Name derivation:Named in honor of Jonathan Bryan, early patriot who served on Royal Governor's James Wright Council and was forced to resign because of his sympathies for the movement
Acquisition:Bryan County was part of the original cession by the Creek Indians in 1733
Taken from: Chatham, Effingham and Liberty
Counties created from: Bulloch, Emanual, Candler and Evans Counties
Cities: Pembroke (county seat), Richmond Hill

Web sites:
National Register of Historic Places in Bryan County, Georgia
Bryan County, Georgia, links

Description and historyStretching from coastal Georgia inland south of Savannah, Bryan County was home to one of the earliest settlements in the United States. The Spanish Mission of San Diego was located at Genesis Point. In the late 1600's the Spanish had been driven from the area, which was inhabited by Creek Indians. Georgians quickly settled the land in the 1730's, and the county became home to large plantations.

The largest plantation, Strathy Hall, belonged to Joseph McAllister, who let the Confederate government build a fort on Genesis Point. The fort, and the state park around it still bears his name, Fort McAllister. In the 1930's Henry Ford built a winter home here restored the fort, and built the town of Richmond Hill.

Many towns in the county have had the title "county seat". Pembroke is the current one (since 1935).