Midway named for the Midway River in England and located in Liberty County,
is an original Georgia County that was created by the Constitution of February
5, 1777, from the Creek Cession of May 20, 1773. It was first settled in 1752 by
a group of Puritans from South Carolina, who had migrated south from
Massachusetts in 1695.
First called the Midway District of Georgia, in 1759
it was organized as St. John's Parish and later as Liberty County.
Being the
theatre of many important events during the Revolutionary War, Liberty County
was named for American Independence. From it, all of Long and McIntosh Counties
were formed.
Famous names abound in the history of the County. Two of the
three signers of the Declaration of Independence from Georgia; two Generals of
Colonial Wars; five Governors; three U.S. Senators; educators; missionaries;
authors; judges; and many Ministers of the Gospel called Liberty County their
home.
Inland from Ossabaw Island is the National Historic District of Midway. This
oak-shaded community embodies the colonial spirit of coastal Georgia. Midway
Church, second oldest in Georgia, and its beautiful cemetery anchor a town
settled in 1752. Home to two signers of the Declaration of Independence, Midway
was burned by the British during the American Revolution.
The present church was erected in 1792, as the town was
re-established. The attendant prosperity was again interrupted when Sherman's
Yankee cavalry ransacked the area during the infamous "March to the Sea". Midway
was abandoned after the Civil War and slow to recover. The church is still used
today for weddings and special events.
The Midway Museum is an excellent hub from which to explore much of coastal
Georgia's past. To the north is the town of Richmond Hill, which captured the
fancy of Henry Ford. Fort McAllister, on the Ogeechee River, defended Savannah
until captured by Sherman's troops. To the west are the National Historic sites
of Dorchester Academy, a school for freed slaves, and the beautiful gardens of
the LeCounte-Woodmanston Plantation. The Revolutionary War Fort Morris and the
colonial town site of Sunbury lie to the southeast.
Reference:
The Coastal Georgia Experience
Liberty Connection
Links:
Liberty County
Chamber of Commerce
Article on Midway Museum from Georgia Magazine
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