Lee officials mark county’s 195th ‘birthday’

LEESBURG – In 1825 William McIntosh signed the “Treaty of Indian Springs” on the 9th of June, ceding all Muscogee lands east of the Chattahoochee River to the state of Georgia. This action not only resulted in the creation of five new Georgia counties, including Lee, but in McIntosh’s death at the hands of other Lower Creeks who opposed the treaty.

County officials celebrated the signing of that treaty recently, marking Lee’s 195th “birthday.”

The Lee County we know today is a small portion of the original county that today is divided into Randolph, Stewart, Quitman, Sumter, Terrell, Webster and parts of Marion, Schley, Chattahoochee, Macon and Clay counties.

Lee County Marshall Jim Wright explains that there were settlers in the area prior to this treaty.

“You had Jack Kennard, who was half-Scottish and half-Native American, operating his trading post on the banks of the Kinchafoonee Creek here in the late 1700s into the early 1800s,” Wright said. “He was a pretty colorful character and probably one of the first settlers in the area.

“One of the oldest settlements is actually now just inside the Worth County line called Pindertown. This was actually the edge of the frontier at that point, with the settlers living on the east bank of the Flint River and the Creeks living west of it.”

Following the signing of the treaty at Indian Springs, 200 Creeks attacked McIntosh at his plantation, “McIntosh Reserve,” killing him and others. They were enraged at his selling all their land east of The Chattahoochee River, including the sacred site of Ocmulgee, for $200,000 to be paid in installments. The treaty was negotiated with at least five other Creek Chieftains.

However, McIntosh personally received $200,000 for what they saw as his betrayal.

The county was named after Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, who distinguished himself as one of the most able guerilla fighters of the American Revolution. His reputation as a renowned equestrian gave him his nickname. Lee teamed up with Francis Marion and Andrew Pickens creating a campaign of terror against British loyalists in the Southern backcountry.

Within five years of the signing of the treaty, records indicate that 1,680 settlers were carving farms out of the region. Today the county has more than 28,000 residents living within the 362 square miles it currently encompasses.

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