| In 1802 the Act of Cession and the Yazoo Land Fraud presented
an orphaned strip of land in what is today North Carolina's Transylvania
County, which is near Brevard in the upper French Broad River Valley,
with a small section in Henderson County, NC.
Neither NC, SC or GA would claim this strip of land. Then in
1803, Northeast Georgia established it as Walton County, Georgia
and then elected officials. John Akins Sr and John Nicholson both
served as Representatives to the Georgia Legislature in Milledgeville,
which was the capitol of Georgia during that time period. John
Akins Sr. moved to Union County, GA and died there in 1863.
North Carolina soon saw the possibilities of this strip of land,
and sent in troops to claim it December 1810. This action started
what is known as the Walton War. By January 1811, the battle was
over with the result being the loss of many lives and POW's.
From January 1811 on this land was considered to be a part of
North Carolina.
Although old Walton County was only a part of Georgia for 8 years,
it is still a vital link for Northeastern GA researchers. In 1818
in the central part of Georgia, another county was formed and
named Walton County which is still in existence today. Both counties
were named for Georgia Governor George Walton, but there is no
connection between them other than their name. Please don't
confuse the two counties in your Georgia research.
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