Pierce

Pierce County was formed on October 18, 1857, from Appling and Ware Counties. Georgia’s 120th county was named for President Franklin Pierce (1804-1869), whose term as fourteenth president had ended earlier that year. Portions of Pierce County were used to create Bacon County (1914) and Brantley County (1920). It lies at the southern end of the Appalachians in North Georgia, a region once occupied by the Cherokee Indians Indians until the tribes were forced from the Carolinas in the 1770s. In 1805, the Federal Government forced the Cherokees to accept a road through their lands to Nashville. Portions of the Old Federal Road are still visible in the County today. The 1832 Cherokee Land Lottery gave these lands to white settlers. The County was formed from portions of Cherokee and Gilmer Counties in 1853.