WARREN COUNTY

 

Warren County was created from Columbia, Hancock, Richmond, and Wilkes counties in 1793 to become the twentieth county in the state.  It and the county seat, Warrenton, were named for General Joseph Warren of Massachusetts who was killed at the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill (Breeds Hill).

 

Georgia's first iron foundry and woolen mill were built at Shoals on the Ogeechee River, formerly called the community of Lexington, in 1794 by Colonel William Bird and Benjamin A. Hamp.  The two men had bought several thousand acres along the Ogeechee and had found a site ideal for a small dam and mill.  To make the race that would turn the mill, they set hot fires on a granite slab beside the river, then poured cold water on the stone, managing to split away enough material to eventually make a trough for the water.  Their mill operated until 1864 when it was burned by General Sherman's troops.

 

Prior to its permanent settlement, Warren County is believed to have had a small gold strike somewhere in the northern portion.  It did not long endure, however, and those who mined the area left no permanent records.  Koalin is the mineral sought there today.