Crawford W. Long Museum
The birthplace of anaesthesia, at 147 Athens Street. Exhibits cover Long's life and career, plus a recreated 1840s general store and apothecary.
Jackson County, Georgia
About Jefferson
A county seat with a courthouse square, a 200-year-old school endowment, and a claim on one of the most important moments in medical history. We have been part of it since 1949.
Jefferson sits in the rolling Piedmont hills of northeast Georgia, about an hour up Interstate 85 from Atlanta and a short drive from Athens. It became the county seat of Jackson County on 24 November 1806 and took its name from President Thomas Jefferson. Before that, the site was a Native American settlement known as Thomoccoggan.
The town was first incorporated as Jeffersonville, then renamed Jeffersonton, and finally shortened to Jefferson on 30 June 1824. Two centuries later the courthouse square still anchors downtown, and Lee Street — where Tabo's has stood since 1949 — remains one of the oldest working blocks in the city.
Jefferson has grown from 9,432 people in 2010 to more than 13,000 at the 2020 census, and it is still growing. What has not changed is the small-town character the city works hard to keep.
Town history
Five dates that made Jefferson
1806 — County seat
Jefferson is designated the seat of Jackson County and named for the third president.
1818 — A school for everyone
The Georgia General Assembly charters the Jackson County Academy, a co-educational school. A later bequest from Judge William Duncan Martin makes it the Martin Institute — the first privately endowed educational institute in the United States.
1842 — Surgery without pain
On 30 March, Dr. Crawford W. Long removes a tumour from a patient's neck using sulfuric ether — the first recorded use of ether as a surgical anaesthetic anywhere in the world.
1949 — Groceries on Lee Street
The store that would become Tabo's Piggly Wiggly Xpress opens its doors, and has served Jefferson every year since.
1957 — A museum for a discovery
The Crawford W. Long Museum opens on Athens Street, with a recreated general store and an 1840s doctor's apothecary inside.
Worth the trip
What to see while you are in town
All within a few minutes of our front door on Lee Street.
The historic downtown
The Jefferson Historic District is listed on the National Register. Turn-of-the-century storefronts line Washington and College Streets around the courthouse.
Main Street events
Concerts on the Square through the warm months and the Christmas parade in December, both a short walk from the store.
Friday night at the stadium
Jefferson Memorial Stadium hosts high school football, and the Boys State Track Olympics every spring.
New to Jefferson?
Come say hello. We will point you towards the courthouse square, tell you which night the concerts run, and send you home with a slush.
Located in the heart of downtown
Here to find us
Right on Lee Street, a block from the courthouse square, with parking at the door and an ATM out front.
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- Address
- 415 Lee Street, Jefferson, GA 30549
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- Phone
- 706-367-5394
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- Open
- Mon–Sat 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Sunday 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM