Interesting Facts About Georgia

• Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River.
• Georgia has 159 counties, more than any other state east of the Mississippi.
• Two Georgia counties have two names, Ben Hill county and Jeff Davis county.
• The only county in Georgia named after a woman is Hart county, named for Nancy Hart, a patriot and warrior in the fight against the British during the Revolutionary War.
• There are 350 species of birds in Georgia.
• Georgia is home to the oldest state park in the nation.
• Georgia is home to 65 threatened and endangered plant and animal species.
• Georgia became the first state to charter a state-supported university on January 27, 1785 when the University of Georgia was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly.
• Wesleyan College in Macon was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women.
• Georgia was the 4th state to join the Union in 1776 and the 5th to join the Confederacy in 1861.
• Georgia is home to the invention of the Cherokee written alphabet.