Candler County Courthouse-Metter, Georgia - Courthouses on Waymarking.com

County History:

On July 14, 1914, the General Assembly proposed a constitutional amendment to create Candler County from portions of Bulloch, Emanuel, and Tattnall counties (Ga. Laws 1914, p. 29). In that year's general election, Georgia voters ratified the proposed amendment on Nov. 3, 1914, which marks the official date of the Candler County's creation (although a state historical marker on the courthouse grounds incorrectly cites the county's creation as the day the legislative act proposing the constitutional amendment was approved).

According to the boundaries spelled out in the 1914 constitutional amendment, Candler County was created . Georgia's 150th county was named for former governor Allen D. Candler (1834-1910), who had died four years earlier.

Why was Candler County created by constitutional amendment instead of an act of the General Assembly? In 1904, Georgia voters had approved a constitutional amendment limiting the number of counties in the state to 145. The next year, the General Assembly created eight new counties, bringing the total number to 145 -- the constitutional limit. Nevertheless, there was continuing pressure to create more counties. Beginning in 1906, lawmakers got around the 145-county limitation by creating new counties through constitutional amendments that were not subject to the limitation. By 1924, Georgia had 161 counties -- 16 of which had been created by constitutional amendment. On Jan. 1, 1932, Milton and Campbell counties merged with Fulton, leaving 159 counties. In 1945, Georgia voters ratified a new constitution -- one which provided an absolute limit of 159 counties, with an additional provision (see text) that no new country could be created except through consolidation of existing counties.

As an interesting note, Candler is one of 25 Georgia counties that today retain their original boundaries from the time of creation.

County Seat: The proposed constitutional amendment to create Candler County provided that Metter, which at the time was located in Bulloch County, serve as county seat. Metter originated as a railroad station on the Georgia Railroad was first incorporated as a town in 1903. The origin of the name is unclear, although Kenneth Krakow attributes the name to a railroad official's explanation of how he first met his wife, since he "met her" at the train station.http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/courthouses/candlerCH.htm

Text of the historical marker:

CANDLER COUNTY



Candler County was created by an Act of the

Georgia Legislature July 17, 1914,out of

portions of Bulloch, Emanuel and Tattnall

Counties, and named for Gov. Allen D. Candler

(1834-1910). Gov. Candler is famed for the

preservation of Colonial and Confederate

records and being the first compiler of

State records. Among the first officers of

Candler County were Ordinary George R.

Trapnell, Sheriff Charles M. Harpen, Superior

Court Clerk Joshua Everett, Tax Receiver

O.L. Patterson, Tax Collector G.B. Hendricks,

Surveyor J.D. McLean, Coroner T.D. Joiner

and Treasurer Morgan Holloway.

Year Built: 1921 Current Use of Building: Courts and county offices Level of Courts: County Architect: J.J. Baldwin Dates this building was used to house judicial proceedings: 1921-Present Physical Address: 705 N Lewis St Metter, GA 30439-3333 Related Website: [Web Link] Hours: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/29/2009 Sprinterman visited it