View source for Milton County, Georgia

{{Short description|Former county of Georgia, United States (1857–1931)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Milton County
| settlement_type    = Former county
| image_map          = Milton County Georgia.png
| map_caption        = Location of the county within [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], United States in 1857–1931.
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|United States}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flagicon|Georgia (U.S. state)}} [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| established_title  = Established
| established_date   = 1857
| extinct_title      = Merged
| extinct_date       = 1932
| seat_type          = [[County seat|Seat]]
| seat               = [[Alpharetta, Georgia|Alpharetta]]
| population_total   = 6,763
| population_as_of   = [[1900 United States census|1900]]
}}
[[Image:1883miltoncounty.jpg|thumb|right|Original Milton County in 1883, with ([[counterclockwise]] from lower right) [[Gwinnett County|Gwinnett]] to the southeast, [[Forsyth County, Georgia|Forsyth]] to the northeast, [[Cherokee County, Georgia|Cherokee]] to the northwest, [[Cobb County|Cobb]] to the southwest, and [[Fulton County, Georgia|Fulton]] (Hammond, now [[Sandy Springs, Georgia|Sandy Springs]]) and [[DeKalb County, Georgia|DeKalb]] ([[Chamblee, Georgia|Chamblee]] and [[Dunwoody, Georgia|Dunwoody]]) to the south. The northern edge of DeKalb also now no longer touches the river, as it did then.]]

'''Milton County''' was a [[county (United States)|county]] of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] from {{start date and age|1857|p=y}} to {{end date and age|1931|p=y}}. It was created on December 18, 1857, from parts of northeastern [[Cobb County, Georgia|Cobb]], southeastern [[Cherokee County, Georgia|Cherokee]], and southwestern [[Forsyth County, Georgia|Forsyth]] counties. The county was named for [[John Milton (Georgia politician)|John Milton]], Secretary of State of Georgia from 1777 to 1799.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Milton County | encyclopedia=New Georgia Encyclopedia | access-date=September 10, 2011 | author=Dillman, Caroline Matheny | year=2003 | url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1265 }}</ref>  [[Alpharetta, Georgia|Alpharetta]] was the [[county seat]] until the end of 1931, when Milton was merged with [[Fulton County, Georgia|Fulton County]] to save it from bankruptcy during the [[Great Depression]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://alpharetta.ga.us/index.php?p=73 |title=History |publisher=City of Alpharetta, Georgia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206235035/http://www.alpharetta.ga.us/index.php?p=73 |archive-date=2006-12-06 }}</ref> At that time, [[Campbell County, Georgia|Campbell County]], which had already gone bankrupt, was also ceded to Fulton, giving it its 70-mile (110&nbsp;km) long irregular shape along the [[Chattahoochee River]].

Following the 1932 merger, the Cobb County town of [[Roswell, Georgia|Roswell]] was also ceded to [[Fulton County, Georgia|Fulton]] four months later on May 9, 1932. The cession of Roswell (including everything east of [[Willeo Creek]]) made the new county more contiguous, though a very narrow strip (what is now the [[Sandy Springs, Georgia#Dunwoody Panhandle|Dunwoody Panhandle]] of Sandy Springs, ceded to Milton from [[DeKalb County, Georgia|DeKalb]]) actually already connected the two sections.

In 1900, there were several other [[post office]]s besides Alpharetta: Arnold, Coker, Dinsmore, Field's Cross Roads, Freemansville, McClure, Mazeppa, Ocee, Skelton, Stono, and Warsaw.  Milton totaled {{convert|147|sqmi|km2}} or 94,080 acres.  There was a population of 6,763, which was 555 more than at the previous (1890) census. Alpharetta had 310 residents; 1,529 lived in and around it. [[Methodist]]s and [[Baptists]] were the dominant religious [[Christian denomination|denominations]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U_c0AAAAIAAJ&q=dekalb+milton&pg=PA692 |title=Georgia, historical and industrial - Obediah B. Stevens, Robert F. Wright, Georgia. Dept. of Agriculture - Google Books |date=2007-06-02 |access-date=2011-10-05}}</ref>

{{US Census population 
|1860= 4602
|1870= 4284
|1880= 6261
|1890= 6208
|1900= 6763
|1910= 7239
|1920= 6885
|1930= 6730
|footnote=[https://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/ U.S. Decennial Census]
}}

==Re-creation proposals==
{{Update|section|date=July 2020}}
:''See [[Fulton County, Georgia#Secession|Secession section of Fulton County, Georgia]] for more in depth information''

Fulton County has 10 percent of the state's population, being larger than eight [[U.S. state]]s and the [[District of Columbia]].  The Fulton County school district is the only non-contiguous [[school district]] in the state, having a 17-mile (27&nbsp;km) separation ([[Atlanta Public Schools]]) between the north and south.

In recent years, some residents of north Fulton County have sought to re-create Milton County.  The proposed plan would include some of Georgia's largest cities in a new Milton County, such as [[Roswell, Georgia|Roswell]] (7th), [[Sandy Springs, Georgia|Sandy Springs]] (8th), [[Johns Creek, Georgia|Johns Creek]] (12th), [[Alpharetta]] (13th), [[Milton, Georgia|Milton]] (54th), as well as [[Mountain Park, Fulton County, Georgia|Mountain Park]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gmanet.com/Cities.aspx/|title=Georgia Cities |publisher=Georgia Municipal Association }}</ref>

A February 2009 study completed in collaboration between the University of Georgia's [[Carl Vinson Institute of Government]] and Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies gave a positive analysis of the financial viability of the proposed Milton County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cviog.uga.edu/miltoncounty/|title=Milton County Study|publisher=University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325185129/http://www.cviog.uga.edu/miltoncounty|archive-date=2010-03-25}}</ref>

A [[bill (proposed law)|bill]] before the [[Georgia General Assembly]] in 2005 that proposed the inclusion of Sandy Springs would rename the remainder of Fulton County as "Atlanta County".  The [[Georgia (U.S. state) Constitution|state's constitution]], however, now prohibits any more than 159 counties, the number it has had since the merger in 1932.  Any change would require a [[constitutional amendment]], supported by [[supermajority|two-thirds]] of each house in the General Assembly and by over half of all voters statewide in a [[referendum]].

On January 9, 2007, state Representative [[Jan Jones (Georgia politician)|Jan Jones]], who represents the house [[electoral district|district]] that includes Roswell, and representatives of adjacent districts introduced HR 12.  Without mentioning Milton County by name, HR 12 proposed to amend the state constitution to allow the legislature to re-create previous counties regardless of the 159-county limit, if such an action is ratified by voters in the areas of the proposed re-created county.  The amendment would disallow voters in the remaining parts of Fulton County from voting on the issue.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2007_08/fulltext/hr12.htm |title=House Resolution 12 |publisher=Georgia General Assembly |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113230448/http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2007_08/fulltext/hr12.htm |archive-date=2007-01-13 }}</ref>  Jones stated in November 2008 that she would reintroduce the bill in 2009, after the [[University of Georgia]]'s study of the issue was completed.

A resolution to amend the Georgia Constitution to ease the political path for resurrection of the county was reintroduced by the area's legislators in the [[150th Georgia General Assembly|2009 session]] as HR 21 and SR 392.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/sum/hr21.htm|title=HR 21 - Counties; provide for re-creation; voter approval - CA|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090323022756/http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2009_10/sum/hr21.htm|archive-date=2009-03-23}}</ref>  As of 2009 February 18, HR 21 was reported favorably out of committee in a 7–1 vote.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/02/18/milton_county_georgia.html|title=Plan to resurrect Milton County passes House panel|author=Doug Nurse|date=February 18, 2009|access-date=19 February 2009|publisher=ajc.com}}</ref> Reps. Jan Jones and Mark Burkhalter spoke in favor as well as Fulton County Commissioner Lynne Riley.  Lobbyists for Fulton County and City of Atlanta, and Atlanta Dept of Watershed Management<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.atlantawatershed.org/|title=Traffic Advisories}}</ref> Commissioner Robert Hunter spoke against.


{{As of|2010}}, Jan Jones (who lives in the new city of [[Milton, Georgia|Milton]], named for the former county) was the [[speaker of the house|speaker]] ''[[pro tempore]]'' of the Georgia House, and was expected to make a strong push for the new county.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna34756700 |title=Atlanta secession bid raises race issues |publisher=NBC News |date=2010-01-07 |access-date=2011-10-05}}</ref>  The [[constitutional amendment]] would require two-thirds of each house and half of all voters in a statewide referendum to approve the re-creation of former counties (Milton and [[Campbell County, Georgia|Campbell]]). As of October 2021 no proposals have been advanced.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alpharetta.ga.us/docs/default-source/publications/comprehensive-plan/alpharetta-comprehensive-plan-2035.pdf?sfvrsn=7492ccab_6/ |title=City of Alpharetta 2035 Comprehensive Plan |date=2017-01-01 |access-date=2021-10-10}}</ref>

==Geography==
Milton County originally bordered [[Gwinnett County|Gwinnett]] to the southeast, [[Forsyth County, Georgia|Forsyth]] to the northeast, [[Cherokee County, Georgia|Cherokee]] to the northwest, [[Cobb County|Cobb]] to the southwest, and [[DeKalb County, Georgia|DeKalb]] ([[Chamblee, Georgia|Chamblee]] and [[Dunwoody, Georgia|Dunwoody]]) to the south. Because the Roswell area was formerly located in Cobb County, there was no border between Fulton and Milton counties before 1932. The northern edge of DeKalb also now no longer touches the river, as it did then. This section, north of Dunwoody Club Drive, is now the [[Salient (geography)|panhandle]] of Sandy Springs.{{PresHead|place=Milton County, Georgia|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=11 April 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|444|183|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|53|224|51|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|231|278|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|18|387|161|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|17|320|107|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|120|182|52|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|25|263|159|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|116|308|63|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|227|428|30|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|73|619|241|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1888|Democratic|56|895|7|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1884|Democratic|57|497|0|Georgia}}
{{PresFoot|1880|Democratic|46|460|0|Georgia}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.southfultongoodthings.com/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=191:tom-lowe-response-to-milton-county-proposal&catid=21:video&Itemid=149 North Fulton Commissioner on recreating Milton County]
*[http://www.accessmilton.com Access Milton]
*[http://www.miltoncounty.com New Milton County]
*[http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/fulton/old-milton-county Old Milton County] historical marker

{{See also|List of former United States counties}}

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{{Georgia (U.S. state)}}

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[[Category:Milton County, Georgia| ]]
[[Category:Fulton County, Georgia]]
[[Category:Former counties of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Proposed counties of the United States]]
[[Category:1857 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:1931 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1857]]