Oconee County was created from Clarke County on Feb. 25, 1875 by an act of the General Assembly (Ga. Laws 1875, p. 109). According to that legislation, Oconee County's boundaries were dfined as:

"Beginning at a point immediately opposite the mills of James H. Thompson, on the Jackson line, and leaving said mills in said new county, thence a straight line to the old saw mill site of Nathaniel L. Barnard, on McNutt's Creek, thence down said McNutts' Creek to its junction with Barber's Creek, thence down said Barber's Creek to its junction with the Oconee River, commonly called Middle River, thence down said river to the junction of the two Oconee rivers, thence down the Oconee River to Barnett's or Neal's Bridge, on said river, thence with the public road to Big Creek Church to the Oglethorpe county line, thence with the lines of the counties of Oglethorpe, Greene, Morgan, Walton and Jackson to the starting point . . . ."

Georgia's137th county was named for the Oconee River, which forms part of the county's eastern boundary with Clarke County. The new county was created in response to petitions from residents of the western half of Clarke County after the legislature moved the county seat of Clarke County from Watkinsville to Athens in 1871.

Historical Maps

 

 

1883

 

1885a

 

1885b

 

1895

 

1899

 

1904

 

1910

 

1915

 

1952

 

1955

 

1970a

 

1970b

 

1999

 

2001a

 

2001b

Go to Historical Atlas of Georgia Counties

Go to Oconee County Courthouse page