Our Story
Settled as early as 1739 and named for local merchant William Culloden, Culloden is one of the oldest communities in Georgia's interior — still centered on a National Register historic district.
c. 1739
The first settlement at Culloden is established — one of the earliest in the interior of Georgia.
The community takes its name from William Culloden, a local merchant.
1802
A Methodist congregation is organized — among the oldest in Georgia.
1821
Land ceded by treaty with the Creek Nation is distributed in the Land Lottery, creating Monroe County.
1825
Culloden's post office opens and has served the community continuously ever since.
1830s
Culloden Academy (1830), Culloden Female Academy (1834) and Culloden Male and Female Academy (1837) make the town an early seat of learning.
April 19, 1865
The Battle of Culloden: the outnumbered Worrill Grays fight Wilson's Federal Raiders for two hours before yielding.
1887
The Georgia General Assembly incorporates the "City of Culloden," fixing the municipal limits in a one-mile radius from the central town well.
1980
The Culloden Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, the district covers Hickory Grove Road and Main, College and Orange Streets. Its buildings span Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne architecture, with a period of significance reaching from the 1800s to the 1920s.
A congregation organized in 1802 — one of Georgia's oldest Methodist churches. The first building burned before it could be used; a brick church followed in 1809, and in 1832 a two-story brick structure replaced it, built with brick hauled from Savannah by ox cart. Academy classes met downstairs while services were held upstairs.
Town founder William Culloden is buried here, near the red brick wall on the east side. The cemetery preserves the graves of the whole community, from its wealthiest residents to those who were enslaved.
A Georgia Historical Commission marker (1956) at the cemetery on Church Street off old U.S. 341 commemorates the April 19, 1865 engagement. Two soldiers of the 17th Indiana Mounted Infantry received Medals of Honor for capturing the Worrill Grays' flag in that fight.
The crossroads landmark near which William Culloden's trading post stood, at the meeting of the trails from Columbus to Indian Springs and Alabama to Augusta.
Within its first decade the town chartered three academies, drawing students from across middle Georgia and giving Culloden its reputation as an early center of education.
Historical details drawn from the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Culloden Historic District, Georgia Historical Commission markers and local histories.
