There isn’t much left of the “ghost town” of Hartford. This abandoned building, which was either a store or part of the agribusiness endeavor located next door, is, along with a church, the only evidence of a settlement here. But that isn’t the whole story.

In Georgia’s early days, after lands along the Ocmulgee River were opened to white settlement, the village of Hartford was one of two locations suggested to replace Louisville as the state capital. It was named for Nancy Hart, years before the establishment of Hart County. Milledgeville ultimately won the distinction, largely due to its more central location, but Hartford grew as a result of this attention and after a brief association with Laurens County, became the seat of government of the newly formed county of Pulaski.

It was a crossroads for many of the earliest roads leading south from Milledgeville and west from the coast. Several forts, including Fort Mitchell and Fort Greene, were built nearby to expel Native Americans who had lived in the area for centuries. Andrew Jackson even made camp at Hartford for a week in 1818, during his ongoing campaign against the Seminole nation.

Eventually, the need for higher ground west of the river led to the formation of Hawkinsville, and it became the county seat in 1836.