Ware county is located in the southeast part of Georgia, and part shares the northern border of Florida.  It is the largest county by area, 597 square miles, and is intersected by the Santilla River.  A large part of the county lies with in the Okefenokee Swamp.  It  has 306 square miles of water.  It was created December 15, 1864 by the Georgia General Assembly and named for Nicholas Ware, who was the mayor of  Augusta from 1819 to 1821, and from 1821 until his death in 1824, he was the states Senator in Congress.