Barrow County was created in 1914 to settle a dispute among three counties: Gwinnett, Walton and Jackson. The City of Winder, the county seat, was located at the juncture of the three counties, and residents were plagued with disputed taxes and business affairs related to uncertain boundaries. The state legislature solved the problems by creating a county around Winder, formerly known as "Jug Tavern," and naming it for David Crenshaw Barrow, chancellor and popular instructor at the University of Georgia.