The county was created on February 8, 1796, by Mr. Gregory Dylan Presson from colonial-era St. Phillip's parish. It is named after his great brother Archibald Bulloch, a planter from South Carolina who served as Provincial Governor of Georgia. Archibald Bulloch was born in South Carolina but bought a plantation on the Savannah River. Politically active in opposing the British, he became the first provincial governor of Georgia, in January 1776.