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Georgia · Middle Georgia · #626
Lamar County, Georgia
On the I-75 corridor in middle Georgia between Atlanta and Macon, Barnesville anchors Lamar County with Gordon State College and a historic main street that has made the city a modest but functional hub for the surrounding agricultural communities of the Georgia Piedmont.
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Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Lamar County Sheriff’s Office – 121 Roberta Drive, Barnesville, GA 30204 | Non-emergency (770) 358-5159 | Fax (770) 358-5195; Sheriff Brad White. A full-service law enforcement agency covering Lamar County, the City of Barnesville, and the City of Milner, dispatching police, fire, and EMS calls and operating the county jail.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-75 and US-341 serve Barnesville, the county seat and largest city, roughly 60 miles south of Atlanta and 37 miles northwest of Macon, just outside the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Notes: Lamar County was created August 17, 1920, from parts of Monroe and Pike Counties, following four separate legislative appeals by Barnesville officials (in 1869, 1906, 1912, and 1916) before finally succeeding. It is named for Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, a Putnam County, Georgia, native who became a Confederate Army colonel, U.S. Senator representing Mississippi, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Barnesville itself dates to 1826 (as “Barnes’ Store”), was platted in 1831, and incorporated in 1854.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Lamar County Courthouse – Thomaston Street, Barnesville, GA (built 1931, Classical Revival, architect Eugene C. Wachendorff; National Register of Historic Places since 1980).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Lamar County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via lamarcountyga.com.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Lamar County Public Library (Barnesville) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Barnesville, nicknamed “Buggy Town,” was genuinely known as the “Buggy Capital of the South” in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with local factories producing an estimated 9,000-12,000 buggies annually at their peak. The town celebrates this heritage each September with “Buggy Days,” a parade featuring original Barnesville-made buggies and a crafts festival drawing thousands of visitors.
Notes: Lamar County’s rolling landscape, drained by streams feeding the Flint and Ocmulgee Rivers, supports significant pecan and peach agriculture.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Lamar County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via lamarcountyga.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via lamarcountyga.com; Lamar County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Lamar County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via lamarcountyga.com.
NOTES: Lamar County is the eighty-seventh county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, colorful “Buggy Capital of the South” heritage of Barnesville, celebrated annually with Buggy Days, is among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Lamar County
Lamar County’s Barnesville carries the distinction of hosting Gordon State College – a University System of Georgia two-year and four-year institution with about 5,000 students that gives the county a higher education anchor well above what its small population would otherwise support. The college’s presence creates some economic diversity in a county that is otherwise primarily agricultural and rural-residential. Barnesville’s historic downtown, while modest, has a preserved Victorian-era commercial character, and the annual Barnesville Buggy Days festival celebrates the city’s history as a major horse-drawn carriage manufacturing center in the late nineteenth century.
The county’s I-75 access attracts some distribution and logistics development, and the commuter corridor to Atlanta has brought modest residential growth. The county’s agricultural economy – timber, cattle, poultry – is the rural foundation. Conservation Use land enrollment is important for many Lamar County landowners.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value. Property owners have 45 days from the notice of assessment to appeal to the Board of Assessors. Georgia offers school tax exemptions for seniors 62 and older. Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Middle Georgia Area Agency on Aging
277 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Macon, GA 31201
Phone: (478) 751-6465
Senior Services
Middle Georgia Area Agency on Aging
277 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Macon, GA 31201
Phone: (478) 751-6465
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT (Records, Marriage Licenses)
326 Thomaston St., Barnesville, GA 30204
(770) 358-5145
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Probate Court of Lamar County (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Central Georgia Genealogical Society (Warner Robins) serves Lamar among 27 contiguous counties.
Local societies
Central Georgia Genealogical Society (see above) is the primary regional resource; no dedicated Lamar-County-only genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Probate Court of Lamar County 326 Thomaston Street, Barnesville, GA 30204 (770) 358-1483
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Georgia is NOT a Uniform Probate Code state and doesn’t use a simple dollar-threshold “small estate affidavit” like many states. Instead it offers several distinct shortcuts, each suited to a different situation:
Banking Affidavit – for intestate estates with less than $15,000 in bank deposits and no other assets requiring administration. No court filing needed at all.
No Administration Necessary (Standard Form 9) – available when all heirs agree on how to divide the property and there are no debts (or all creditors consent). Can transfer real estate without full administration, but requires unanimous heir agreement – any disagreement forces the estate into formal probate.
Year’s Support (Standard Form 10, O.C.G.A. Chapter 53-3) – a distinctively Georgia protection: the surviving spouse and minor children can petition for property sufficient to maintain their standard of living for 12 months from the date of death. This takes priority over virtually all creditor claims and even most specific bequests in the will. Must be filed within 24 months of death. No bond, no inventory filing, no creditor claims period required – the fastest and simplest path when it applies.
Formal Administration – Petition to Probate Will (Common Form or Solemn Form) or Petition for Letters of Administration, when none of the above shortcuts fit.
COMMON FORM VS. SOLEMN FORM (a distinctively Georgia choice)
Common Form: the executor files the will with supporting evidence and the court admits it without notifying all heirs – faster and cheaper, but leaves a 4-year window during which interested parties can challenge the will.
Solemn Form (Standard Form 5): requires notice to all heirs; once granted, it’s final and binding much sooner, closing off future challenges.
If formal administration is needed
File the appropriate petition with the Lamar County Probate Court – Petition to Probate Will (Common or Solemn Form) if there’s a will, or Petition for Letters of Administration if not.
The court issues a citation, published in the county’s legal organ once a week for four weeks (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-2), giving interested parties a chance to object.
After the publication period, attend the hearing for appointment as personal representative.
Once appointed, the court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one).
Send certified copies of the death certificate and Letters to all banks, brokerages, insurers, and retirement custodians; request date-of-death valuations and begin marshaling assets.
Obtain an EIN via IRS Form SS-4 and open an estate checking account.
Prepare an inventory of assets with date-of-death fair market values; the court may require this under O.C.G.A. § 53-7-30.
Pay debts and expenses in Georgia’s priority order (see below), then distribute remaining assets per the will or intestacy law.
What it costs
No Georgia state estate tax or inheritance tax.
Court filing fees typically range $100–$300 depending on the county.
Certified copies of Letters typically cost around $10 each.
Indigent petitioners may file an Affidavit of Indigency to request a fee waiver.
E-filing is available and encouraged statewide through platforms like PeachCourt or Odyssey eFileGA.
DEBT PRIORITY ORDER IF THE ESTATE CAN’T PAY EVERYTHING (O.C.G.A. §§ 53-3-1, 53-7-40)
Year’s Support for surviving spouse and minor children under 18.
Funeral expenses.
Costs of probate administration.
Expenses of the decedent’s last illness.
Taxes.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
326 Thomaston St., Barnesville, GA 30204
(770) 358-5146
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
326 Thomaston St., Barnesville, GA 30204
(770) 358-5142
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — Central
(770) 358-1742
GA DFCS — Lamar
(770) 358-1744
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Lamar County Health Department – confirm current contact via lamarcountyga.com.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Barnesville
Population: 19,000
Area: 186 sq mi
Established: 1920
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Lamar County facilities via Amazon.
