VanSant Donation of Land - Douglasville, GA
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 33° 45.012 W 084° 45.055
16S E 708324 N 3736731
Newer plaque on the county's founding
Waymark Code: WMY8FP
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 05/10/2018
Views: 4
County of marker: Douglas County
Location of marker: Broad S. & Courthouse Square West, museum lawn, Douglasville
Erected by: Douglas County Historical Society
Marker Text:
Young VanSant with his brother, Rueben, moved from Cowpen, S.C., to the Cherokee lands west of Atlanta in the year 1850. As the County of Douglas began to form, both brothers wished to give land for a county seat. A friendly fist duel ensued and the winner, Young VanSant, on January 9, 1871 donated to W.W. Hindman, Ordinary-Elect, John C. Bowden, W.N. McGouirk and James H. Winn, the Board of Commissioners, 40 acres of land in lots 16 and 17, with the exception of the well which is reserved for the location of a county site of said county and the erection of public buildings.
This gift of land was deeded in old Spencerian style script and recorded among the first in Douglas County (April 9, 1871), D.W. Price recording clerk and John G. Maxwell, N.P., signing witness.
This tract became the site of several court houses - first a frame one, then the towered traditional brick edifice eventually destroyed by fire, and now upon the same spot the present modern Douglas County Court House.
The two VanSant brothers Rueben and Young, with their wives now rest in the private family cemetery just north of the railroad on West Strickland Street.