Jeannette Rankin, a native of Montana, became the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916 and later purchased property in Georgia, first in Bogart and then in Watksinsville. After her death in 1973, proceeds from the sale of her Watkinsville land were used in 1976 to found the Jeannette Rankin Foundation, which is headquartered in Athens. Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, George Grantham Bain Collection, #LC-DIG-ggbain-23835.

Jesse Mercer was a prominent Baptist pastor, philanthropist, and publisher. He focused much of his efforts toward promoting cooperation among Baptists in antebellum Georgia, particularly for the support of religious benevolence and ministerial education. Mercer University in Macon is named for him. Mercer was born in Halifax County, North Carolina, on December 16, 1769. He migrated to Georgia with his family when he was a child. Mercer converted to Christianity in July 1787, and his minister father, Silas Mercer, baptized him into the membership of Phillips Mill Baptist Church in Wilkes County.

The new free-standing facility for the John B. Amos Cancer Center of the Columbus Regional Healthcare System was dedicated in 2004. The center was established through an endowment provided by Aflac cofounder John Amos in 1990; he died of lung cancer that same year. Courtesy of Aflac The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print.

Lake Rabun was created in 1915 by the Georgia Power Company. Today, residents enjoy water sports, such as jet-skiing, at the Rabun County lake. Photograph from Wikimedia Commons The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print. All requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource must be submitted to the rights holder.

Lawrenceville is the seat of Gwinnett County, one of the fastest-growing in the United States. The city is thirty-one miles northeast of Atlanta, with an area of thirteen square miles. History Gwinnett County, once Creek Indian territory, was created in 1818, before the land had been surveyed and distributed in a land lottery. When the lottery was held in 1820, county officials chose a site near the geographic center of the county for the seat, and Elisha Winn, an inferior court judge, traveled to Milledgeville, then the state capital, to buy the 250-acre property for $200.