What began with Barbara Seaborn as a thumbnail sketch of Columbia County, Georgia, from 1750 to the twenty-first century, soon evolved into a more detailed but select account of the people and events in the county's history, beginning with the first known inhabitants circa 4,000 B.C., to the end of the nineteenth century, with an overview of the more recent years. The more she learned and the more she realized how quickly history in general is fading from our lives, the project acquired another purpose--to show how Columbia County history was related to what was going on in the region and around the world at the same time. This is more than a county story, much less that of just one Georgia county. Columbia County's settling and settlers, challenges and achievements, are but a microcosm of all settlements, a part of the fabric of all places and the people who migrated here. It is also a specific story with outstanding players, including an abundance of state and national leaders, Georgia's only (two) signers of the U.S. Constitution, and the founders and first presidents of all three major universities in the state: Emory, Mercer, and the University of Georgia. Columbia County: born of revolution, deliberation, and grit; developed in sacrifice, conflict, and toil; sustained by knowledge, diligence, and faith. Like those who showed early settlers the way, may those who dwell here today deliver this flourishing, one-fledgling settlement in the Backcountry of Georgia to those who continue to migrate here for as long as the rivers run. --From dust jacket.