A Short History
Walker County was created from Murray County on Dec. 18, 1833, by an act of the General Assembly (Ga. Laws 1833, p. 52). According to that act:
“That the county of Murray, in this State, shall hereafter constitute and be divided into two counties, to be bounded as follows: — commencing at the point where the counties of Floyd and Cass join on the south side of the present county of Murray, following the dividing line of the two ranges of districts, separated by a line running north from the point above designated, until the said north line intersects the line of the State of Tennessee; and that portion of said county, lying on the east side of the above-mentioned line, shall constitute a county, and continue to be called Murray. And all that portion of said county, as at present organized, lying on the west side of said north line, shall constitute a new county to be called Walker, in honor of the late Freeman Walker, of Richmond.”
Georgia’s 90th county was named for former U.S. Senator Freeman Walker (1780-1827), an Augusta attorney who served in the U.S. Senate from 1819 to 1821.
In 1837, Dade County was created entirely from Walker County (Ga. Laws 1837, p. 65). Also, portions of Walker County were used to create Chattooga County (1838) and Catoosa County (1853). Source: The Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia
Before it was “Georgia” …
The area that is now Walker County was within the Cherokee Nation before Removal in 1838, and several named Cherokee towns or settlement areas were located there. There was a cluster of communities in what was then the Cherokee Chickamauga District. Keep in mind that Walker County was much larger when it was created in 1833, so some places described in early records as “Walker County” are now in Dade, Catoosa, Whitfield, or Chattooga Counties.
For present-day Walker County, these are the most significant Cherokee settlements:
Crawfish Town / Crawfish Springs — present-day Chickamauga.
This was one of the most significant Cherokee communities in the county. The settlement was associated with Chief Crawfish/Crayfish, and later sources also connect George Lowrey with Crawfish Town. The Cherokee courthouse for the Chickamauga District stood near Crawfish Spring, reportedly in a double-log building. The modern town of Chickamauga grew around this site. Source: New Georgia Encyclopedia
Chestnut Town / Chestnut Flat — along Peavine Creek.
This was another established Cherokee community. An early local account says its principal chief was Partridge. Peavine Creek runs through the area north and northeast of LaFayette toward the Chickamauga/Rock Spring region. Source: National Park Service.
Strawberry Town — on the headwaters of the Armuchee River.
Contemporary and later Walker County accounts describe Strawberry as a substantial Cherokee settlement, roughly ten miles east of LaFayette. This puts it in or very near the eastern part of present Walker County, in the vicinity of the Armuchee headwaters. Source: National Park Service
Duck Town — on Duck Creek in the Chattooga Valley.
The National Park Service lists this as a Cherokee settlement in early Walker County. Duck Creek and the upper Chattooga Valley run through southern Walker County toward modern Chattooga County, so the settlement appears to have been in the southern Walker/Chattooga Valley area. Source: National Park Service
White Oak Town — on Spring Creek.
White Oak Town was one of the Cherokee communities of early Walker County. Its precise modern location is less obvious from readily available published sources, but it was associated with Spring Creek. Source: National Park Service
Rossville / Poplar Spring area.
This was an important Cherokee residential and commercial center rather than necessarily a traditional “town” under one consistent name. John McDonald built the house now known as the John Ross House around 1797. John Ross later lived there, operated business interests, and served as postmaster. The settlement became known as Rossville before Cherokee removal and remains in present-day Walker County. Source: WalkerCountyGA.gov