Name derivation: Named in honor of William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham, the same man for whom the city of Pittsburg is named.
Acquisition: Creek cession of May 21, 1733
Taken from: Original county; Parishes of St. Philip and Christ Church before the Revolution.
Counties created from: Bryan County, Georgia
Cities: Savannah (county seat), Bloomingdale, Thunderbolt, Tybee Island, Isle of Hope (area), Garden City, Pooler, Port Wentworth, Bloomingdale, Vernonburg
Web sites:
National Register of Historic Places in Chatham County, Georgia
Chatham County, Georgia, links
City of Savannah


History and description: Georgia's Chatham County was organized from two earlier political divisions, Christ Church Parish and a portion of St. Phillip's Parish. Chatham was the site of the first landing of English settlers who established the colony of Georgia in 1733 (downtown Savannah). The initial settlement grew to 1,100 people when the trustees created the county of Savannah in 1741. William Stevens was put in charge of the city, while James Oglethorpe led Frederica. When Oglethorpe departed the state once again became a single political body. When the state was once again broken into parishes in 1757, today's Chatham County was entirely contained in Christ Church Parish.

Chatham was the center of Revolutionary Georgia, and fell under British control in 1778. A battle in 1779 saw the defeat of American forces, and Chatham stayed under the control of Britain until forces under Royal Governor James Wright fled with him in 1782. Plantations were a major economic force until The Civil War. After the war Savannah grew not only as a port, but as a manufacturing city. One of the major products is paper.