The waymark coordinates are for the public entry door on the west side of the capitol, since GPS units do not work inside the building.
This head-and-shoulders-style bust of George Walton is located on the second floor of the Georgia State Capitol in downtown Atlanta. The bust is placed on a pedestal which rests on a vertical rectangular plinth about 5 feet tall. The bust and plinth together are around 7 feet tall. Both plinth and bust are made of white Georgia marble and inscribed as follows:
"WALTON
1749-1804
Attorney-Jurist
Revolutionary soldier
Member of the Continental Congress
Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation from Georgia
Governor of Georgia
Legislator Judge
Chief Justice of Georgia
US Senator
“No citizen of Georgia who, during the life extending over little more than half a century, acquired loftier or more numerous honors within the gift of the Commonwealth than the Hon. George Walton.”"
George Walton appears to be about 40 years old, and is looking straight ahead with a slight downward cast to his gaze. He is wearing his hair tied back, as was common in the 1780s. He wears a long coat with straight lapels that button to the throat. This coat is unbuttoned. Underneath, he wears a long V-necked vest that is buttoned all the way up, exposing his lace cravat, whose ruffles peek out from the vest.
From the Encyclopedia of Georgia: (
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"George Walton was one of three Georgians to sign the Declaration of Independence. He served in numerous capacities for the state of Georgia after the American Revolution (1775-83).
The exact year of Walton's birth is unknown; it is believed that he was born in 1749 in Virginia. In 1769 he moved to Savannah, where he pursued a legal career. By the eve of the American Revolution he was one of the most successful lawyers in Georgia. Active in Georgia's Revolutionary government, he was elected to the Provincial Congress and then became president of the Council of Safety in 1775. In 1776 he served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, where on July 4 he signed the Declaration (along with Button Gwinnett and Lyman Hall of Georgia).
Returning to Savannah, Walton was captured during the 1778 British assault on the city, led by Archibald Campbell. After his exchange he returned to Georgia and was elected governor in 1779, having switched allegiances from the conservative to the radical faction. He served for two controversial months before reelection to Congress.
After the Revolution Walton served as chief justice of Georgia, as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1788 that ratified the new federal constitution, as a presidential elector in 1789, as governor that same year, as U.S. senator (appointed by the legislature when James Jackson stepped down to fight the Yazoo Land Act), and as a justice of the state superior court. He eventually retired in the 1780s to his Augusta home, where he died on February 2, 1804. Walton is buried in Augusta. Walton County is named for him."