On July 31, 1906, the General Assembly proposed a constitutional amendment to create Ben Hill County. In that year’s general election, voters ratified the constitutional amendment on Nov. 6, 1906, which is considered the date of the county’s creation (even though a state historical marker on the Ben Hill County courthouse square incorrectly cites the earlier date of the legislature’s proposal of the amendment as the date of the county’s creation). Georgia’s 146th county was named for former Confederate and U.S. Senator Benjamin Hill (1823-1882).