Griffin, the county seat of Spalding County, is named for General Lewis Lawrence Griffin, the first president of the Monroe Railroad. Griffin was incorporated on December 24, 1843 when the city was within Pike County. The city is referred to as “The Iris City” because the Flint River Iris Society promotes and grows irises, with an iris show in spring and an iris sale in late summer.

Griffin is home to the Oak Hill Cemetery where many of the city’s founders and important persons are buried. Infamous Old West cowboy icon, John “Doc” Holliday, who gambled and gunslung with Wyatt Earp, was born in Griffin.