Brooks County - Georgia

County Courthhouse

County Seat: Quitman
Incorporated:  December 11, 1858
Population: 16,450
Total Area: 493.7 Square miles

The first settlers, in what is now Brooks County, were Spanish missionaries from Florida who arrived around 1570. Brooks County was formed from parts of Lowndes and Thomas counties and was named for Preston Brooks, a member of Congress prior to the Civil War and an avid defender of state rights.

During the Civil War, the county was the main producer of food for the confederacy and became known as the "Breadbasket of the South."