History |
Turner County was created in 1905 from parts of Dooly, Irwin, Wilcox and Worth counties. Georgia's 143rd county was named after Henry Gray Turner, a captain in the Confederate Army who was captured at Gettysburg and later served in the state legislature, on the State Supreme Court, and in the U.S. Congress.
Rebecca was named for the daughter of a prominent local family, while Sycamore was named for the tree. Ashburn was named for W.W. Ashburn who, in 1890, purchased a portion of the future town site for ten dollars.
Until the 1920s, when the boll weevil struck, Turner County farmers planted over 30,000 acres of cotton. Unable to continue growing cotton, Turner County instituted Georgia's first "cow-hog-hen" programs, beginning an age of diversified farming that spread throughout the state.
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Points of Interest |
Shingler Heights, five blocks of residential buildings and one institutional building in Ashburn, was constructed from 1895 to 1937. The district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its most elaborate structure is "Sparrow's Nest," built by a local turpentine and agriculture entrepreneur, J.S. Shingler. Many of the homes in the historic district were built by Shingler's relatives.
Other entries on the National Register are the Ashburn Heights-Hudson College Avenue area and the Ashburn Commercial Business District.
Turner County is home to several endangered species on the Federal Protected list including the Florida Panther, the Indigo Snake, and the Southern Bald Eagle.
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