Appling County was created by acts of the legislature on Dec. 15, 1818, Dec. 21, 1819, and Dec. 24, 1824 and was named for Colonel Daniel Appling, who served in the War of 1812. Baxley was chosen as the county site in 1874 and incorporated in 1875. The first site, approved by the legislature in 1828, was at Holmesville, which was chartered in 1854. Among the first county officers, who took office in 1820, were Sheriff William Carter, Clerk of Superior and Inferior Courts John McAuley, Coroner James Mixon, and Surveyor Daniel S. Whitehurst.