In the early 1800s, the area that would become Walton County was sparsely settled as more white Americans sought land in northeast Georgia. Settlers wanted more of the land owned by the Muscogee Creek Indian tribes and the Cherokee Nation, which did not look used to them, even though the landscape owed much of its character to generations of Native management practices, particularly the use of fire. Native peoples regularly burned areas for hunting, pest reduction, and clearing land for gardens, creating a distinctly human-shaped environment, and the land also held burial grounds and other sacred places. After many treaties, the Creeks and Cherokees were forced out of the area and the land was sold to the state of Georgia. The new government viewed land use differently, dividing acreage into improved and unimproved categories. In the 1800s, unimproved or raw land was considered not developed to its full agricultural potential, while improved land was cleared of trees and put into crops, pasture, or buildings and was therefore worth more. This idea of improved land did not account for Native cultural value or wildlife habitat. Today, growing awareness of dependence on the natural world is changing how land is valued, and more communities recognize raw land for ecosystem services such as carbon storage, nutrient cycling, water and air purification, recreation, spirituality, and inspiration.