Cobbham Community
McDuffie Turns 150
Join us in celebrating the 150th birthday of McDuffie County! We will be sharing historic highlights from the county (like the one below) over the next year.
Ignatius Few House Cobbham The home place of Ignatius Few destroyed by fire in 1977 He was the first president of Emory University via Vanishing Georgia.
Cobbham was for a number of years a post office in McDuffie County, but the office was discontinued on account of the Rural Free Delivery of mail to the people of this section. It is situated about ten miles almost due north of Thomson, near the line of Columbia County. In fact, included in the community of Cobbham is a portion of both McDuffie and Columbia Counties. While Cobbham was a village that never attained any size, its post office and school were its chief attainment in this direction, and maybe a few stores. It has quite a significant historical background. It was the county seat of Columbia County, when it was first cut off from Richmond County in 1790, but because it was not centrally located did not remain as such long. We find from Columbia County records that in August of 1791 “The Court House and Jail at Cobbs place are finished and ready for occupancy.” The description of the property is that it is on the waters of Cane Creek and that the land was originally granted to William McMurran on November 21, 1769, and after his death owned by John McMurran his son and conveyed by him to William Rousseau.
Cobbham received its name from Capt. Thomas Cobb, an officer of the Revolution, who came to Georgia at the close of the war and purchased extensive tracts of land in Columbia County, and a large part of said (that) land was cut off into McDuffie County containing the site of his home. He is doubtless buried somewhere near the old home, but efforts to locate his grave have been unsuccessful. He is said to have reached the age of one hundred and ten years and died possessed of large holdings. His will, which is on file in Columbia County, is dated April 29, 1831.
Notable resident: Ignatius Alonso Few, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, was the first chairman of the Emory Board of Trustees and the first president of Emory College. Born in Columbia County, Georgia, Few studied briefly at Princeton and in New York City before returning to Georgia to study law in Augusta. At this time, Few was a passionate advocate for philosophical rationalism and was not hesitant to engage in lengthy debates on one of his favorite subjects, the “grounds for religious beliefs.”
More stories about McDuffie County can be found in the book: McDuffie County, Celebrating 150 Years: Over 200 sketches and stories of the people and places of McDuffie County in celebration of its founding on October 18, 1870. Compiled by Lewis & Joann Smith.
More historic images of McDuffie County can be found in the book: Images of America, McDuffie County by Chase Beggs.