The first northern boundary of Georgia in the original Georgia charter of 1732 extended along the southern boundary of South Carolina, while its original southern boundary extended down into what most referred to as the "Debatable Lands."
      The "Debatable Lands" were a loosely defined neutral border between the English and the Spanish colonies. Some maps show the western boundary\y of Georgia extending all the way to the shores of Pacific Oceans.
      As a result of the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the King of England defined Georgia's western boundary as extending to the Mississippi River. He also, however, reserved all of the territory west and northwest of the heads of Georgia's rivers that emptied into the Atlantic Ocean as the Indian homeland.
      In 1770, this delineation of Indian and English lands began to change when Augusta-based Creek Indian traders announced that the Creek Indian "Head Men" were anxious to settle their outstanding bets accrued since 1761 by giving up a large portion of their tribal lands.
      Eventually, a treaty was signed with the Indians and Governor Lyman Hall on May 31, 1783 that required paid the Indians debts and ordered "a new line be drawn without delay between the present settlements of Georgia and the hunting-grounds of the Indians
      Georgia gained the lands "upon the western side of Tugalo, including the headwaters of the Oconee." Georgia now extended from the junction of the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers all the way down to the Saint Mary's River.
      During the War of 1812, Indian tribes supported different groups: the American, French, Spanish, and/or the British. Their activities came to end with the signing of the "Treaty of Fort Jackson," signed on August 14, 1814.
      Not only did this mark the end of the Creek War between United States General Andrew Jackson and the Upper Creek red Stick Chief, Menawa, but it also foretold of the end of conflicts with Native Americans associated with the War of 1812.
      It punished the Creeks for their roles as English allies during the War of 1812 by requiring them to cede some 23-million acres in the south by allowing them to keep their Chattahoochee River lands.
      The next major step in cementing Georgia's new boundaries came with the 1826 Washington Treaty. This treaty began the process of relocating the Creeks out of Georgia and into the Mississippi Territory. All that remained was a small Indian Reservation along the Alabama and Georgia state lines.
      The Wetumpka Treaty on November 15, 1827 surrendered all remaining Creek lands. Georgia formally annexed all the remaining Cherokee lands on December 20, 1828 and declared that as of June 1, 1830 all Indians would fall under the laws of the state of Georgia and not the Cherokee Nation.

      Roger Allen is a local lover of history. Allen provides a brief look at Bulloch County's historical past. E-mail Roger at rwasr1953@gmail.com