Morgan County was created in 1807 from a portion of Baldwin County. Georgia's 32nd county is named for Revolutionary War General Daniel Morgan who defeated the British at Cowpens.

The county has four municipalities: Bostwick, Buckhead, Madison and Rutledge. The largest is the county seat, Madison.

Madison has some of the finest antebellum homes in the state. During the Civil War, Madison was spared destruction by Sherman's Army because it was the home of pro-Union Senator Joshua Hill.

Hard Labor Creek State Park is located in the county. The park is named for the creek that runs through it, named by the slaves who had to work in its low lying lands. At 5,804 acres, it is the largest park in Georgia. There are two lakes--Rutledge and Brantley--within the park as a golf course.

Among the notable people who hail from Morgan County are William Tappan Thompson, a journalist and author who founded and edited the Savannah Morning News, and Lancelot Johnson, who first developed the process of pressing oil out of cottonseed.

The Madison Collegiate Institute was founded in 1849 by Baptists. It was later renamed the Georgia Female College. The Methodist Female College was also founded in Madison. These two schools were among the first women's colleges in the United States. Both were destroyed by fire and ceased operation.