County Maps

Gilmer County Militia Districts

The best information about the creation of Gilmer County is the "Historical Atlas of Georgia Counties" on the Carl Vinson Institute of Government/University of Georgia website. While we could quote and source that information here, we feel that it is a better resource for you to access the Historical Atlas directly.

Not only will you find a historical dialog about Gilmer's creation on the Carl Vinson Institute of Government site, but you will see links to maps of the area from 1832 (while it was still Cherokee Nation) until 2001.

In 1832, Gilmer County was carved from the large area of Cherokee Indian homelands that became the original Cherokee County. In 1853, a piece of Gilmer County was carved away to become Pickens County. In 1854, another piece was carved away to become Fannin County, and in 1857, yet another piece became Dawson County.

Editor's Note: My own family lived in Talking Rock, a small community that is now in Pickens County. While they settled on one piece of land along the Talking Rock Creek about 1835 and did not move until the mid 1800s, records for this family are scattered in the archives of Cherokee, Gilmer and Pickens counties. Be sure to note the time periods that your ancestors lived in this area and the evolation of county lines, and look for your folks in some or all of these places!

This is a great link to a more current map of Gilmer County that may help you in locating local landmarks, cemeteries, and churches. It is a 1996 Gilmer County DOT Map in a large JPG format.

Follow this link to an interesting Population Profile of Gilmer County, starting with the U.S. Census of 1840.