Old Hartford

This is old Hartford, from 1809 until 1836 the seat of Pulaski County, and during those years a thriving city, influential in the military and political life of Georgia. Long before that time, the site was an important trading center for the Indians on the Ocmulgee. Named for Nancy Hart, the Revolutionary heroine, Hartford was incorporated in 1811, with Hardy Vickers, James Bracewell, Elijah Farnell, Furney F. Gatlin and George C. Gaines as Commissioners. General David Blackshear made his headquarters here, and it was from Hartford in 1815 that he and his troops began their march to the Flint River, cutting the famous military road to that point. General Andrew Jackson with his army encamped at Hartford before starting their march to Fort Early in 1818. When the lands on the west side of the Ocmulgee River were acquired from the Indians, the high bluff on that side was considered a better site for a town, and many of the buildings of Old Hartford were torn down and transported across the river, to become a part of the new county seat, Hawkinsville.