Elijah Clarke was an officer during the Revolutionary War most known for his victory at the Battle of Kettle Creek in nearby Wilkes County. He led a group from Wilkes County who fought from Augusta to the Tennessee border earing Clarke a reputation as a great partisan leader. After the war the state gave Clarke a plantation formerly owned by a Tory Loyalists by the name of Thomas Waters.
After the way Clarke settled into anything but a peaceful life. In 1787 he served as General of the Militia and fought the Creeks at Jack's Creek in Walton County. In 1794, he tried to form an independent state called the Trans-Oconee Republic.
Elijah Clarke died in Augusta on December 5th, 1799. In 1801, Clarke County was formed and named for the former Revolutionary War Hero.
