Seventy years after General James Oglethorpe settled the colony of Georgia and 27 years after that colony became one of the 13 original states, Wayne County came into being. It was created by an Act of the Legislature in 1803 after the Wilkinson Treaty was signed with the Creek Indians on January 16, 1802, which ceded part of the Tallassee Country and part of the lands within the forks of the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers to the United States. Although created in 1803, no valid lottery was done for the county until the Land Lottery Act of 1805. The 1805 Act divided the half million acres (2,000 km²) of Wayne County, formed the Tallassee Strip, and set the stage for the land lottery that would result in more formal settlement of the area. It is the second date, December 7, 1805, that the county chose to observe as the creation date. Being close to the coast and bordered by the Altamaha River, Wayne County's history includes occupation by Spanish missionaries at the time of the settlement of Saint Augustine as well as short lived French occupation. The flags of France, Spain, England, and the Confederate States of America all flew over Wayne with little success.

The county was named for Mad Anthony Wayne whose military career had made him a well known hero. When he surprised the British garrison at Stony Point on July 15, 1779, he acquired the nickname “Mad” Anthony. From one siege to another, he was a vital member of General George Washington’s staff serving well under General Nathanael Greene and coming to Georgia in 1781 in his service during the American Revolution.

Wayne Co. is available for Adoption.

Wayne is surrounded by: Brantley, Pierce, Bacon, Appling, Tattnall, Long, McIntosh and Glynn