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Taliaferro County was carved out of five surrounding counties: Green, Hancock, Oglethorpe, Warren, and Wilkes. It's origins actually date back to June 1, 1763, when the Creek and Cherokee Indians ceded to Governor Wright and to John Stewart, His Majesty's agent for Indian Affairs, an immense amount of land in payment for debts of $200,000.
The county is named for Colonel Benjamin Taliaferro, a Revolutionary War officer prominent in state and national affairs as a member of Congress and a candidate for President. His name (and the county's) is pronounced Tolliver in the English fashion.
Crawfordville, the county seat, was named for another presidential candidate, William H. Crawford. Member of the cabinets of two presidents, he served as Secretary of War and Minister to France. A mysterious illness made him withdraw from the presidential race in which John Adams emerged victorious.
The town, incorporated in 1826, was laid out by Herman Mercer, brother of Jesse Mercer, founder of Mercer University. That grid plan became known as the "Crawfordville Plat" and was used by many subsequent town planners in Georgia. The first official plat of the city was drawn by Henry Stewart, County Surveyor, and his brother, John.
Sharon is the second largest community in the county. Linked with the Acadians celebrated in Longfellow's "Evangeline", Roman Catholics moved into the Locust Grove area, two miles east of Sharon, in the early 1790's. They established a church and orphanage, arguably the earliest Roman Catholic settlement in Georgia. The marble tombstones of the old cemetery and the remains of that first church lighten the dark pines of Old Locust Grove.
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