Hillsborough
First County Seat of Baldwin County, 1806-1807
The community of Hillsborough served as the site of the first county seat of Baldwin County in 1806 and later Putnam County after Putnam was created from Baldwin in December, 1807, but there is no known record that official County functions were conducted until 1808. The Baldwin seat moved to Milledgeville. The log cabin home of George Hill was used as the courthouse where elections as well as court sessions were held. The community consisted of four log cabins, a jailhouse, a blacksmith shop, a store and a saloon. Judge Peter Early, who would become a Georgia State Senator, U.S. Congressman, and the Governor of Georgia before he died at age 44, conducted the first session of the Superior Court in July, 1806. In the first session two soldiers were convicted of stealing fish from a trap and were hanged for the crime and buried in Hillsborough. One woman was punished for being a scold and shrew by being dunked in the river three times.
Partners supporting this project have been: Historic Piedmont Scenic Byway Corp., Better Hometown Eatonton, Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce, 2007 Putnam County Board of Commissioners, Baldwin County Board of Commissioners, Eatonton-Putnam Historical Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Georgia Department of Transportation. This project funded in part by a grant from the Federal Highway Administration.
Dedicated November 18, 2007 in recognition of Putnam County’s Bicentennial Celebration (LWM)
Marker is on Old Phoenix Road near Sparta Highway (Georgia Route 16), on the left when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
