Home > Tourism, Recreation & the Arts > History & Culture

Search

History of Georgia's Capital Cities

Savannah

On June 9, 1732, King George II signed the charter granting James Oglethorpe and a group of trustees permission to establish a 13th British colony to be named in honor of the king. Even though the King had granted the charter for the colony, Oglethorpe wanted to get the consent of the Indians inhabiting the area. There had been an agreement with them that no more colonies would be located below the Carolina border.

On February 12, 1733, James Oglethorpe brought 114 settlers to Yamacraw Bluff, a site he considered perfect for his new colony. The only Indian tribe living within 50 miles of the new colony was a group of about 100 Yamacraw Indians. Tomochichi, the chief of the Yamacraws, greeted Oglethorpe with kindness because the Indians were pleased with the prospect of more settlers. Mary Musgrove, the daughter of an Indian woman and white trader, was hired as Oglethorpe's interpreter. Savannah became the center of colonial government.

Savannah grew slowly until after the departure of the Spanish from Florida in 1763. By the start of the Revolution, Georgia had about 35,000 people, with Savannah's population at about 2,500. During the last part of the colonial period, Savannah's export business increased considerably, reflecting an increase in farming, lumbering and Indian trade.

When Georgia's independence from British rule was declared, an Executive Council was elected. The revolutionary state government made Savannah its Capital, and the Legislature met there in 1777 and 1778. During the Revolutionary War, the capture of Savannah caused the revolutionary government to retreat to Augusta in 1778. Upon the fall of Augusta in 1779, the government was temporarily located at Heards Fort in Wilkes County from February 1780 to July 1781. Government officials returned to Augusta in 1782, only to move to Savannah which had been evacuated by the British. Between 1783 and 1785, the Georgia Assembly rotated between Savannah and Augusta, and the governor divided his official residence between the two cities.

Savannah lost its political importance to the rapidly growing upcountry with the removal of the capital to Augusta in 1786, but its significance as a port and trade center was increased. Rice, naval stores and lumber continued as major exports, and the new item in Georgia's economy was cotton.

Augusta

The 1783 session of the Georgia Legislature passed an act moving the Capital to Augusta because it was closer to the center of population. On February 22, 1785, the General Assembly held its last meeting in Savannah and Augusta officially became the second capital of Georgia. Augusta was named for the Princess of Wales, wife of Prince Frederick. Founded in 1735 by Oglethorpe's men, Augusta was a fort and trading post.

During Augusta's decade as state capital several historic events occurred. In 1785, lawmakers created the nation's first state chartered institution of higher learning - the University of Georgia. In 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution. In 1791, the nation's new president, George Washington, visited Augusta.

The state's worst political scandal, the Yazoo Land Fraud, took place in Augusta in 1795. At that time Georgia stretched westward to the Mississippi River. Land companies bribed members of the General Assembly to pass a law which allowed the companies to buy 35 million acres of Georgia's western lands extending to the Yazoo River. This land, which today encompasses Mississippi and Alabama, was sold for less than two cents per acre. The companies then made large profits by selling the land to the public.

Louisville

The third capital was named Louisville in honor of King Louis XVI of France and in appreciation of French aid during the American Revolution. The first permanent capitol to be built was completed in Louisville in 1796. There are no existing drawings of the building, but it is known that it was a two-story red brick structure. It was later used as a public arsenal and county courthouse before it was destroyed.

An important piece of legislation that was passed during the years that Louisville was the state capital was the Rescinding Act of 1796. This act repealed the law authorizing the Yazoo land sale. The legislature also directed that the Yazoo Act be publicly burned on the statehouse grounds and that all copies of the of the legislation be destroyed.

During the 1799 session, the present Great Seal of the State of Georgia was adopted by the General Assembly in Louisville. It was designed by Daniel Sturgis, state surveyor. Governor James Jackson placed an advertisement in the Louisville Gazette that invited artists to submit designs for a seal. He offered a prize of $30 for the winning design.

Milledgeville

In 1804 the Georgia legislature passed an act to move the Capital closer to the geographic center of the state. The fourth capital was named Milledgeville for John Milledge, Governor of Georgia (1802-06), United States Senator (1806-09) and donor of the land for the University of Georgia. Situated on the fall line of the Oconee River, Milledgeville was chosen because of its central location and ample springs.

A brick Gothic style Capitol was erected at a cost of $80,000, and the General Assembly met for the first time in the building in 1807. The building was partially destroyed twice by fire. Restored in 1943, the exterior of the present building is a replica of the original. Today, the Old Capitol is part of Georgia Military College. The Governor's Mansion was built in 1838 and remains on that original site today.

Milledgeville remained the capital of Georgia for 61 years. It was from here in 1861 that a special state convention voted for Georgia to secede from the Union. The Capital was occupied by Sherman during his March to the Sea.

The legislature adjourned and later reconvened in Macon in 1865. At the end of the war, the Legislature was allowed to reconvene at the Capitol in Milledgeville. During the war, the Great Seal of Georgia was hidden by Secretary of State Nathan Barnett under his home. The Federals ordered an artist to make an identical seal. However, the artist put the soldier's sword in the left hand instead of the right. This makes it possible for historians to recognize state papers stamped during that period.

When the capital moved to Atlanta in 1868, Milledgeville experienced an economic decline. By the late 19th and 20th centuries, Milledgeville's improved lighting, streets, telephone and water supply encouraged new building and commerce.

Atlanta

Atlanta was considered by the General Assembly as a new Capitol site as early as 1847. At the Constitutional Convention of 1867 in Atlanta, the City Council lobbied diligently to make the railroad oriented community the State Capitol by promising to donate suitable buildings and land for the state government. The proposal was finally accepted by the Convention and ratified in the 1868 Constitution.

On July 4, 1868, the Georgia Legislature met in Atlanta for the first time, convening in the combined City Hall and Fulton County Courthouse.  The courthouse proved far too crowded, so the Kimball Opera House was rented and later purchased by the Council for use as a Capitol building. A new Constitutional Convention, convening in Atlanta in 1877, agreed to submit to the people the permanent change of the Capitol in a separate election which would be held on the same day as the election for the ratification of the new Constitution.

After weeks of lively competition between the proposed new Capitol city and the previous one, the electorate chose Atlanta as the Capitol by an almost two-to-one margin. The City Hall/courthouse location was chosen for the Capitol by the Legislature in 1879.

Because of a shortage of funds, money for construction of the new building was not provided until 1883, when $1 million was appropriated. A board of five commissioners supervised the project with the Governor as ex-officio chairman.

The commission selected a Classic Renaissance design from the architectural firm of Edbrooke and Burnham of Chicago. The successful construction bid came from Miles and Horne of Toledo, Ohio.

Indiana limestone was the chief material, although Georgia marble was used for the interior finish of walls, floors, and steps, as well as the cornerstone. The tremendous expense of quarrying Georgia marble made it impractical to use on the exterior of the building. The commission made every effort to procure much of the Capitol material from Georgia, such as wood and iron.

The Capitol construction was begun in October 1884, and the dedication ceremony was held July 4, 1889. The erection of the Capitol was accomplished within the budget, leaving $118.43 in the treasury.

Today the Capitol faces west on Washington Street, and the main entrance is approached by a wide concrete plaza. A colossal four-story portico, with stone pediment, supported by six Corinthian columns set on large stone piers, dominates the facade. The Great Seal of the state, engraved on the pediment, has two figures on each side representing Georgia agriculture and commerce. The American and Georgia flags are flown each day above this stonework. Two stone pillars are placed at each of the other three entrances to the Capitol.

The greatest length of the building north and south is 347 feet, 9 inches, and the greatest depth through the center is 237 feet, 4 inches. A gilded dome measuring 75 feet in diameter sits above the crossing. The cupola is topped with a female statue representing freedom, which holds a torch in one hand and a sword in the other. The Greek-inspired statue, commemorating the war dead, stands 15 feet high and weighs 2,000 pounds.

Renovation of the Capitol building was authorized by the Georgia Legislature in 1957. As a part of the renovation, 43 ounces of native gold were donated by the citizens of Dahlonega and Lumpkin county and applied to the Capitol dome. The gold arrived by wagon train from Dahlonega, scene of America's first gold rush in 1828, and was presented to the Governor on August 7, 1958.

During National Historic Preservation Week in 1977, the Georgia State Capitol was dedicated as a National Historic Landmark. The center of state government since 1889, the Capitol was cited by the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior as an outstanding structure both architecturally and historically.

In 1981, a fresh application of gold, necessitated by deterioration of the original gold leafing, was placed of the Capitol dome. In the campaign originated by the Dahlonega/Lumpkin county Jaycees and headed by the Jaycees of Georgia, all citizens had the opportunity to contribute funds to the "Make Georgia a Shining Example" project, which ultimately succeeded in restoring the worn dome surface to its original brilliance.