Hancock County

Hancock County is a Georgia historical marker in Hancock County, dedicated 1992.

At the courthouse in Sparta.

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Hancock County, created by Act of Dec. 17, 1793, was named for John Hancock of Mass., President of Continental Congress and the first man to sign the Declaration of Independence. It has been the home of 4 Governors of Ga. -- William Rabun, Charles James McDonald, William Jonathan Northen, Nathaniel Edwin Harris. Among the first officers of Hancock County were: Thomas Lamar, Sheriff; William Pentecost, Clerk Inferior Court; Henry Graybill, Clerk Superior Court; Daniel Conner, Coroner; John Ragan, Surveyor; David Adams, Tax Collector; Samuel Goode and Richard Bonner, Tax Receivers.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1794 · Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1795 · State of South Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1816 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1816 · Georgia (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1824 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, 1794, covering the location of Hancock County, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, 1794, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

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