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Other Information: A
year after Columbia County's creation, the General Assembly provided
for commissioners to select the site and provide for construction
of a courthouse and jail for the county (Ga. Laws 1791, p. 31).
Cobbham briefly served as county seat, though it is not clear
what was used as the courthouse. In 1791 or 1792, the small settlement
of Kiokee (Kioka) was designated county seat, and a courthouse
was built here. Around 1792, William Appling, who owned land
some eight miles southwest of Kiokee, offered the county five
acres on which a new courthouse and jail could be constructed.
County officials accepted his offer and in 1793 erected a courthouse
at the site which now bore Appling's name. In 1806, the General
Assembly authorized Columbia County to levy a special tax for
construction of a new courthouse (Ga. Laws 1806, p. 28), and
again in 1807 (Ga. Laws 1807, p. 103). Finally, a new courthouse
was completed in 1812. This structure became the core of a new
courthouse built in 1856. The original solid wood doors from
the earlier courthouse are still in use today.
By the 1970s, the old courthouse was in a terrible state of
repair. The roof leaked, paint on the walls was peeling, and
the building had neither air conditioning nor central heat. Also,
the county was undergoing a population boom--and the small courthouse
was no longer adequate to house county government. Third, Appling
was now removed from the area near the Columbia-Richmond county
boundary--where most of the population growth was occurring.
After the fire marshal condemned the courthouse was unsafe
in 1977, the superior court judge ordered the county commission
to undertake needed repairs and improvements. After repeated
delays, commissioners finally authorized renovation of the upstairs
portion of the historic courthouse (which was completed in 1980).
However, in recognition of the population and economic growth
taking place in the eastern potions of the county, commissioners
authorized construction of a county government complex in Evans
known as the Columbia County Government Center (see
photo). As the county continued to grow in population, additional
facilities were soon needed. A new Columbia County Government
Complex Addition, built immediately behind the Government Center
in Evans, was dedicated in Aug. 1994 (see
photo).
One problem complicating the location of the courthouse in
Columbia County was the long-standing requirement under Georgia
law that superior court sessions must be held at the county seat
and courthouse of each county not less than twice a year. This meant that Columbia County superior court
had to be held at the courthouse in Appling, which is the legal
county seat. However, the 1998 General Assembly enacted legislation
providing that in any Georgia county where the county seat is
located in an unincorporated area of the county, and that county's
governing authority determines by resolution that the citizens
of the county would be best served by constructing a courthouse
annex or satellite courthouse outside the county seat, superior
court sessions may legally be held at such annex or satellite. Because Appling lost its incorporated
status in 1995 (see "County Seat" discussion below),
it was now legal for Columbia County to build a courthouse annex
in Evans.
Following the passage of this legislation, Columbia County
voters in 1998 approved a special purpose local option sales
tax (SPLOST) to fund construction of a new 70,000-square-foot
Columbia County Courthouse Annex adjacent to the Government Center in Evans Construction of the
facility began in November 1999. When completed in November 2001,
this new facility will house the magistrate court, juvenile court,
clerk of superior court, probate court, superior court judges,
district attorney, probation office, and court administrator
on the first floor. Located on the second floor will be a jury
assembly room, a small courtroom, two medium-size courtrooms,
and a large courtroom.
After the new Columbia County Courthouse Annex in Evans is
completed, SPLOST funds will be used to restore the old 1856
courthouse in Appling so that superior court can meet there on
a limited basis in the future.
County Courthouse Historical
Marker: Click
here
County History: Columbia County was created from Richmond
County on Dec. 10, 1790 by the General Assembly (Ga. Laws 1790,
p. 9). Georgia's 12th county was named for Christopher Columbus.
Originally comprising the northern portion of Richmond County,
the area initially was settled by Quakers who refused to fight
in the Revolutionary War, Baptists, and others. After the war,
many new settlers moved into Georgia's backcountry -- which soon
led to pressure to move the county seat from Augusta to a more
central and convenient location. The matter was finally resolved
when the legislature decided to divide Richmond County into two
counties. Shortly thereafter, the legislature created Warren
County from western portions of Columbia County (Ga. Laws 1793,
p. 10). In 1870, additional portions of western Columbia County
were used to create McDuffie County (Ga. Laws 1870, p. 20).
County Seat: he 1790 legislation creating Columbia County
made no mention of a county seat or location of a courthouse.
It is believed that Cobbham, a long-dead town on the Columbia-McDuffie
county line, briefly served as county seat. Afterwards, the community
of Kiokee (which Baptists had settled in 1772) served as county
seat for a brief period. Located near the Savannah River, Kiokee
was too far east for most of the county's population, so William
Appling offered the county land eight miles to the southwest
for building a courthouse and jail. Appling had settled in this
area in 1772, and a small community had grown up. County officials
accepted Appling's offer and in 1792 or 1793 built a courthouse
and jail on the site, which was named Appling or Applington.
On Nov. 29, 1794, the Georgia General Assembly enacted legislation
designating the improved land lot as the official county seat
for Columbia (Ga. Laws 1794-95, p. 14). On Dec. 12, 1816, legislation
was enacted incorporating Appling as a village and setting its
boundaries as a 600 x 600 yard square, with the courthouse in
the middle (Ga. Laws 1816, p. 50). Since then, Appling has continued
to serve as Columbia County's official county seat. However,
it was not able to maintain its status as an incorporated city.
As result of 1993 legislation requiring incorporated cities to provide at least
three municipal services, Appling was one of 187 inactive cities
in Georgia that lost its charter on June 1, 1995.
By the 1970s, most of Columbia County's population growth
was occurring in the eastern portion of the county near Richmond
County. This led to pressure to locate county government agencies
near the area where most citizens lived. In the 1980s, the county
built the Columbia County Government Center in Evans, followed
by the Government Complex Addition in 1994, and the new Courthouse
Annex in 1999-2001. This means that almost all of Columbia County's
government is now located at the government complex at Evans
-- which makes Evans de facto county seat of Columbia County.
Never incorporated as a town, Evans was settled sometime after
the Civil War (appearing on a Georgia map of 1883). It is not
known for whom the community was named, though it may have been
former Confederate general Clement Evans (for whom Evans County
was named).
Maps
Size of County (Total
Area): 307.8 square miles
County Rank in Total
Area: 97th out of 159
Population:
- Columbia County
Community of Appling
- Official population figures are not collected for unincorporated
communities
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