Georgia’s 28th county, Wayne County, was created in 1803 from Creek Indian land. The county bears the name of a flamboyant Pennsylvania commander in the Revolutionary War, General “Mad” Anthony Wayne. Until 1850, the county bragged that it had no jails and needed none.

The county seat was moved to Jesup in 1874. The current courthouse, built in 1803, is on the National Register of Historic Places.