22 Interesting Georgia Facts

Published February 5, 2024

In 1733, Georgia became the 13th colony, and in 1788, it became the 4th of the new United States. It left the Union in 1861 and returned in 1865._[15]
Georgia is the third largest producer of peaches, behind California and South Carolina._[15]
Famous people from Georgia include Kanye West, Martin Luther King Jr., Julia Roberts, Jackie Robinson, Hulk Hogan, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Jimmy Carter, and Holly Hunter._[7]
Famous Georgia inventions include Coca Cola and the cotton gin._[15]

A group of English debtors led by James E. Oglethorpe first settled Georgia in 1733 and named the state after King George II

Georgia is named after King George II. He approved the colony's charter in 1732._[15]
Georgia is the number one producer of peanuts in the United States._[3]
Founded in 1836, Wesleyan College in Georgia was the first women's college in the world._[4]
Georgia would fit into Alaska 11 times._[11]
Cordele, Georgia, is known as "The Watermelon Capital of the World."_[10]
Georgia is part of what is considered to be the "Deep South," which also includes Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana. They were the first states to secede from the Union before the Civil War._[15]
Georgia is home to Stone Mountain, which is a monument for Confederate leaders Stonewall Jackson, General Robert E. Lee, and President Jefferson Davis. One of its sculptors also carved Mount Rushmore._[15]
Atlanta traffic is infamously congested. Drivers there spend an average of 82 hours a year sitting in traffic._[1]
The "Granite Capital of the World" is Elberton, Georgia. About 2/3 of all the headstones in the United States are made of granite from Elberton._[9]
The first gold rush in America was in Georgia, in 1828. The rush led to the Trail of Tears and to the Georgia Land Lotteries._[16]
Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp is the largest blackwater swamp in the United States._[13]

The Okefenokee Swamp has hardly changed since the time of the dinosaurs

Jimmy Carter is the only U.S. president from Georgia._[15]
It's illegal to keep a donkey in a bathtub in Georgia._[5]
In Georgia, it's illegal to carry an ice cream cone in your back pocket on a Sunday. This is because horse thieves once put ice cream cones in their back pockets to try to lure away horses._[2]
The only county in Georgia named after a woman is Hart County. The county's namesake, Nancy Hart, was born around 1735, stood around 6 feet tall, was the mother of 8 children, and fought during the Revolutionary War. Her Cherokee neighbors called her "Wahatche," or "war woman."_[12]

Georgia Aquarium is the only aquarium in North America that houses whale sharks, the largest fish in the world

The Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the United States and the third largest in the world._[8]
Cumberland Island, Georgia, is home to wild horses. About the size of Manhattan, it is accessible only by boat and is considered a national treasure. During the War of 1812, hundreds of slaves on the island gained their freedom by joining the British._[6]
Savannah, Georgia, is consistently ranked as one of the most haunted cities in the United States, partly due to its role in the Civil War and several yellow fever epidemics._[14]