Toombs County, the 142nd county formed in Georgia, was created in 1905 from parts of Emanuel, Tattnall, and Montgomery counties. The county seat of Lyons was founded as a depot on the railroad connecting Macon and Savannah.  The county was named for Robert Toombs, the Confederacy's Brigadier General and Secretary of State. Toombs had served in both houses of the U.S. Congress, but was a leading secession advocate at the Secession Convention at Milledgeville.

 

Toombs County is most famous for its sweet Vidalia onions, the state vegetable of Georgia, and Vidalia is known as the "Sweet Onion Capital of the World." Onion seeds planted in the sandy loam soil of Toombs County grow onions that are sweeter and juicier than any others.

 

The Altamaha River forms the county's southern border.