The following are counties and major towns located in the Northeast Georgia Mountains, along with details on who the county was named after.
BANKS COUNTY: Homer, Lula & part of Maysville
Banks County – 1858 – Dr. Richard Banks of Gainesville
Homer – 1850 – Homer Jackson, prominent early settler
BARROW COUNTY: Auburn, Bethlehem, Carl, Statham & Winder
Barrow County – 1914 – David Crenshaw Barrow, University of Georgia Chancellor
Winder – 1884 – Seaboard Airline Railroad President John H. Winder of Raleigh
DAWSON COUNTY: Dawsonville
Dawson County – 1857 – William C. Dawson, who served in the Congress & the U.S. Senate
ELBERT COUNTY: Bowman & Elberton
Elbert County – 1790 – Revolutionary War General Samuel Elbert, commander of Georgia’s Continental forces
Elberton – 1866 – General Samuel Elbert (chartered in 1803)
FORSYTH COUNTY: Cumming
Forsyth County – 1832 – Georgia Attorney General John Forsyth
Cumming – 1834 – Colonel William Cumming of Augusta, editor and attorney
FRANKLIN COUNTY: Canon, Carnesville, Franklin Springs, Lavonia & Royston
Franklin County – 1784 – Benjamin Franklin
Carnesville – 1819 – Clarke County resident Thomas Peter Carnes, judge and Georgia legislator
HABERSHAM COUNTY: Alto, Baldwin, Batesville, Clarkesville, Cornelia, Demorest, Mt. Airy & part of Tallulah Falls
Habersham County – 1818 – Joseph Habersham, mayor of Savannah, Postmaster General under Washington
Clarkesville – 1823 – Georgia Governor John C. Clark (1819-1823)
HALL COUNTY: Chestnut Mountain, Clermont, Flowery Branch, Gainesville, Gillsville, Lake Lanier Islands, part of Lula, Oakwood & Murrayville
Hall County – 1818 – Dr. Lyman Hall, signer of the Declaration of Independence, later Georgia Governor (1783)
Gainesville – 1821 – General Edmund P. Gaines, who served in the War of 1812
HART COUNTY: Bowersville & Hartwell
Hart County – 1853 – Nancy Hart, Revolutionary War heroine
Hartwell – 1856 – Nancy Hart
JACKSON COUNTY: Arcade, Braselton, Commerce, Hoschton, Jefferson, part of Maysville, Nicholson, Pendergrass and Talmo
Jackson County – 1796 – General James Jackson, hero of Yazoo affair
Jefferson – 1833 – President Thomas Jefferson
LUMPKIN COUNTY: Dahlonega
Lumpkin County – 1832 – Wilson Lumpkin, Congressman, U.S. Senator and Georgia governor
Dahlonega – 1833 – Derived from Cherokee for “yellow money”
MADISON COUNTY: Carlton, Colbert, Comer, Danielsville, Hull & Ila
Madison County – 1811 – President James Madison
Danielsville – 1817 – Revolutionary General Allen Daniell
RABUN COUNTY: Clayton, Dillard, Lakemont, Mountain City, Rabun Gap, Sky Valley, part of Tallulah Falls, Tiger, Wylie
Rabun County – 1819 – Georgia Governor William Rabun (1817-19)
Clayton – 1823 – Judge Augustin S. Clayton
STEPHENS COUNTY: Avalon, Eastanollee, Martin, Toccoa & Toccoa Falls
Stephens County – 1905 – Alexander Hamilton Stephens, Confederate Vice President
Toccoa – 1875 – Derived from Cherokee meaning “where the Catawbas lived”
TOWNS COUNTY: Hiawassee & Young Harris
Towns County – 1856 – Georgia Governor George W. Towns (1847-1851)
Hiawassee – 1870 – Derived from Cherokee a-yu-wa-si, meaning “meadow or savanna”
UNION COUNTY: Blairsville & Suches
Union County – 1832 – Named to demonstrate the area’s loyalists to Union in tariff debates
Blairsville – 1835 – Local newspaper editor, Francis Preston Blair
WHITE COUNTY: Cleveland, Helen, Robertstown & Sautee
White County – 1857 – David T. White, Georgia legislator
Cleveland – 1870 – Colonel Benjamin Cleveland of King’s Mountain