Meriwether

Genealogists should always research Troup, Haralson, and Marion Counties to find ancestors. The first courthouse was a two-story brick building constructed in 1832; damaged by a tornado in 1893; rebuilt and served until a new courthouse was built in 1904. However, in 1976 a fire destroyed much of the building except for the brick exterior walls. In a restoration begun in 1977 and completed in 1980, the courthouse was rebuilt within the original walls. The interior was enlarged to provide more office space. The courthouse rotunda was eliminated, a basement dug, and the ceiling space was reduced to allow three floors instead of two. A French bell weighing one-half ton was installed in the clock tower, and a statue of the female muse Justice was placed on top of the tower. Meriwether County was created from Troup County in 1827 by an Act of the General Assembly.24, 1827, and was named after the former Georgia congressman David Meriwether (1755-1822). The first election of county officials take place on the first Monday in Feb. 1828 at the house of Hugh W. Ector. The inferior court selected a site on land owned by Ector and named the new town Greenville after Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene. Muscogee and Troup County records, along with the adjoining Alabama counties should be researched as this county was one of the favorite migratory paths into Alabama.