Walton War

The Walton War was an 1804 boundary dispute between the U.S. states of North Carolina and Georgia over the twelve-mile wide strip of land called the Orphan Strip. The Orphan Strip was given to Georgia in 1802, and gave Georgia and North Carolina a shared border. Problems arose when Georgia established Walton County in the small piece of land, because the state boundaries had never been clarified and it was unclear as to whether the Orphan Strip was part of North Carolina or Georgia. The Walton War remained a dispute primarily between the settlers and the Walton County government until John Havner, a North Carolinian constable, was killed and North Carolina’s Buncombe County called in the militia. By calling in the militia, North Carolina effectively asserted authority over the territory, causing the Walton County government to fail. In 1807, after two years of dispute, a joint commission confirmed that the Orphan Strip belonged to North Carolina, at which point North Carolina extended full amnesty to previous supporters of Walton County. The Walton War officially ended in 1811 when Georgia’s own survey reiterated the 1807 commission’s findings and North Carolina took full responsibility for governing the Orphan Strip.