Changes in the Governments (1915-1917)
The Liberty County Board of Commissioners and the position of county treasurer were created by the General Assembly in 1871. On August 15, 1915, the General Assembly abolished the position of county treasurer, and authorized the county commissioners to select some incorporated bank in Liberty County as their depository and disbursing agent.
There were three banks in Liberty County at that time. The Citizens Bank of Liberty County and the Liberty Banking Company were at Ludowici. Neither bank was incorporated. The Hinesville Bank was incorporated, so the county commissioners named it their depository and disbursing agent.
The Liberty County Court was abolished, and the Hinesville City Court established, by the General Assembly on August 9, 1916. It was not, however, until August 16,1916, that the “Town of Hinesville” was incorporated by the General Assembly as the “City of Hinesville.” The General Assembly named Joseph B. Fraser Sr. as mayor, and Robert Sidney Hendry, Carl P. Brewer, Floyd E. Miller, J. Madison Smith, and Wallace F. Mills as member of a city council, until an election of such officials could be held the following December.
It was on August 8, 1917, that the General Assembly enacted a law which specified that the Liberty County Board of Commissioners would consist of five members, each representing five newly established road districts. The first road district was composed of the 1458th, 1459th, and the 15th Militia Districts. The third road district was composed of the 16th, 1672nd, and the 1756th Militia Districts. The fifth road district was composed of the 24th and the 1544th Militia Districts.
The General Assembly named five persons to represent each road district on the Liberty County Board of Commissioners. They were Abial F. Winn, first road district; J.B. Clark, second road district; J.J. Dasher, third road district; S.H. Howard, fourth road district; and T.P. Gordon, fifth road district. The law said they would serve in office until an election of county commissioners was held in November 1918, and that the elected commissioners would assume office on January 1, 1919.
The 1917 law specified that the county commissioners would be elected by the qualified voters of Liberty County, but “one of said commissioners shall be a resident of and be elected from each of the road districts, each road district being thus represented on said board respectively.” Residents of road districts receiving the greatest number of votes in the entire county, the law said, would be declared elected to represent his district.
The law stated that if a vacancy occurred during the term of service of a county commissioner, the Judge of the Liberty County Superior Court would appoint a replacement to fill his unexpired term. It also said the county commissioners would be paid for not more than 25 days a year at a rate to be determined by the commissioners themselves, and authorized them to appoint a clerk who would receive a salary of $30 a month, and a county attorney who would receive a salary of $25 a month