Georgia County Seats Trivia Quiz

Answer: Atlanta

Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County. Although the other three cities are all in Fulton, they would not have been in Fulton when it was originally created. Milton County and Campbell County were merged into Fulton when they went bankrupt during the Depression, hence Fulton's odd shape.

Answer: Cumming

No doubt one of Northerners' favorite county seats with which to make fun of Georgians, Cumming is the seat of Forsyth County. Cumming is infamous as the site of a white supremacist march in the town in the mid-1980s that gained national acclaim, including a spot on Oprah.

The march was followed by an even larger one in support of civil rights. Cumming and Forsyth County are nearly unrecognizable from those days now, having become part of Atlanta's ever-expanding suburbs.

Answer: Rome

While these choices show off Georgia's international flair (all are towns in the state), Rome is the proper county seat of Floyd County. Showing off Georgians' penchant for turning Old World tradition into New World charm, Vienna is pronounced "VIE Enna" and Cairo is pronounces "Kay-Ro," as in the syrup.

Answer: Elberton

Elberton is both the county seat of Elbert County and home to the Guide Stones. These monoliths, somewhat resembling Stonehenge, are each inscribed with sayings and truths intended to edify the viewer. Fitting for the county that styles itself "Granite Capital of the World," don't you think?

Answer: Augusta

Richmond County is governed from Augusta, once the capital of Georgia and known around the world as the home of the Masters golf tournament. Augusta sits on the fall line, the point at which the hilly piedmont becomes the flood plain, making for fast water and the end of easily navigable waterways -- perfect for colonial trading posts. Macon and Columbus are similarly situated.

Answer: Milledgeville

Milledgeville is the county seat of Baldwin County and another former capital of the state. The state capitol, old governor's office, and other former state buildings are still open to tourists and are near the campus of Georgia College and State University, a four-year state university.

Answer: Bainbridge

Decatur County, with its county seat at Bainbridge, is located in the far southwest part of the state. Bainbridge sits on the Flint River, which together with the Chattahoochee River is the center of a major interstate water use controversy.

Answer: Thomasville

Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County and actually quite a tourist destination. This "original winter resort of the South" was considered one of the most fashionable places in the world to visit in the late 1800s, and it still benefits from the Victorian-era architecture that the town's citizens have meticulously preserved. Supposedly, William McKinley planned his run for the presidency here, and a nearby golf course was among President Eisenhower's favorites.

Answer: Jesup

Wayne County, located in the lowlands just west of the Georgia coast, is governed from Jesup. You would most likely pass through Jesup if on the Golden Isles Parkway, a highway built to provide access to Georgia's barrier islands. These are growing more popular as a beach destination.

Answer: Greenville

Greenville is the county seat of Meriwether County, but is probably the least remarkable of its towns. The city of Luthersville employed Olympic Park bombing suspect Richard Jewell as a police officer after he was determined not to be the perpetrator. Warm Springs is home to the Little White House, where Franklin D. Roosevelt died while treating his polio at the springs.

Answer: Lyons

Toombs County has its seat at Lyons, although the entire county is home to the famous Vidalia onion (named after the county's largest town). Toombs County is named for General Robert Toombs, the original Secretary of State of the Confederacy who was among the final unreconstructed Southerners at his death -- he never signed a loyalty oath and even remained in France for part of his later life to avoid apprehension by the United States.

He is also famous on the campus of the University of Georgia, from which he was expelled twice for bad behavior, the second time just before he was slated to give a commencement address.

He is said to have stood outside the Chapel, where the commencement was being held, and given his speech anyway, and it was so powerful that those attending the ceremony filed out and listened to his speech. On the day he died, the tree under which he gave his address was struck by lightning, and a monument to Toombs still stands at that place.

The stump from the tree is located in the Hall of the Demosthenian Literary Society, a debating society of which Toombs was a member during his days at the University.

Answer: Hazlehurst

Hazlehurst is the county seat of Jeff Davis County, named after the obvious choice, the President of the Confederacy. Lumber City is located just over the county line (and the Altamaha River) from Jeff Davis County; however, "lumber city" might be an appropriate name for Hazlehurst -- it's located in a major pine logging area.

Answer: Sparta

Hancock County has its county seat at Sparta, and the courthouse is a sight to behold. One of the richest counties in the state at the height of the cotton plantation era, it was also home to one of the highest number of slaves in Georgia. When slavery was abolished after the Civil War, many of the plantation owners simply fled their homes, fearing retribution. Today, Hancock has the highest percentage of African Americans of any county in Georgia - over 90 percent.

Answer: Sandersville

Sandersville is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is near the center of the kaolin-producing area of Georgia. Kaolin, a white chalky mineral, is used in dozens of consumer products, such as to create a sheen on paper and as a thickening agent.

Answer: Dallas

Dallas is the county seat of Paulding County, which was recently included in the Atlanta metropolitan area due to its growing suburbs.

Answer: Perry

Although Warner Robins is the largest city in Houston County, Perry is the county seat. Warner Robins is home to Robins Air Force Base, a major employer in central Georgia. Wondering why all of these names of Georgia places keep sounding like places you've heard of in Texas? Well, it doesn't apply to Houston (not even pronounced the same in Georgia -- House Ton), but remember that many Texas pioneers were originally Georgians, leaving their homes to take land stakes once the land began to dry up back east. You'll notice that trend in Alabama and Mississippi, as well, which were also settled (in part) by frontiersmen from Georgia.

In fact, Alabama and Mississippi were once PART of Georgia (although Georgians try not to bring that up much).

Answer: Valdosta

Although Moody Air Force Base is located in Lowndes County, the county seat is named Valdosta. Valdosta is known for having perhaps the most dominant high school football program in the state. For many consecutive years, the Valdosta High School football team was ranked nationally, despite competing in one of the toughest divisions in the state.

Answer: Woodbine

Camden County is the southeasternmost in the state, and it has its seat at Woodbine. It is home to the enchanting Cumberland Island National Seashore, where John F. Kennedy Jr. was married in a secret ceremony at a private resort. It is also home to the Kings Bay naval base, home port to many of our nation's submarines.

Answer: Lawrenceville

Lawrenceville is the county seat of Gwinnett County, named after Button Gwinnett, one of Georgia's signers of the Declaration of Independence. Gwinnett, a major bedroom community for Atlanta, is one of the most populous counties in the state.

Answer: Jonesboro

Clayton County's seat is at Jonesboro. Have you noticed yet that Georgia has a serious tendency not to place a city in the county of the same name or derivative?

Answer: Blairsville

Blairsville is the county seat of Union County. Union County and Towns County are jointly home to Brasstown Bald, the tallest mountain in Georgia at 4784 feet and part of the Appalachian chain. Young Harris is actually in nearby Towns County, and it is the hometown of Zell Miller, a former governor of Georgia and one of its sitting senators in 2003.

Answer: Dalton

Dalton is the county seat of Whitfield County and the Carpet Capital of the World. Anyone driving on I-75 through northwest Georgia can't help but see the carpet outlets in Dalton, located there because of the large carpet factory concentration in the area.

Answer: Irwinton

Irwinton is the county seat of Wilkinson County. Irwinton is often mistaken as the site of Jefferson Davis' apprehension by Union forces following the Civil War. Actually, the site is closer to Irwinville, a burg so small it does not appear on most maps, which is located in Irwin County.

Answer: Jefferson

Jefferson is the county seat of Jackson County. Jefferson is also home to the Crawford Long Birthplace and Museum. Anyone who has ever had a tooth pulled owes a debt of gratitute to Mr. Long -- he invented modern anesthesia. He is one of Georgia's two statuary representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

The other is Alexander Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederacy. Ironically, the two were close friends and roommates at the University of Georgia, where a plaque identifies the room they shared in Old College. Roommates at UGA, roommates at the Capitol!

Answer: Lakeland

If you picked Lakeland, you're right, but maybe not for the right reasons. Lake Lanier is a major man-made recreational lake in north Georgia that supplies a large amount of water to Atlanta's residents. However, Lanier County is located in far south Georgia, bordering on Florida, and only coincidentally has a county seat that indicates a relationship to a lake (that lake being Banks Lake, on which it is situated). Thanks for taking the quiz -- hope you learned something about the great State of Georgia along the way!