History of Bulloch County

Going back in time to March 17, 1758, an act was passed by the Georgia Legislature in which the Province of Georgia was divided into eight parishes. The eight parishes of colonial Georgia were St. Paul 's, St. George's , St. Matthew's, Christ Church 's, St. Philip's, St. John's , St. Andrew's and St. James. In February of 1776, the Georgia Legislature created a county from St. Philip's parish. The appellation which the Legislature chose for St. Philip's Parish was called Bulloch County .

In the late 1750's, a South Carolina native, Archibald Bulloch, came to Georgia and acquired a plantation along the Savannah River . Mr. Bulloch was a revolutionary leader who opposed the authoritative rule of the British Parliament. Under the threat of his demise by British hands and sympathizers, he signed his name to an editorial written in The Georgia Gazette on July 14, 1774. The editorial was a call for all Savannah inhabitants to resist and fight the oppression of Great Britain . Due to his bravery and selfless acts, on January 20, 1776, Archibald Bulloch was elected President of the Executive Council of Georgia. Days later he was elected to the esteemed position of Provincial Governor.

On August 10, 1776, seven months after being elected Governor, Archibald Bulloch read a copy of the Declaration of Independence to the council members of Savannah , Georgia . Afterward, he read the Declaration to an audience at the public square. After reading it for a third time at the Liberty Pole, the Declaration of Independence was praised for its importance by thirteen thunderous rounds from a canon. Every since that historic event, residents of Bulloch County have celebrated "Archibald Bulloch Day" on August 10 th .

The very first commissioner's court was held May 6, 1873. The purpose of the commissioners' court was to appoint different people to the Road Commission for their respected districts in Bulloch County . The first commissioners were Chairman John L. Denmark, Algeverre Scarborough and Solomon Hagin. On August 11, 1924, an Act created the Board of Commissioners for Bulloch County . The Act created a seven member commission, one being the chairperson, and one being the vice chairperson. Each member including the Chairmen would be directly elected from the citizenry but the vice chairperson would be selected by the commissioners.

The Origin of Statesboro

George Sibbald, whose last name eventually became to be spelled "Siebald", gave the community the land on which Statesboro now stands. Mr. Siebald was a man of wealth from Augusta , Georgia who possessed large land holdings in Bulloch County . Nobody knows the reason for his generosity, but on November 7, 1801, Mr. Siebald presented a 200-acre tract of land to the administrative officials of Bulloch County . On December 19, 1803, an Act of the Georgia Legislature was signed by then Governor John Milledge and the small town of "Statesborough" became an official reality.

It's uncertain to how the town came to be called "Statesborough". J.A. Brannen orated the leading theory was due to the acts of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson made a great argument in Virginia standing up for states' rights and the rights of people for local self-governance. Elected to the Presidency in 1801, Jefferson entered office when local and state rights were a popular topic. It is assumed, "Statesborough" was originated in honor of states' rights.

n the original charter, granted in 1866, "Statesborough" officially became spelled as it is known today, Statesboro. The original charter did not provide for a mayor or council. However, it did state that five commissioners would govern the newly chartered city. A second charter was approved on September 2, 1889, and provided for the election of a mayor and five councilmen (i.e. mayor-council form of government), and their respective duties. It also required an election to be conducted on the first Saturday in December of 1889. The first mayor of Statesboro was J.A. Brannen. The first councilmen were W.N. Hall, J.C. Jones, D.R. Groover, B.E. Turner, and S.F. Olliff.