Government

The City of Washington is located 90 miles east of Atlanta and centrally located between Athens and Augusta - both are a short 45-minute drive away. The City of Washington originated 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.