I now turn to the political history of Jefferson ton . In 1798, the Legislature established the town of Jefferson (notice the difference in spelling). This was laid out on the property of Joseph Coones. Twenty-five acres, in half acre lots, were to be sold to the highest bidders. If today you were in Jeffersonton, the original Jefferson would be the south part. At about the same time, about one mile to the south down the main road, the town of Springfield was also established. It was on twenty acres of land belonging to John Spilman.
Two adjacent towns were not enough. In the year 1807, the General Assembly saw fit to establish a third town within a stone's throw of Jefferson. The new town was called Wealsborough. The remains of it constitute the upper or northern part of the present town of Jeffersonton. Wealsborough was laid out on ten acres of land belonging to Martin Fishback, Mourning Hurt, Richard Mauzy, John Lampkin, and James Newman. Apparently the existence of two other villages within a mile and a half of Wealsborough did not discourage the promoters or the buyers who paid as high as $350 for a lot in 1807.
Between Wealsborough and Jefferson, there was some undeveloped land, and still is (I think). Each of the two towns developed to a certain extent. The post office would not provide two offices. The post office gave the locality it served the name Jeffersonton. Actually, the post office came before Wealsborough did so it was located in Jefferson. In the course of time, the name Jeffersonton became the name for the entire developed area. The new name was not immediate. Even after the Civil War, the names Jefferson and Wealsborough were still used.
The first postmaster for Jeffersonton was Joseph Coones, who was appointed in 1799. In 1825, the Assembly appointed new Trustees for the town of Jefferson, and then did a similar thing for Wealsborough in 1835. It took a while before the name Jeffersonton became fixed. The Baptist Church minutes speak of the Baptist Church in Wealsboro, then in Jefferson, and then in Jeffersonton. The church didn't move; only the designation changed.
In 1835, the town (Jeffersonton) was said to be on the Washington to Milledgeville, Georgia, road. It had one street with 43 dwelling houses, 1 Baptist house of worship, 1 Female Association for the purpose of educating young men for the ministry [sounds interesting], 1 elementary school with 50 students, 3 mercantile stores, 3 taverns, 1 tan yard, 1 hat manufactory, 3 boot and shoe factories, 1 wagon and carriage maker, and 3 house carpenters. The population was 300, of whom two were doctors.
(08 Apr 03)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.