Historic Markers in Historic Louisville, Georgia

Our Downtown is home to three official Georgia Historical Markers -- honoring the old Market House and the old State Capitol, and documenting the Yazoo Fraud scandal. Originally the duty of the old Georgia Historical Commission, in 1972 the State transferred responsibility for erection and maintenance of official Georgia Historical Markers to the Department of Natural Resources. Then, in 1997, the General Assembly again transferred this responsibility -- this time to the Georgia Historical Society, where it remains today.

In addition to official Georgia Historical Markers, Downtown also features historical markers from other sources, including --

a 1986 privately placed marker honoring Downtown's Bicentennial
a 1936 marker honoring the old Market House placed jointly by the Works Progress Administration and the United Daughters of the Confederacy and
a 1931 marker placed by the Georgia Daughters of the American Revolution designating the Nancy Hart Highway

THE OLD MARKET HOUSE MARKER

Located at the Market House on Broad Street, this new marker replaced an old one designated "Slave Market." The Georgia Historical Marker program replaced the old marker in order to reflect more up-to-date research indicating that the old Market House was built during the 1790s rather than, as previously thought, in 1758. The new marker also seeks to correct the popular notion that the structure was routinely used as a slave market

THE OLD STATE CAPITOL MARKER

This marker is located on at the edge of the front lawn of the Jefferson County Courthouse, which was built in 1904 on the site of the original Capitol building.

YAZOO FRAUD MARKER

Documenting the infamous Yazoo Fraud incident of 1794. The controversy was not resolved until 1810 after the State capital was moved to Milledgeville. This marker is located on East Broad Street in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse.

LOUISVILLE BICENTENNIAL MARKER

This 1986 marker celebrates the bicentennial of the grant of the Louisville charter and explains the origin of the city's name. It was erected in memory of A.P. Little -- Louisville's City Clerk-Manager from 1922 until 1967 -- by Mr. Little's family. You will find it at the west end of the Broad Street median strip.

WPA/UDC MARKET HOUSE MARKER

This historic marker honoring the Old Market was placed under the market by the Work Progress Administration and the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1936. Note the assertion that the structure had served as a slave market.

GEORGIA DAR NANCY HART HIGHWAY MARKER

Located in the Broad Street median, this 1931 monument marks the northeast Georgia highway named in 1928 for Nancy Hart, fabled Georgia patriot and Whig spy during the American Revolution. In 1780 while living near Elberton, Georgia, Nancy Hart was accosted by a group of Tories while alone in her home. Always crafty, she plied them with whiskey, then slipped out to find a musket, shot one dead, and held the rest till help arrived. She is alleged to have sung Yankee Doodle while the other five were hanged!

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