History

The county is named for William Yates Atkinson, who served as Governor and Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives.

Willacoochee is home to McCraine's Turpentine Still, a preserved wood-burning turpentine still of 19th-century design that operated from 1936 to 1942.

Atkinson County, created from Clinch and Coffee counties, has a county courthouse that was constructed in 1921.

Pearson, was named to honor Benjah Pearson who served in the Indian War of 1838.

Points of Interest

The Minnie F. Corbitt Memorial Museum was established in 1955 in the first residence built in Pearson (1873). It is dedicated to the memory of South Georgia pioneers and their way of life.

The city of Willacoochee is home of the "No Name Bar," fondly referred to by the late Lewis Grizzard in many of his columns.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Pearson was known as the "Chess Capital" of the state. The town hosted four consecutive championships, and Pearson residents made up one-fourth of the membership of the Georgia Chess Association.

Willacoochee Library

Minnie Corbett Museum