Historic Early County Courthouse and Confederate Flagpole

An act of Dec. 21, 1819 organizing Early County directed that until a courthouse was erected, county courts were to meet at the house of Richard Grimsley in the 28th district. It is not clear how long Grimsley’s house served as courthouse, but in 1826 Benjamin Collier gave the county 25 acres for building a courthouse and other public buildings. A wooden courthouse was built here in 1826, followed by other structures in subsequent years. A courthouse built in 1858 served until the present building was constructed in 1906. The current courthouse was rehabilitated in 1992-93. The town’s court square is home to the last remaining wooden Confederate Flag Pole. Erected in 1861, the pole was made from a white pine grown in the county.

Attractions: Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge

Coheelee Bridge is the southernmost (historic/authentic) covered bridge in the United States. The late Dr. John H. Goff, University of Georgia, studied unique Georgia placenames for many years and wrote a series of articles on them. He explains the variation in many Indian names come from the switching back and forth from the Indian dialects to English and then back to the dialects again. And so the name COHEELEE is a good example of this practice. In the 1820’s this narrow rambling creek, that rises about "a half mile" west of Blakely, was labeled "BIG CREEK" on surveyor Robert Kennedy’s map but according to Mary Grist Whitehead, "somehow the Indian name survived and was preferred by the early settlers." - From "Covered Bridges of Georgia" by Thomas L. French, Jr. & Edward L. French

Attractions: Three-Notch Trail

After the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson, legend has it, came from South Carolina and traveled through this area in route to New Orleans. He cut three notches on trees as he passed through this wilderness to enable him to
find his way back.Most of Jackson’s troop went this way, among them Co. A. P. Haynes and his detachment of Tennesseans. The North Trail was used by General Edmund P. Gaines and his troops from Fort Gaines To Fort Scott. It was a wagon road for early settlers and one of the important pioneer roads.