January 3, 1857

DOUGHERTY, Georgia

Economy, Slavery, Urban-Life/Boosterism

Different cultures define wealth in very different ways. In the minds of the citizens of Dougherty County, Georgia in the late 1850s, they were very wealthy indeed. According to the South Carolina Times in January of 1857, this plantation county claimed to be the richest County in the Union, excepting those containing the great cities. As evidence, they cited the per capita average of nine slaves valued...

August 1, 1866 to September 1, 1866

DOUGHERTY, Georgia

African-Americans

In 1865, shortly after the Civil War had ended, freedmen from Wilkes County, Georgia formed the Dougherty County Equal Rights Association (ERA). Members of the ERA felt that the Freedmen's Bureau, though helpful, could not meet all their needs, and therefore set out for themselves to secure political equality and education for blacks. Secrecy was an important part of the ERA's operation. Keeping...