Politics
Politics

New namesake for Tift County

By Kristina Torres
March 12, 2013

It’s not exactly the Hatfields and McCoys, but the Tifts of Tift County finally have the right man.

House Resolution 281 formally recognizes Tift County’s namesake as Henry Harding Tift. Henry Tift was an entrepreneur, philanthropist and mayor of Tifton who played a key role in the area eventually organized into Tift County in 1905.

The recognition, given final passage Tuesday by the state Senate, corrects historical records. It originally was not Henry Tift but his uncle, Nelson Tift, who was considered Tift County’s namesake. The problem? Nelson Tift never lived in Tift County but was from Dougherty County instead.

HR 281 passed the Senate unanimously. It passed the House unanimously last month.

About the Author

Kristina Torres
More Stories

Keep Reading

Shanette Williams (center) speaks during a fundraising event Saturday, May 17, 2025, for Planned Parenthood Southeast in Buckhead. Williams' daughter, Amber Nicole Thurman, died in 2022 from abortion-related complications. She was joined on stage by Turiya Tomlin-Randall (right), the older sister of Candi Miller, who also died in 2022 from abortion-related complications. (Maya T. Prabhu/AJC)

Credit: Maya Prabhu

‘Grief and loss’ unite mom, sister of women who died after incomplete abortions

Candi Miller and Amber Nicole Thurman died in 2022 aftert incomplete abortions. Their sister and mother, respectively, have started a podcast called "We Talk About It"

2h ago

Clinic bombing reminds Georgia reproductive health staff that job isn’t safe

State Rep. Esther Panitch says of attacks on clinics: "You’d think the ability to create life would bring people together, but even that tears people apart."

53m ago

Family: Georgia woman kept on life support to comply with abortion law

The 30-year-old nurse was declared brain-dead by physicians three months ago, mother told an Atlanta television station.

The Latest

Caution tape surrounds the scene after an explosion at the American Reproductive Centers clinic in Palm Springs, Calif., on Saturday, May, 17, 2025. One person is dead after the bomb exploded, damaging buildings and leaving windows shattered in restaurants, shops and apartment buildings across several blocks in the city’s downtown. (Kyle Grillot/The New York Times)

Credit: NYT

Clinic bombing reminds Georgia reproductive health staff that job isn’t safe

53m ago

‘Grief and loss’ unite mom, sister of women who died after incomplete abortions

2h ago

Andrew Clyde joins rebel Republicans in derailing Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

Featured

Three people were shot to death and six others were wounded early Sunday outside of a bar on Log Cabin Drive on Macon's west side, officials said. (Joe Kovac Jr./AJC)

Credit: Joe Kovac

3 dead, 6 wounded in mass shooting outside Macon bar

Bibb County sheriff's officials have not said if they have identified a suspect in the fatal shooting outside the Midtown Daiquiri Bar and Grill on Macon's west side

EPA to roll back regulations on some toxic chemicals found in Georgia

Federal data reveals 48 Georgia public water systems have reported the presence of these “forever chemicals.”

Gridlock Guy: How quick response mitigated one of Atlanta’s most memorable accidents

On May 8, 2015, a plane with four people on board crashed onto Interstate 285, killing all four but miraculously no one on the ground was injured.