Oglethorpe County Records

Oglethorpe County was created on December 19, 1793 from Wilkes County and was named for General James Edward Oglethorpe the founder of the Georgia colony in 1733. The Creeks and Cherokees occupied this territory prior to that time. In 1794 a portion of Greene County was added to Oglethorpe, and the Oglethorpe/Greene county border shifted several times in 1799. In 1811, Madison County was created taking land from Oglethorpe. In 1813, Oglethorpe acquired land from Clarke County. Taliaferro County took land from Oglethorpe in 1831, and Oglethorpe received land from Madison County in 1842. The first permanent settlements in what is now Oglethorpe County were along the Broad River and was settled by Virginia planters in the 1780s and along Long Creek near the town of Lexington. Origins of Early Settlers