Historic Washington Wilkes

03/28/2026

03/24/2026

Join us for a special guided tour highlighting two Black history markers in Washington during the 2026 Spring Tour of Homes!

📍 Downtown Square
• African American Patriots of the Revolutionary War
• Washington Square Black History Marker

📍 City Hall Annex
• Washington City Hall Black History Marker

The tour will include two guided presentations. We’ll begin by gathering at the markers on the square, then walk together to the City Hall location.

🕒 Presentation times: 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM
🎟️ No tickets required — this event is free and open to the public!

Come learn, reflect, and connect with this important history in our community.

03/12/2026

Visit the Artist Market at the Court Street Livery near the historic downtown square. The Artist Market showcases fine art, jewelry and home goods from invited artisans throughout Georgia, selected for their originality, ingenuity and excellence.

03/05/2026

Scenes such as this one give me great hope. Beyond the obvious beauty, this tells me that there are still many of us who care about saving what is important.

In even better news, the trend isn't confined to a single region of the South, or even a single region of the country. Neither does it appear to be the province of empty-nesters.

In fact, the best news of all is that young couples are stepping in to take the reins in many of our towns and cities - embracing this level of craftsmanship and the good design that makes these houses and the streets and communities where they live still beautiful after more than a century of wear.

We should all take heart. Even though many of our small communities remain in peril, and too great a number of these old houses stand empty and endangered - there also exists a growing number of us who are planting our feet, staking a claim, and embracing a way of life that does not yet deserve to die.

I have seen it in every state in the South, all the way up the East Coast, throughout the Midwest, and all the way down the West Coast as well. Good for us. Good for all of us.

By the way, this lovely lady lives on a pretty tree-lined street in the historic town of Washington, Georgia.

Photo by Beth Yarbrough.

02/15/2026

MONUMENTAL MOMENTS: FEBRUARY 12, 1778
SCORCHED EARTH: The Iron of the Backcountry

The Biography of Elijah Clarke
Before he was the "Hornet of the Backcountry," Elijah Clarke was a man defined by two things, a restless spirit and a fierce devotion to the land he carved out of the wilderness.

The Scots-Irish Wanderer
Born in 1733 in the backwoods of North Carolina, Clarke was a product of the Scots-Irish migration. These weren't the gentleman farmers of the Savannah coast, they were the Long Hunters who looked at a dense forest and saw a homestead.

In 1773, Clarke packed up his wife, Hannah Arrington, and their children and headed south. He was lured by the Ceded Lands, newly opened territory in the Georgia interior taken from Creek and Cherokee Nations. Clark didn't inherit wealth; he earned it through the headright system, sweating to transform 150 acres of thick Wilkes County oak and hickory into a viable farm. To the elites in Savannah, Clarke was a rough-man from the edges of the map. To his neighbors, he was the man who knew how to survive.

The Guardian of Refugees
When the Revolution arrived, it didn't come to Clarke as a debate over tea taxes. It came as a threat to his fence lines. He saw the British-aligned tribes and roving Loyalist bands as an existential threat to his family. This turned Clarke into something more than a soldier, he became the Guardian of Refugees.

As the British and their allies turned the backcountry into a charred wasteland, Clarke took on a burden no regular officer wanted. He once gathered over 400 women, children, and elderly residents, the families of his fighting men, and led them on a desperate, 200-mile refugee march through the rugged mountains to safety in the Carolinas.

While fighting off no-quarter raiding parties and navigating starvation, he ensured the survival of the Patriot community itself. He was a man of "scars and grit," surviving smallpox, the mumps, and musket balls to the lungs and legs, seemingly too stubborn to die until Georgia was free.

The Brink of Kettle Creek
By February 12, 1779, the air in Wilkes County was vibrating with a new kind of tension. A massive Loyalist column of nearly 800 men was marching through the interior, burning farms and looking to crush the rebellion once and for all.

Clarke was in the saddle, tracking them through the thick cane brakes. He wasn't interested in a parley or a formal surrender. He was a partisan fighter who knew the terrain better than his own signature. He was waiting for a single mistake, a moment of overconfidence from the Crown’s men.

History was about to be made at a small tributary called Kettle Creek. On this morning, however, Elijah Clarke wasn't thinking about glory. He was thinking about the red clay under his boots and the fire in his neighbors' eyes. The "Hornet" was about to sting.

#250

02/15/2026

MONUMENTAL MOMENTS: FEB 14 1779
SCORCHED EARTH: THE BATTLE OF KETTLE CREEK
The British were convinced that in the newer colonies there were still men loyal to King and Country. Recruiting expeditions were sent deep into the interior of Georgia and the Carolinas, seeking to bolster their ranks. One such expedition, led by Colonel John Boyd, had managed to recruit somewhere around 350, possibly more.
Continuously pursued by Patriot forces, Boyd and his new Loyalist recruits of somewhere around 700 men, had finally put enough distance between them to stop and rest along a narrow creek in Wilkes County. Heavy winter rains and snowfall had caused Kettle Creek to spill over into the surrounding woods, turning the normally high and dry pine barren into a soggy marshland.
On the morning of Feb 14, the Loyalists took advantage of a momentary reprieve. Busy slaughtering cattle and preparing breakfast, their rifles resting against trees or in stacked arms, unaware the Patriots were closing in. But off in the distance, three columns had formed and were encircling camp.
From deep within the pines, a shot rang out! The loyalists scrambled to their fi****ms, Colonel Boyd shouted orders to find cover. They gathered old fence rails and timber to form makeshift breastworks.
The Patriots surprise attack was thwarted. Nervous militiamen led by Andrew Pickens had fired too early, giving the Loyalists enough time to regroup and form a line of defense. The battle raged for hours through the dense cane brakes and rolling pine marsh. Under heavy fire Colonel Boyd was hit, possibly as many as 3 times. Realizing Boyd was mortally wounded; the Loyalist began to break apart.
Elijah Clark seized the opportunity and led a charge up War’s Hill. Hearing the embolden war cries of the Patriots and facing their daring charge, the newly recruited "Kingsmen, " who were untrained and undisciplined, ran…for their lives.

#250

02/14/2026

02/09/2026

Born in Wilkes County in 1790, George Rockingham Gilmer rose from frontier Georgia to become one of the most influential—and controversial—political figures of the early 19th century. Educated at Princeton and trained in law, Gilmer built a reputation as a sharp intellect and a fierce advocate for states’ rights at a time when Georgia was rapidly expanding westward.

Gilmer first served as Governor of Georgia from 1829 to 1831, following a lengthy career in the U.S. Congress. His administration coincided with the height of the Indian removal crisis. A strong supporter of Georgia’s extension of state authority over Native lands, Gilmer backed policies that led directly to the displacement of the Creek and Cherokee peoples. The Georgia county of Gilmer County bears his name—a reminder of his prominence during this era of expansion.

After a brief return to national politics, Gilmer was elected again, serving a second, nonconsecutive term from 1837 to 1839. During this administration, Georgia faced mounting financial strain tied to internal improvements, railroad speculation, and the lingering effects of the Panic of 1837. Gilmer pushed for fiscal restraint and reform, advocating reduced state spending and greater accountability in public finances.

Beyond the governor’s office, Gilmer left a lasting written legacy. His Sketches of Some of the First Settlers of Upper Georgia remains an important—if deeply biased—early historical account of frontier Georgia, offering valuable insights into settlement patterns, politics, and attitudes of the time.

George Rockingham Gilmer died in 1859, just two years before the Civil War transformed the state he had helped shape. Remembered as a skilled politician and forceful writer, his career reflects both the ambition and the moral contradictions of Georgia’s early statehood years.




Georgia on My Mind curated by Lisa Land Cooper – Author and Historian

© 2025 Lisa Land Cooper – Author and Historian

12/31/2025

HAPPY NEW YEAR from the Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce and Welcome Center!

12/13/2025

Don’t miss Christmas at Callaway!

Mrs. Claus just might be there Saturday inside the country store with candy canes.

12/13/2025