Cobbtown began as one of the earliest settlements in Tattnall County. Named for a settler family, the original town stood about a mile north of this location, just off Highway 121 on the road now known as Gordon Collins Road. The town moved south when the Stillmore Air Line Railway came through in 1893 and a settlement called Quince was established. Quince lasted for several years until Cobbtown was incorporated on August 23, 1905. Cobbtown was reincorporated as a city on August 18, 1919, and the original location became known as "Old Cobbtown."