Wilkes County, Georgia
Northeast Georgia Community Guide

Wilkes County, Georgia

Created in 1777 and considered Georgia's first county, Wilkes County is rich with Revolutionary War history, gracious historic homes, and the courthouse square of Washington.

Living in Wilkes County

The Battle of Kettle Creek, a Patriot victory over Loyalist forces, was fought here on February 14, 1779, and the battlefield southwest of Washington has marked hiking trails today. In town, the 1904 Wilkes County Courthouse anchors a square lined with historic storefronts.

Washington is reputedly the first place in the United States named for George Washington, and it is home to the Mary Willis Library, Georgia's first free public library. Up the road, Tignall keeps its early-1900s main street along Hulin Avenue.

Local Highlights

  • Kettle Creek battlefield trails
  • Historic Washington courthouse square
  • Mary Willis Library
  • Callaway Historic Site near Washington

Learn more: Washington-Wilkes Chamber

Towns in Wilkes County

Get to know each community, then browse homes for sale.

The red-brick Mary Willis Library with its domed tower in Washington, Georgia
Wilkes County

Washington

Settled as Heard's Fort in 1773, Washington is reputedly the first place in the United States named for George Washington. Its courthouse square is lined with 1890s brick storefronts.

Home of the Mary Willis Library, Georgia's first free public library.

  • Mary Willis Library
  • Washington-Wilkes Historical Museum
  • Callaway Historic Site, about five miles from town
Early twentieth-century brick commercial buildings on Hulin Avenue in Tignall, Georgia
Wilkes County

Tignall

Tignall began as a crossroads settlement and grew into such a busy little town that locals nicknamed it 'Little Atlanta.' It was incorporated in 1907.

Early-1900s brick buildings still line Hulin Avenue through the heart of town.

  • Historic Hulin Avenue
  • Incorporated in 1907
  • One of three incorporated towns in Wilkes County
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Photos from Wikimedia Commons, cropped and, on postcards, color-toned; adaptations of CC BY-SA photos are shared under the same license. Wilkes County Courthouse, Washington, Georgia by TampAGS, for AGS Media, CC BY-SA 3.0; Mary Willis Library, Washington, Georgia by TampAGS, for AGS Media, CC BY-SA 3.0; Tignall-Hulin-17-ga by Brian Stansberry, CC BY 4.0.

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