Carnesville isn’t well-known outside the area, and is one of the smaller county seats in Georgia, with between 500-600 residents. As county seats should, it sits smack dab in the middle of Franklin County, which was the first county in the state established after the Revolutionary War [much larger at the time, encompassing multiple modern counties]. While the location of Franklin County’s first seat of government is lost to history, Carnesville gained that designation in 1807.
It was named for Thomas Petters Carnes (1762-5 May 1822), whose service as a colonel in the Maryland Line during the Revolutionary War earned him a land bounty in Franklin County. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives, as a state court judge, Attorney General of Georgia, and in the U. S. House of Representatives, from 1793-1795, representing Athens [located at that time in Franklin County].
My ancestors were from Franklin County, and I have a copy of the History of Franklin County. It says that the first courthouse (1785) was actually in the home of Warren Philpot who lived in the Gum Log Community near the Tugalo River. The exact location of the first actual courthouse building is not known, but it was a log building constructed in 1793 near the present site of Carnesville. The 1806/07 courthouse was built on the Carnesville square.
Love that lil town. If you are still there and stop ask people if they remember Carter “Red” Williams? You remember Pam WIlliams that I married, or Jayme Williams, her bother? Their dad grew up in Carnesville and they still own the home place farm there.
On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 3:45 PM Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian
I love how the 6 Degrees of Separation work. Josh, I grew up in Fitzgerald; you may remember my brother Jay. My mother was born & raised in Carnesville so I’ve spent my entire life going there. I love it there. My grandfather was A.T. Mauldin, who was state representative for Franklin, Stephens, and Hart counties in the 60s & 70s.