Gwinnett County was established on Dec. 15, 1818 by an act of the General Assembly (Ga. Laws 1818, p. 27). That legislation created Gwinnett, Habersham, and Hall counties from lands ceded by the Cherokee Indians on July 8, 1817 in the Treaty of the Cherokee Agency and by the Creek Indians on January 22, 1818 in the Treaty of the Creek Agency. Both treaties were necessary because the traditional boundary between the Creeks and Cherokees ran through present-day Gwinnett County. Four days after the creation of Gwinnett County, the legislature added a portion of western Jackson County.

Georgia's 44th county was named for provisional Georgia governor and signer of the Declaration of Independence Button Gwinnett (1735-1777).

Portions of Gwinnett County were used to create DeKalb County (1822) and Barrow County (1914). Additionally, between 1819 and 1875, portions of Gwinnett were transferred to the following counties: Hall (1819), Jackson (1819), DeKalb (1823, 1828, and 1829), Walton (1820), and Rockdale (1875).

Historical Maps

 

1822

 

1823

 

1830

 

1834

 

1839

 

1846

 

1855

 

1863

 

1864

 

1865

 

1874

 

1883

 

1885a

 

1885b

 

1895

 

1899

 

1904

 

1910

 

1915

 

1952

 

1955

 

1970a

 

1970b

 

1999

 

2001a

 

2001b

Go to Historical Atlas of Georgia Counties

Go to Gwinnett County Courthouse page