About Washington
About Washington On January 23, 1780, in the midst of the hard and bitter fighting of the Revolution, the Executive Council ordered the town laid out in Wilkes County, Georgia. The council specified that it was to be called Washington, making this the first town in the United States named for George Washington. The town was confirmed by the Commander-in-Chief of the American armies, as the first city chartered in his name, on his visit to Georgia in 1791. Washington, Georgia, is located in Wilkes County, 100 miles east of Atlanta, between Athens and Augusta. As of the census of 2000, there were 4,295 people, 1,778 households, and 1,162 families residing in the city. The population density was 547.5 people per square mile. There were 1,974 housing units at an average density of 251.6 per square mile. The city of Washington claims to be first in many historical events: First city in the nation to be established in the name of George Washington, ...