Charlton County was created in 1854 from a portion of Camden County. Georgia’s 110th county was named for Robert M. Charlton of Savannah, a U.S. Senator and one of Georgia’s foremost jurists.

Charlton County contains a large part of the Stephen C. Foster State Park and the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area, which attract 350,000 visitors annually. The Okefenokee (Seminole for “Land of Quaking Earth”) Swamp is roughly 20 by 40 miles in size and takes up one-third of the county’s land. The impenetrable wilderness served as a sanctuary for the Seminoles and escaped slaves.