Jett Thomas


Jett Thomas was an American military officer, politician, and builder who served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives and participated in the early construction of the University of Georgia.

Early life

Jett Thomas was born in Culpeper, Virginia and moved with his family to Oglethorpe County, Georgia in 1784.

Career

Thomas represented Clarke County, Georgia in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1805 to 1807. He fought in the War of 1812 under Brigadier General John Floyd in the First Brigade of Georgia Militia. Jett led the Baldwin Volunteer Artillery company from Milledgeville, Georgia and was commissioned in November 1816 as a Major General in the Georgia Militia, 3rd Division, for his service in the war.
Thomas built the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the first permanent building and school at the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia. The college building was designed from the same plans as Connecticut Hall at Yale University, the alma mater of UGA's first president, Josiah Meigs. The UGA building is now known as Old College. In 1807, Jett and John B. Scott built the Old State Capitol in Milledgeville, Georgia, which was the capital of Georgia from 1807 to 1868, and that building later housed the Georgia Military College.

Death

Jett Thomas died at the age of 40 from cancer of the mouth in Washington, Georgia. He was buried in Milledgeville.

Legacy

In 1825, the Georgia General Assembly named Thomas County, Georgia in his honor. The county seat of that county, Thomasville, was also named after General Thomas the following year, and in 1825 the city of Thomaston, Georgia was named after General Thomas.