Named For General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, who built the fort at Fort Gaines County Seat of Clay County Notable Natural Feature Its location on the Chattahoochee River. Because of this geography, the city became a shipping point for cotton planters on both sides of the Chattahoochee sending their cargo downriver to Apalachicola, Florida. It remained a key staging point on the Chattahoochee until about 1858 when railroads replaced rivers as transportation corridors In History The city grew up around a fort established to protect settlers during the Creek Indian Wars Don't Miss The do-it-yourself walking tour of the city and bluff Nearby Lake Walter F.George; George T. Bagby State Park and Lodge