Mission
Our mission is to create an effective and cost efficient network
of County Government services that is responsive to local needs
and perpetuates a lifestyle of quality for present and future generations.
In performing this task, we are committed to executing our duties
with the utmost integrity and in a manner that generates trust and
confidence between our Public Officials and Employees and the County's
Residents and Taxpayers.
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History of Fayette County
Fayette County was enacted as a result of the Land Lottery Draw
of 1821. The land was ceded from the Creek Indian Nation and five
new counties were created: Fayette, Henry, Houston, Dooly, Monroe,
and Fayette is therefore an original county (not created from other
counties) and the 49th county in Georgia.
At this time, the county went up to present-day Atlanta and over
to the other side of Jonesboro. Four counties have been carved in
part from us, Campbell (now Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton and Spalding).
Because some of the new settlers were Revolutionary War veterans,
it is surmised that they were the ones instrumental in naming the
county for Marquis de LaFayette, who fought alongside General George
Washington in that war.
Fayetteville was named as the county seat in 1823 and the present-day
courthouse in the town square was built in 1825. It remains the
oldest courthouse in Georgia and is still in municipal use.
It remained the only city until the 1900's, although there were
a number of small communities that had names.
Incorporated cities at the present time are: Fayetteville, Peachtree
City, Tyrone, Brooks, and Woolsey.
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During The War Between The States, cavalry activity took place
in the middle of the county. A several hundred Confederate wagon
supply train was burned just two miles west of Fayetteville and
one of the last cavalry skirmishes took place the next day. This
activity was an indirect part of The Battle of Atlanta.
In the 1930's, Margaret Mitchell spent time in Fayette County
researching facts for her GONE WITH THE WIND. Her great Grandfather,
Phillip Fitzgerald, came to Fayette County in the 1830's and the
Fitzgeralds were the prototypes for the O'Hara in the book. They
are buried in the Fayetteville City Cemetery.
The Holliday family was from Fayette
County and one of "Doc" Holliday's
cousins married a Fitzgerald, making the famed old west character
a "kissin' cousin" of Margaret Mitchell.
Peachtree City was enacted in 1959 and is the only successful
pre-planned city in the southeast. Be sure to note the water fountain
in its City Plaza, a donation of all the Japanese companies who
have opened companies in Peachtree City.
The Fayette County Historical Society was chartered in 1972 and
meets each third Sunday, September through May. For more information,
call 770-716-6020.
Fayette County Historical Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 421
Fayetteville, Georgia
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