City History

The City of Dublin was incorporated by the Georgia Assembly on December 9th, 1812, and made the county seat. It is said that a citizen, Jonathan Sawyer, named it Dublin after the capital of his Irish homeland.

Centrally located in Middle Georgia, Dublin, chosen as a "City of Excellence" by Georgia Trend Magazine in January 2000, is strategically situated at the junction of Interstate 16 and U.S. Highway 441 and 319. U.S. 80 provides easy access from both east and west. The network of highways makes travel pleasant to major Georgia cities. 55 Minutes to Macon, 1 hour 55 minutes to the Atlanta Airport, and 1 hour 45 minutes to Savannah. Dublin was also selected as a Signature Community in January of 2007 by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

In 2016, Dublin received a Plan First Designation from GA Dept of Community of Affairs.  This program recognizes and rewards communities that clearly demonstrate an established pattern of successfully implementing their Local Comprehensive Plan. Communities that have a history of public involvement with development of the plan, active engagement in plan implementation, and proven progress with achieving the community’s stated vision or goals. More about this program can be found on our Community Development page.

In October 2019, Dublin was named a Georgia's Exceptional Main Street community, or better known as GEMS, which represents some of the best of the best Main Street Programs that the state has to offer. These Main Street Programs have gone above and beyond expectations by making a strong and positive impact in their communities as measured by the Monthly Reporting and the Annual Assessment Process. GEMS level communities are entitled to special one on one technical services offered through the Office of Downtown Development as well as discounted training opportunities.