Washington-Wilkes Firsts
1775 First stone marker indicating George III land grant Fort Washington Park
1777 First county named in Georgia’s first constitution
1779 First African-American Revolutionary hero in the South. Austin Dabney – Battle of Kettle Creek
1780 First city incorporated in the name of George Washington
1786-87 First Methodist Church in Georgia
1790 First Presbyterian minister ordained in Georgia Rev. John Springer
1792 First Catholic Church built in Georgia Locust Grove Sharon
1797 First Grand Jury presentment in Georgia for abolition of slavery
1803 First woman in Georgia to edit and publish a newspaper Sarah Porter Hillhouse
1806 First woman legally hanged in Georgia – Polly Barclay
1810 First cotton mill in the south
1833 First gold stamp mill in the world
1887 First graduate of African American school of nursing Virginia Simmons
1888 First Free Public Library in Georgia – Mary Willis Library
1926 First woman elected to the International Academy of Letters and Science – Eliza Frances Andrews
Marker is at the intersection of East Robert Toombs Avenue (Business U.S. 78) and Court Square, on the right when traveling west on East Robert Toombs Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
