Washington

Washington: Wilkes county courthouse

Washington, city, seat (1805) of Wilkes county, northeastern Georgia, U.S., roughly halfway between Athens and Augusta. First settled by the Stephen Heard family from Virginia in 1773, it was laid out in 1780 and was one of the first U.S. communities to be named in honour of George Washington. During the American Revolution the Battle of Kettle Creek (February 14, 1779), which was fought nearby, disrupted the British plans to recapture Georgia. The last Cabinet meeting of the Confederacy was held there on May 5, 1865, at the end of the American Civil War. Local residents, who call the city Washington-Wilkes (to distinguish it from Washington, D.C.), perpetuate the legend that when Union troops seized the Confederate treasury (June 1865), they missed $100,000 in gold that remains buried in the vicinity. The Washington Historical Museum has a collection of Civil War artifacts.

The city’s economy is based on textiles and lumber. Washington is also the shipping point for agriculture and dairy products, and tourism is of growing importance. J. Strom Thurmond (Clark Hill) Dam and Lake and Elijah Clark Memorial State Park are nearby. Inc. 1804. Pop. (2000) 4,295; (2010) 4,134.