.S. census reports Columbia County as being “41miles long on the stage road by 30 wide....great part by actual measurement. The eastern edge of the county is bordered by the Savannah River which acts to separate Georgia from South Carolina. Columbia County ran to the west, at least as far as Thomson, Georgia. However, the 1870 State Legislature narrowed Columbia by making the town of Thomson the county seat for a new McDuffie County. To the south of Columbia County is Richmond County and to the north of Columbia County is Lincoln County.

Beginning in the 1770’s, numerous people begin crossing the Savannah River and migrating into Columbia County. Frequently, the settlers were from Virginia, North and South Carolina, Maryland or simply the older colonies. Some of the original settlers acquired their lands by headrights or bounty land grants. After February 17, 1783, State Legislation was passed which provided each head of the household headrights. A married man could obtain 200 acres, plus 50 additional acres for each member of his family and each slave at a cost of from one to four shillings per acre.

Bounty land grants were made to veterans of the Revolutionary War in lieu of monetary compensation for military service. Grants were limited to 1,000 acres and the applicant was required to live on the total acreage. The individual could then apply to the Governor’s office for the grant and pay all necessary fees.
The grant would then be issued and recorded.

During the late 1700’s or early 1800’s, what appears to be a very popular location to catch the ferry from South Carolina over to Georgia was a place located in the northeast corner of Columbia County just below Keg Creek; or just below what is known today as Clarks Hill Lake. The road leading from the ferry down to the Village of Appling, the present county seat, was called Scott’s Ferry Road. Today the road continues to maintain the name or to be referred to as Interstate Highway 221. Since Samuel C Scott owned the Georgia land at the ferry crossing; as late as 1806, and because the ferry was known as Scott’s Ferry, it is probable the road was named after him. After arriving in Georgia by ferry and traveling west along Scott’s Ferry Road, the first major road intersecting Scott’s Ferry Road and running north to south would be a road named Petersburg Road. Petersburg Road virtually led down to Augusta, Georgia. Only two small sections of Petersburg Road remain today.....the northern tip extending from Clarks Hill Lake to Scott’s Ferry Road and the southern tip located on the outskirts of Augusta, Georgia., the remainder having been vacated by the timber industry.

The area surrounding Scott’s Ferry Road and Petersburg Road was a very popular place in the early 1800’s. The original settlers were not only friends and neighbors, but their children often married each other. Consequently, people would often be related to their neighbor in some form or fashion. In 1820, the area east of Petersburg Road and over towards the Savannah River was known as “District Number 2”. Families listed in the district at that time were: Thomas Benning, Benjamin Berry, John Garnett, Joshua Foster, William Pulliam, Reuben Luke, John Avery, Humphrey Evans, John Lyon, William Meriwether, Edmond Lyon, Pleasant Benning, James Toole,Joseph Germany, James Alexander, Reuben Willingham, John Eubank, Alexander Pearre and Thomas Lyon.

The area around the intersection of Scott’s Ferry Road and Petersburg Road was known as District Number 3. In articles written by Dr. H. R.Casey for the Columbia Sentinel in 1883, Dr. Casey mentions District number 3 as being famous in the flush times of Columbia County and certainly stopping at Luke’s Store" for “a little fun and frolic must have been the thing to do in those days. The District Captain for Number 3 was Samuel Payne. The families in his district were : James Lamkin, Asa Avery, Jane Reid, James Luke, Cabel Eubank,
Leonard Peek, John Gray, Rebecca Garnett, Nancy Garnett, Isaac Willingham, Richard Merriweather, Jacob Dunn and Robert Pollard.

On the west of District Number 3 was , of course, District Number 4 which is estimated to be the area rounding and to the west of what is today Pollard’s Corner. Later, these three districts became known as the 135th Georgia Militia District. It is this northern area of Columbia County that many early families can be found settling, acquiring land and raising their families.  

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