Our part of Gwinnett County has always had its own unique identity versus the part of the county centralized around the county seat of Lawrenceville. Buford, for many years, dominated the commerce and politics of the western part of the county. Up until the mid-1900s, two Sheriffs operated in Gwinnett County until it was declared unconstitutional by the Georgia Supreme Court. The Sheriff for western Gwinnett County was based in Buford, and it was not uncommon for him to be active in the Sugar Hill area on moonshine raids and other criminal activities requiring special knowledge and attention.
It was a common feeling among locals, being geographically far away from the county seat, that the communities that included Sugar Hill, Suwanee and Buford could better take care of themselves. This independent streak was a common thread, and it was no more apparent than in 1905 when citizens in the Sugar Hill (Militia) District began the conversation about seceding from Gwinnett County.
At the turn of the 20th Century, Gwinnett County was a lot different than it is today. Despite being predominantly agricultural, Buford was thriving with industry. It became a boom town, in large part, because of the Bona Allen family and the opening of a train depot in the late 1800s.
The Sugar Hill community, even though it was not incorporated until 1939, benefited from the successes of its more established neighbor. Although mostly agricultural, many of Sugar Hill’s residents were involved in the leather trade that defined Buford’s economy. Lawrenceville and Buford evolved very differently, and the cities developed their own identities that are distinct even in modern times.
Counties in Georgia are creatures of the Georgia General Assembly, which means that they must be created through a sometimes politically charged legislative process. Georgia’s Constitution currently caps the number of counties at 159. It is so difficult that Peach County, created in 1924 from parts of Houston and Macon County, was the last to come into existence.
History is quiet on why, but residents of Buford and the surrounding area began the process of creating their own county in 1905. An article in The Atlanta Constitution in February of that year states that people in the territory moved “quietly and unostentatiously” toward the creation of a new county centered around Buford. It was proposed to be called Hill County. As common throughout the long history of Georgia, most counties are named after men of significance. The article references a former Confederate and U.S. Senator named Benjamin Harvey Hill, but it also alludes back to the Sugar Hill (Militia) District that dated back to before the Civil War.
Despite the name, and the name was the least important aspect of the decision, there was some undercurrent that caused residents to desire their own county. The last sentence of the article, perhaps, provides a reason when it says that: “But the people are not partial as to the name. It is the conveniences that a new county will afford that are desired.”
Hill County never formed and, because nobody alive today was there during that time, it is difficult to know why its creation was not successful. At its creation, it would have had a likely 3,000 residents. One third of those residents would have come from the area that included Buford and the Sugar Hill community. It may have not made political sense to create Hill County, or the financial burdens of a new county may have outweighed the unnamed conveniences. We will never know all the answers, but we can be certain that the future of the Sugar Hill community from that time forward was changed.
Brandon Hembree is mayor of Sugar Hill. He has been a city resident for more than 20 years, and he uses his interest in history to detail the rich past of the local area.
FEATURED PHOTO: An article in The Atlanta Constitution in February 1905 states that people in the territory moved “quietly and unostentatiously” toward the creation of a new county centered around Buford to be named Hill County. The county never formed, and the cities of Buford and Sugar Hill remained part of Gwinnett County. Image courtesy of Brandon Hembree.
