A Timeline of Bulloch County History
February 8, 1796
Bulloch County was Established
Bulloch County was created from Bryan and Screven counties by an act of the General Assembly (Ga. Laws 1796, p. 14). Georgia’s 21st county was named for Archibald Bulloch, Georgia’s first provisional governor (1776-1777). The county was considered one of Georgia's largest at that time.
Image courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries
Archibald Bulloch was a Revolutionary soldier, a leader of Georgia's Liberty Party, and the state's first chief executive and commander in chief.
December 9, 1803
Statesboro, Georgia became Incorporated
In 1801, George Sibbald of Augusta donated a 9,301-acre (37.64 km2) tract for a centrally located county seat for the growing agricultural community of Bulloch County. In 1803, Georgia legislature created the town of "Statesborough" using this land.
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Statesboro was designated as the seat for Bulloch County and a wooden courthouse was built.
Image courtesy of of GeorgiaInfo.Galileo.usg.edu
Detail from Map of Georgia, ca. 1822
1807
Statesboro Replaced 1st Courthouse
In 1807, the first courthouse was replaced by a larger wooden building, which served until burned during Sherman's March to the Sea in 1864.
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1819
Portal, Georgia became Incorporated
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Photo of downtown Portal, Georgia, 2011
December 4, 1864
Sherman's March to the Sea
December 4, 1864, Statesboro, Georgia, is the first major town visited by the Right Wing of Sherman's Army in almost two weeks.
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During the Civil War and General William T. Sherman's famous march to the sea, a union officer asked a saloon proprietor for directions to Statesboro. The proprietor replied, "You are standing in the middle of town." The soldiers destroyed only the courthouse—a crude log structure that doubled as a barn when court was not in session.
General William T. Sherman
Image courtesy of Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division
Sherman's March to the Sea through Central Georgia
Earliest known photograph of the Willow Hill School, circa 1900.
1874
Willow Hill School
In 1874, nine years after the Civil War ended, a group of former slaves of the Riggs, Donaldson, Parrish, and Hall families founded the Willow Hill School to serve the area’s black children.
Georgia Ann Riggs, age 15 and a former slave, was the first teacher.
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Image courtesy of The Willow Hill Heritage
and Renaissance Center
1894
Present-Day Courthouse Built
In 1866, the legislature authorized county officials to levy a tax for rebuilding the courthouse. Proceeds of this tax were used to build a two-story wooden building, which served until the present courthouse was built in 1894.
1903
Sea Island Cotton makes name for Bulloch County
In 1903, Bulloch County was the largest sea island cotton-producing county in the world.
Cotton-filled wagons at the Brannen and Smith Statesboro Ginnery.
1913–1914, Vanishing Georgia
Georgia Division of Archives and History
Office of Secretary of State
1904
Will Cato & Paul Reed are lynched
Cato and Reed are lynched for the murder of the Hodges Family in a case that is covered across the nation as the country debates its legacy of violent vigilantes targeting primarily African Americans.
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1906
Brooklet, Georgia was Incorporated
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1911
Bank of Statesboro
Bank of Statesboro was constructed for $21,500 on the corner of Seibald and
East Main Street in Statesboro.
Statesboro Bank, c. 1920
1928
Tobacco
In 1928, the tobacco industry opened in Statesboro.
It was not until 1938 that the market had annual sales in excess of one million dollars
W. Lawton Brannen examines his tobacco crop.
1970
Register, Georgia was Incorporated
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Register, 2011