[Left panel]
Black Americans in Gwinnett have a rich culture and a history of contributions to the community. After the Civil War, the Loving Aid Society (now Love & Aid Society) was founded in order to provide assistance to African . . . — — Map (db m197721) HM
The beloved Charles Henry Smith, was born here June 15, 1826. He married Mary Hutchins of Lawrenceville in 1849; began his law practice and moved to Rome in 1851. Major, Confederate Army. His Nom de plume, “Bill Arp,” was first used in 1861. . . . — — Map (db m14085) HM
The indentation in the sidewalk known as the Buggy Steps was used in the horse and buggy days to load and unload wares.
A millinery store, an important destination for women who made most of their clothes but not their hats, was located . . . — — Map (db m197703) HM
Button Gwinnett, for whom this county was named, was born in Gloucestershire, England, in 1735, the son of a Church of England minister. He worked in the store of his father-in-law in Dexter for two years, then as an importer and exporter for three . . . — — Map (db m84791) HM
In remembrance
of the citizens
of Gwinnett
County who
honorably served
the Confederate
States of America
"Any people with
contempt for their
heritage have lost
faith in themselves
and no nation can long
survive without . . . — — Map (db m85724) WM
[Left panel]
Present day Northwest Georgia was a very different place in the late 1700s. Due to conflict with the region's Creek and Cherokee people, white settlers constructed small forts to protect themselves along treaty boundaries. One . . . — — Map (db m197714) HM
Welcome to Freeman's Mill, the last operating gristmill in Gwinnett County. From the late 1860s to 1986, Freeman's Mill provided wheat flour, corn meal and feed meal for the county's residents and their animals. Its pond afforded nearby Alcova . . . — — Map (db m114273) HM
[Left panel]
Gwinnett County's steadily growing, diverse population has long been a point of pride. Whether looking to settle in the suburbs or seeking a better life in America, people from near and far call Gwinnett home.
The population . . . — — Map (db m197710) HM
On July 20, 1864, Union forces under Maj. Gen. W.T. Sherman, USA, were closing in on Atlanta. Hq. 2nd Cavalry Division [US], Brig. Gen. Kenner Garrard, was in Decatur, 6 miles E of Atlanta. Garrard’s three brigades were guarding bridges over the . . . — — Map (db m84574) HM
Cattle, hogs and goats were important to Lawrenceville's economy in the 1840's. Unfortunately they also created a problem for the Justices of the Inferior Court. Fences and gates could not keep the local livestock from running at large and settling . . . — — Map (db m197689) HM
Created in 1818 from Cherokee and Creek cessions, Gwinnett is an original county. Courts, elections, and sheriff sales were held, first, in the home of Elisha Winn, 1 mile east of the Appalachee River. Selected to buy a permanent site for the county . . . — — Map (db m16916) HM
[Time capsule]
In honor of the
Gwinnett Bicentennial
December 15, 2018
To be opened December 15, 2118
[Sign, left panel]
Gwinnett County: A vibrantly connected community
Gwinnett County anchors the . . . — — Map (db m197716) HM
The Georgia Legislature authorized the creation of Gwinnett County in 1818 and named it after Button Gwinnett. He was one of three Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence but never lived in the county.
The first meetings, court . . . — — Map (db m197711) HM
[Left panel]
After the Civil War, railroads came to Gwinnett County. New cities emerged along the rails, including Buford, Duluth, Norcross, and Suwanee. Confederate veteran Bonaparte Allen moved to Buford and opened a tannery that became . . . — — Map (db m197729) HM
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Gwinnett County's economy depended on cotton. Local farmers required quality mules and horses. And so Honest Alley, a row of stables and blacksmith barns behind Crogan Street, became an important trading . . . — — Map (db m197708) HM
[Left panel]
Lake Lanier is one of Gwinnett 's recreational gems and engineering feats, named in honor of Georgia poet and musician Sidney Lanier.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers broke ground on Buford Dam in 1950. The dam's . . . — — Map (db m197719) HM
The first building erected on this property was completed July 31, 1838 to house the Lawrenceville Female Seminary. The Reverend John S. Wilson was elected first president of the Board of Trustees. The Seminary commenced operations on September 24, . . . — — Map (db m23490) HM
Lynching in America
Thousands of Black people were victims of lynching in the United States between 1865 and 1950. During this era, lynching emerged as the most notorious and public form of racial terrorism, used to enforce racial hierarchy and . . . — — Map (db m197693) HM
In memory of
Gwinnett Company of Mounted
Volunteers, under the command
of Capt. Hammond Garmany who
were slain by Creek Indians
9 June 1836 in a Battle at
Shepherd's Plantation in
Stewart County:
Ens. Isaac Lacy
Sgt. James E. . . . — — Map (db m85721) HM WM
Richard Dickinson Winn, a son of Elisha and Judith Cochran Winn, was born January 14, 1816. Gwinnett’s first county elections and court sessions were held at his childhood home near Hog Mountain. Winn served as a Justice of the Inferior Court of . . . — — Map (db m23541) HM
Gwinnett County remained very rural into the middle of the 20th century and the streets of downtown Lawrenceville were unpaved until the late 1920's. In those days, the businesses on Crogan St. included several general stores. Farmers would come to . . . — — Map (db m197707) HM
It was a simpler time in 1905 – even banking was easier. A Gwinnett farmer needing a loan could drop by the County Courthouse on any day and meet up with Mr. E. M. Brand who offered money to lend at his outdoor office, positioned on the steps, near . . . — — Map (db m197683) HM
Dedicated in Memory of William Carroll Jackson
(1934 - 2004)
Constructed by Miles E. Ewing in 1895, the hotel was originally three stories tall with gingerbread balconies that wrapped around the corner of the then unpaved Crogan and Perry . . . — — Map (db m197705) HM
The Atlanta Exposition of 1890 was the site of a special celebration of the wonders of King Cotton on Farmers Alliance Day. The main attraction featured the wedding of four couples, dressed in clothing made of white cotton bagging. A huge crowd of . . . — — Map (db m197682) HM
Dr. Webster Price Ezzard was one of Lawrenceville's most notable and recognized residents. A reliable and trusted country doctor, he served the community for over 60 years from his office on the town square, in the rear of the Jones Pharmacy . . . — — Map (db m197684) HM
Originally constructed in 1824 the land purchased for the building included 250 acres at a total cost of $200. This building burned in 1871 and was rebuilt in 1872, but was later torn down in 1884. The courthouse now standing was constructed in . . . — — Map (db m197688) HM
[Left panel]
Early Gwinnett and adjacent counties were home to two important U.S. Army forts: Fort Daniel on Hog Mountain and Fort Gilmer along the Chattahoochee River, more commonly called "the fort at the standing peach tree.” During the . . . — — Map (db m197723) HM
William E. Simmons, one of Gwinnett County’s foremost citizens, was born in Lawrenceville on August 26, 1839. After graduating at the top of his class from Emory College, he assumed editorship of the Lawrenceville News. In 1861, he became an officer . . . — — Map (db m16958) HM
In 1935, Jule Oakes moved his beloved wife Jewel and his
family into this house. With love and hard work, they
transformed it into a warm and inviting showplace. On any
given Saturday, the Oakes' home, kitchen, and front porch
hosted family and . . . — — Map (db m212988) HM
The state of Georgia divided land ceded by the Cherokee Nation into 250-acre lots for farming and gave them away in the Land Lottery of 1820. To be eligible, participants had to be at least 18 and a Georgia resident for three years. Lottery winners . . . — — Map (db m197713) HM
Long before Gwinnett County became today's vibrantly connected community, it was a forest. The Cherokee and Creek people lived and hunted on these ancestral lands. Early settlers grew subsistence crops like corn.
Cotton produced by slave labor . . . — — Map (db m197726) HM
“All my life I have looked out over
the Courthouse Square.”
H. Rhodes Jordan, Sr.
1918-1993
For nearly half a century Rhodes Jordan watched over the courthouse square from his upstairs office in this building. Constructed in . . . — — Map (db m197706) HM
Gwinnett County socialites in the 1820's were quick and firm in their crusade to fight the evils of corn liquor. One prominent leader was Mrs. Philadelphia Winn Maltbie, daughter of the first Justice of the Inferior Court. It is said that this . . . — — Map (db m197702) HM
As in most counties in this part of Georgia, there were a few local entrepreneurs who developed a thriving business producing a popular variety of white lightnin'. Customers came from miles around for a chance to purchase some of Gwinnett's finest . . . — — Map (db m197679) HM
[Left panel]
Quality of life in Gwinnett is unsurpassed with educational choices from Pre-K to PhD, housing variety from single-family subdivisions to downtown condos to large-tract estates, and entertainment options that include five . . . — — Map (db m197728) HM
The first courthouse was built on this site between 1823 and 1824 and there was a well on the southwest corner. People came by horse and buggy to the courthouse to conduct business and so a wooden watering trough for horses was provided near this . . . — — Map (db m85719) HM
