City of Hephzibah - Richmond County

Richmond County, which was second on the list and thus is considered Georgia's second county, consisted of all of St. Paul Parish. The county was named for the third Duke of Richmond, Charles Lenox (1735-1806), who was British secretary of state and sympathetic to the cause of the American colonies. In 1790, Columbia County was created from the northern half of Richmond County (Ga. Laws 1790, p. 9).