County located in NW section of state
County created: 1825
Named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Largest cites: Carrollton (County Seat) & Villa Rica
"Carroll County was established by an act of the
state legislature on June 9, 1825. It was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Maryland, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence. At the time of its creation, Carroll County was the thirty-first of Georgia's thirty-two original counties. The original Carroll County was a very large triangular area extending from Alabama on the west to the Chattahoochee River on the east and south. The northern boundary of the county was the Cherokee Nation. Eventually parts of five other counties—Campbell (now defunct), Douglas, Haralson, Heard, and Troup—were taken from the original Carroll County.
"All of Carroll County had been Creek Indian land signed away in the Treaty of Indian Springs in 1825 by a group of chiefs headed by William McIntosh. For this act McIntosh was murdered by a faction of his own people. Chief McIntosh's home was located in present-day Carroll County along the Chattahoochee River. Much of McIntosh's personal land, known since 1825 as the McIntosh Reserve, is today a county park.
"The county seat was originally located at Old Carrollton, in the eastern part of the county near the community of Sand Hill. In 1829 the current site was selected, and the name Troupsville was suggested by the inhabitants. The legislature was controlled by opponents of former Georgia governor George Troup,however, and they gave the county seat the name Carrollton.
"Carroll County recovered, and by the end of the century it was one of the leading cotton-producing counties in the state. During the early twentieth century Carroll County led the state in cotton production on several occasions, including 1928, 1929, 1932, and 1938. During most of the twentieth century Carroll County, always the domain of the yeoman farmer, also led the state in number of farms. In 1954 Carroll County had 3,155 farms, its closest rival being Colquitt County, with 2,678 farms.
"Carroll County has been been home to many prominent people. Roy Richards founded Southwire and turned it into the world's largest privately owned wire company. The actress Susan Hayward lived just north of Carrollton and is buried there. William C. Adamson served in the U.S. Congress from 1897 to 1917 and sponsored the Adamson Act, which established an eight-hour work day for interstate railroad employees. Newt Gingrich, who taught at the University of West Georgia, served in the U.S. Congress from 1979 to 1999, the last four years as Speaker of the House." ~ New Georgia Encyclopedia
"Carroll County, created by an act of the Georgia legislature in December, 1826, proudly bears then name of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton.
"Charles Carroll was born in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1737. He attended preparatory schools in this county but completed his education in France and England. At the age of 28 he returned home to settle down and his father gave him a large estate near Frederick, Md., known as Carrollton Manor. From then on he became known as 'Charles Carroll of Carrollton.' Although extremely wealthy and risking the loss of all his property, Charles Carroll boldly threw himself into the Revolutionary activities. He served in the Continental Congress in 1776-78, and soon after is election was appointed by the Congress also with Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Chase to unsuccessfully seek Canadian support for the Continental cause. He became one of Maryland's first United States Senators serving from 1789 through 1792.
"Charles Carroll played an important part in early railroad and canal building in the United States and laid the cornerstone of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1828, at the age of ninety one. Four years later he died, the last survivor of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence." ~ Georgia Historical Commission, 1954