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History



Colquitt County History


Colquitt County was created on Feb. 25, 1856, by an act of the General Assembly (Ga. Laws 1855-56, p. 108). Created from Lowndes and Thomas counties, Colquitt's original boundaries were designated as:
SECTION I. Be it enacted, & c., That from and after the first day of April next a new county shall be laid out and organized from the counties of Thomas and Lowndes, including the eighth district of originally Irwin now Thomas County, and all that portion of the ninth district of originally Irwin now Lowndes lying west of Little River to where the river crosses the dividing line, between Lots of Land Nos. 443 and 444, in the 9th district, thence south to the district line between the 9th and 12th districts.

Georgia's 115th county was named for U.S. Sen. Walter T. Colquitt (1799-1855), who died the previous year.
County Seat: The act creating Colquitt County authorized the justices of the county's first inferior court to select a site for the county seat, purchase the land, lay it off into town lots, sell the lots, and use the proceeds to construct a courthouse and other public buildings.

Soon after the county's creation, the inferior court selected the settlement of Ocklockoney (Ochlockoney), located on the Ochlocknee River in the center of the new county. Settled around 1850, Ocklockoney's name was changed to Moultrie in 1857 to honor Gen. William Moultrie (1730)-1805), a hero of the American Revolution who later served two terms as governor of South Carolina.

On Dec. 13, 1859, the General Assembly incorporated Moultrie (Ga. Laws 1859, p. 187).

Size of County (Total Area): 556.6 square miles
County Rank in Total Area: 19th out of 159
Population:
Colquitt County  46,137 (2012)
City of Moultrie 14,507 (2012)