In 1803, Georgia established a lottery as the fairest means of distributing land to common farmers. After gold was discovered in 1828 near Dahlonega, the state ignored federal treaties and asserted its claims on the Cherokee territory, including Cobb County. In 1832, it began disbursing these lands in 40-acre gold lots and 160-acre farm lots by drawing names of eligible white citizens from one wheel and matching them with lot numbers drawn from another. Some of the Cherokees protested and refused to abandon their properties, so lands were often passed to whites with Indians still present.