 County
Profile
Incorporated: February 5, 1777
Population: 67,610
Total Area: 519.1 Square miles
Cities and Towns
• Hinesville (County Seat)
• Allenhurst
• Flemington
• Gumbranch
• McIntosh• Midway
• Retreat
• Riceboro
• Sunbury
• Walthourville
Liberty County was created in 1777 from the colonial parishes
of St. Andrews, St. James, and St. John. The land that made up
these parishes was originally held by the Creek Indians. The
county's name honors Lyman Hall and Button Gwinnett of Midway,
who were Georgia's first delegates to the Continental Congress
and signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Although not born in Georgia, Lyman Hall moved to present day
Liberty County to serve as a physician to the settlers. Elected
Governor in 1783, Hall became the first in that office to
exercise strong executive leadership. An advocate of public
schools, Hall helped to charter the University of Georgia.
The county's historical sites include the Midway Museum, located
in a typical 18th-century house; the Dorchester Church built in
1854; and Fort Morris.
Almost half of Liberty County's usable land area is occupied by
the U.S. Army installation, Fort Stewart.
Naturalist, mathematician and scholar Louis LeConte, for whom
the LeConte pear was named, resided in Liberty County. His home
is now the site of the LeConte Botanical Gardens.
Button Gwinnett, one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence, was from St. Catherine's Island in Liberty County. |
