Columbia County, named for Christopher Columbus, was created by act of December 10, 1790, from Richmond County and originally included parts of McDuffie and Warren Counties. Settled by Quakers before the Revolution, it became home to many prominent Georgians. Carmel Academy and Kiokee Baptist Church, the "Mother Church" of Baptists in Georgia, were located here. The first officers of Columbia County, commissioned on December 15, 1790, were John Pearre, coroner; John Walton, surveyor; Daniel Marshall, tax collector; Anderson Crawford, tax receiver; and Edmund B. Jenkins, sheriff.