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Georgia · Southwest Georgia · #649
Stewart County, Georgia
In the Chattahoochee River plain of southwest Georgia, Stewart County holds two of the most striking and contrasting heritage sites in the state - Westville, a living history museum recreating antebellum Georgia village life, and Providence Canyon, the "Little Grand Canyon of Georgia" carved by soil erosion so severe it exposed 43-color geological layers over 150 feet deep.
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Office: Stewart County Sheriff’s Office – 1980 Broad Street, Lumpkin, GA 31815 | (229) 838-4311; Sheriff Larry Jones, serving Lumpkin, Richland, Omaha, Louvale, Red Hill, and surrounding rural areas.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-27 and SR-1 serve Lumpkin, the county seat; Richland is the county’s largest city.
Notes: Stewart County was created December 23, 1830, from Randolph County, named for Brigadier General Daniel Stewart, a Revolutionary War veteran also known for fighting in Georgia’s Indian Wars. Lumpkin was originally the county seat of Randolph County before becoming Stewart County’s seat upon its creation. The Roods Landing site on the Chattahoochee River, south of Omaha, is a significant pre-Columbian archaeological site; the county historically also included Fort McCreary, Fort Jones, Oconee Village, and other Native American and frontier sites.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Stewart County Courthouse – Courthouse Square, Lumpkin, GA (built 1923, Classical Revival; National Register of Historic Places since 1980), built to replace an 1895 courthouse destroyed by fire in 1922, featuring identical pedimented porticoes with Tuscan columns on both front and rear facades; it anchors the Lumpkin Commercial Historic District.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Stewart County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via stewartcountyga.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Parks Memorial Library (Lumpkin) – confirm current address/phone via stewartcountyga.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Providence Canyon State Park, genuinely nicknamed “Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon,” is a dramatic erosional landscape and one of the state’s most visited natural attractions, with canyon walls reaching depths of 150 feet. The Wims Community Center offers additional local recreation and event space.
Notes: Confirm current parks and recreation facilities via stewartcountyga.gov.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Stewart County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via stewartcountyga.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via stewartcountyga.gov; Stewart County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Stewart County Waste Management – confirm current contact via stewartcountyga.gov.
NOTES: Stewart County is the one-hundred-and-thirtieth county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The dramatic natural beauty of Providence Canyon, “Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon,” 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 Stewart County
Stewart County’s Providence Canyon State Park is one of Georgia’s most visually dramatic natural sites – and one of its most instructive environmental history lessons. The canyon system, with walls reaching 150 feet and revealing 43 distinct soil color layers, was not created by ancient geological forces but by nineteenth-century farming practices. Poor soil conservation methods in the 1800s – specifically, the failure to manage drainage on cultivated slopes – created gullies that eroded into a canyon system that now draws visitors to what locals call the “Little Grand Canyon.” The canyon is a cautionary tale in geological form.
Westville, a living history museum that recreates an 1850 Georgia village with authentic period buildings moved from across the state and staffed by costumed interpreters, is one of the finest examples of open-air museum history in the Southeast. The county’s small population and modest economy belie the significance of these two attractions in the context of Georgia heritage tourism.
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. Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Stewart County Probate Court: 1 West Main Street, Lumpkin, GA 31815 | (229) 838-6220. The Probate Court handles estate administration and guardianship.
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)
120 Bay St., Lumpkin, GA 31815
(229) 838-6220
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Stewart County Probate Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Southwest Georgia Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 4672, Albany, GA 31706, (229) 420-3204 – officially serves Stewart among 29 named Southwest Georgia counties.
Local societies
Southwest Georgia Genealogical Society (see above) is the primary regional resource; no dedicated Stewart-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
Stewart County Probate Court 1764 Broad Street, Lumpkin, GA 31815
Judge: Hon. Jimmy B. Brazier. The 1923 Stewart County Courthouse (Classical Revival) replaced an 1895 courthouse destroyed by fire in 1922; it anchors the Lumpkin Commercial Historic District. Stewart County was created December 23, 1830, named for Revolutionary War general Daniel Stewart.
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 Stewart 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
120 Bay St., Lumpkin, GA 31815
(229) 838-4131
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
120 Bay St., Lumpkin, GA 31815
(229) 838-6220
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — West Central
(229) 838-6220
GA DFCS — Stewart
(229) 838-6220
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Piedmont Columbus Regional (Columbus)
piedmont.org/columbus
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Stewart County Health Department – confirm current contact via stewartcountyga.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Lumpkin
Population: 6,000
Area: 458 sq mi
Established: 1830
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Stewart County facilities via Amazon.
