text:
Wilkinson County, Georgia

Wilkinson County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,877. The county seat is Irwinton. The county was created on May 11, 1803, and named for General James Wilkinson (1757–1825).

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 452 sqmi, of which 447 sqmi is land and 4.6 sqmi (1.0%) is water. The county is located mainly in the upper Atlantic coastal plain region of the state, but does have some rolling hills due to its close proximity to the fall line.

The entirety of Wilkinson County is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.

Major highways

 * US 80.svg U.S. Route 80
 * US 441.svg U.S. Route 441
 * Georgia 18.svg State Route 18
 * Georgia 18 Spur.svg State Route 18 Spur
 * Georgia 19.svg State Route 19
 * Georgia 29.svg State Route 29
 * Georgia 57.svg State Route 57
 * Georgia 96.svg State Route 96
 * Georgia 112.svg State Route 112
 * Georgia 243.svg State Route 243
 * Georgia 540.svg State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)

Adjacent counties

 * Baldwin County (north)
 * Bleckley County (south)
 * Washington County (northeast)
 * Johnson County (east)
 * Laurens County (southeast)
 * Twiggs County (southwest)
 * Jones County (northwest)

Cities

 * Allentown
 * Gordon
 * Irwinton (county seat)
 * Danville
 * Ivey
 * McIntyre
 * Toomsboro

Unincorporated communities

 * Nicklesville
 * Stephensville

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,877 people, 3,185 households, and 2,079 families residing in the county.

Politics
Wilkinson County voted for every Democratic presidential nominee from 1828 to 1960; note that 1828 was the first year in which Georgia held a popular vote for presidential electors and also the first year in which the Democratic Party ran a presidential candidate. However, there was at least one example of Republican success in the county during Reconstruction: in the 1868 gubernatorial election, which was held in April, the Republican ticket swept the county, with Rufus Bullock receiving 59% of the vote; the Republican candidate for county ordinary won by just 1.7%. Decades later, in the 1948 presidential election Harry Truman only won the county by one vote from States’ Rights candidate Strom Thurmond.

In 1964, Wilkinson County voted overwhelmingly for Barry Goldwater, the first Republican presidential nominee to win the county. It also delivered large victories to segregationist American Independent Party candidate George Wallace and Republican Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972 respectively. In the presidential elections of both 1976 and 1980, former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, won the county easily.

In 1984, Democrat Walter Mondale won the county by a 9% margin, which was only the second presidential result in the county within 30% since 1912. This was also the first time since 1848, when Whig Zachary Taylor narrowly won Georgia, that the county voted for a presidential candidate who did not win the state. In the following three presidential elections, Wilkinson continued to give Democratic candidates between 53% and 59% of the vote.

In 2000, Al Gore won Wilkinson County by a margin of 1.3%, or 84 votes, receiving 50.4% to George W. Bush's 48.1%. The county then voted for all three Republican nominees from 2004 to 2012, each time by a margin of less than 1.5%. In 2016, it voted for Donald Trump by a margin of just over 10%. Wilkinson was thus one of many counties in Georgia's historic black belt that demonstrated a significant swing in favor of Republican presidential candidates from 2012 to 2016. Similarly, the county swung from a 0.25% victory for the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial nominee to an 11.63% victory for the 2018 Republican gubernatorial nominee.

Even as it has become more favorable to Republicans at the state and federal level, Wilkinson's county government continued to be dominated by Democrats up until the 2020s. For most of this century the Democratic primary was often tantamount to election. In 2016, Democrats won all six county executive offices without Republican opposition, as well as the three school board seats up for election that year. While the Republican district attorney for the district that includes Wilkinson was also unopposed, he received only 65.6% of ballots cast, compared to at least 72.4% for each unopposed Democratic countywide official. In 2018, Democratic incumbents were reelected unopposed to two of the county's five commission seats unopposed and to a third seat by a 25% margin, as well as winning the race for commission chair unopposed. The Democratic candidate in the open first commission district lost, but by just 2.7%. Both school board members up that year were unopposed Democratic incumbents.

Similarly, the overwhelming majority of primary voters in Wilkinson have chosen Democratic ballots even in recent years, presidential primaries excepted. In 2014, 2,022 of 2,174 primary voters (93.0%) chose Democratic ballots. In 2016, 1,726 of 2,033 primary voters (84.9%) did so, and in 2018, 1,186 of the 1,862 primary voters (63.7%) did so, even in the context of a competitive statewide Republican primary for governor. Three incumbent county commissioners faced opponents in their 2018 primaries; the incumbent county commission chair lost, and the District 2 incumbent won by just one vote.

Prior to the November 2022 elections, Democrats held a majority or 4 out of 5 seats on the County Commission. On election night, a Republican defeated the incumbent Democratic chairman by nearly 20 percentage points. Republicans were also able to flip an additional seat on the commission previously held by a Democrat, and in doing so captured a 3-2 majority. Republicans also captured a seat on the local Board of Education, in which they had none prior to the election.

Government
Current county officials:

title: Wilkinson County, Georgia


text:
Wilkes County, Georgia

Wilkes County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,565. The county seat is the city of Washington.

Referred to as "Washington-Wilkes", the county seat and county are commonly treated as a single entity by locals, including the area's historical society and the Chamber of Commerce. It is part of the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA).

History
Wilkes County, named for British politician and supporter of American independence, John Wilkes, is considered Georgia's first county established by European Americans; it was the first of eight original counties created in the first state constitution on February 5, 1777. The other seven counties were organized from existing colonial parishes.

Wilkes was unique in being made up of land ceded in 1773 by the indigenous Creek and Cherokee Native American nations in their respective Treaties of Augusta. Its location was unique due to its close proximity to the Atlantic seaboard fall line.

Between 1790 and 1854, Wilkes County's area was reduced as it was divided to organize new counties following the growth of population in the area. The Georgia legislature formed the counties of Elbert, Oglethorpe, and Lincoln entirely from portions of Wilkes County. Wilkes also contributed part of the lands used in the creation of Madison, Warren, Taliaferro, Hart, McDuffie, and Greene Counties.

Wilkes County was the site of one of the most important battles of the American Revolutionary War to be fought in Georgia. During the Battle of Kettle Creek in 1779, the American Patriot forces were victorious over British Loyalists.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, colonists depended on enslaved African-American workers and whites to clear land, develop plantations, and cultivate and process cotton in this area. Long-staple cotton would not grow in this upland areas and short-staple cotton was originally too labor-intensive to be profitable.

In 1793, American Eli Whitney perfected his revolutionary invention of the cotton gin at Mount Pleasant, a cotton plantation east of Washington. It allowed mechanization of the processing of short-staple cotton, making its cultivation profitable in the upland areas. As a result, there was a dramatic increase in the development of new cotton plantations throughout the Deep South to cultivate short-staple cotton.

Settlers increased pressure on the federal government to remove Native Americans from the region, including the Five Civilized Tribes from the Southeast. In 1794, Revolutionary War veteran Elijah Clarke, led a group of men from Wilkes County into traditionally Creek lands and established a town and several forts and called it the Trans-Oconee Republic. While short lived, the incursion was part of a broader movement of incursion into traditionally native lands. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 and the government forcibly removed most of the members of these tribes to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

Production of short-staple cotton in the Deep South soon superseded that of long-staple cotton, grown primarily on the Sea Islands and in the Low Country. Such expansion dramatically increased the demand for slave labor in the Deep South, resulting in a longstanding domestic slave trade that transported more than a million slaves in forced migrations from the Upper South. King Cotton brought great wealth to many planters in the decades before the Civil War.

None of the battles of the American Civil War was fought in or near Wilkes County. But here President Jefferson Davis met for the final time with the Confederate Cabinet, and they officially dissolved the government of the Confederate States of America. Wilkes County was the last-known location of the gold rumored to have been lost from the Confederate Treasury. The present-day Wilkes County Courthouse was built in Washington at the site of the cabinet meeting.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 474 sqmi, of which 469 sqmi is land and 4.6 sqmi (1.0%) is water. It is located in the Piedmont region above the fall line.

The northern quarter of Wilkes County, in a curved line from Rayle through Tignall to the northeastern corner of the county, is located in the Broad River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. The eastern portion of the county, from Washington east, and bordered to the north and west by the Broad River sub-basin, is located in the Upper Savannah River sub-basin of the larger Savannah River basin. The rest of the county, south of Washington, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin.

Major highways
U.S. Route 78 Business
 * US 78.svg U.S. Route 78
 * Business plate.svg
 * US 378.svg U.S. Route 378
 * Georgia 10.svg State Route 10
 * Georgia 10 Business.svg State Route 10 Business
 * Georgia 17.svg State Route 17
 * Georgia 44.svg State Route 44
 * Georgia 47.svg State Route 47
 * Georgia 80.svg State Route 80

Adjacent counties

 * Elbert County (north)
 * Lincoln County (east)
 * McDuffie County (southeast)
 * Warren County (south)
 * Taliaferro County (southwest)
 * Oglethorpe County (west)

City

 * Washington (county seat)

Towns

 * Rayle
 * Tignall

Demographics
Changes in agriculture through mechanization, the Great Depression, and a mass migration of African Americans from the area in the mid-20th century have resulted in a decline of population in the rural county since 1930.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,565 people, 3,979 households, and 2,421 families residing in the county.

Notable people

 * Edward Porter Alexander
 * Eliza Frances Andrews
 * Benjamin F. Bryant, captain in the Battle of San Jacinto, founder of the Bryant Station frontier fort and Texas Ranger
 * John Clark, Georgia governor
 * Elijah Clarke
 * Peter Early
 * Frank Edwards, blues musician
 * Stephen Heard
 * Hosea Hudson (1898-1988) Black communist labor organizer and author of Black Worker in the Deep South
 * George Mathews, Continental Army officer, Governor of Georgia, and US Congressman; member of the Mathews family
 * Jesse Mercer
 * David Meriwether, Continental Army officer, member United States Congress, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, Major General - Georgia Militia
 * Paul Jones Semmes
 * Alexander H. Stephens
 * Matthew Talbot
 * Benjamin Taliaferro
 * Robert Toombs
 * George W. Towns

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Wilkes County, Georgia


text:
Wilcox County, Georgia

Wilcox County is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,766. The county seat is Abbeville.

History
Wilcox County was formed on December 22, 1857, from parts of Irwin, Pulaski, and Dooly counties. The county was named for General Mark Wilcox, a Georgia state legislator and one of the founders of the Georgia Supreme Court.

The first county courthouse was built in 1858; the present courthouse dates from 1903.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 382 sqmi, of which 378 sqmi is land and 4.4 sqmi (1.2%) is water.

The northern and eastern three-quarters of Wilcox County, from State Route 215 southeast to Rochelle, then due south, are located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The southwestern portion of the county, west of Rochelle, and roughly centered on Pitts, is located in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin.

Adjacent counties

 * Pulaski County - north
 * Dodge County - east
 * Telfair County - east
 * Ben Hill County - south
 * Turner County - southwest
 * Crisp County - west
 * Dooly County - northwest

Major highways

 * US 129.svg U.S. Route 129
 * US 280.svg U.S. Route 280
 * Georgia 11.svg State Route 11
 * Georgia 30.svg State Route 30
 * Georgia 90.svg State Route 90
 * Georgia 112.svg State Route 112
 * Georgia 159.svg State Route 159
 * Georgia 215.svg State Route 215
 * Georgia 233.svg State Route 233
 * Georgia 257.svg State Route 257

Cities

 * Abbeville
 * Pitts
 * Rochelle

Town

 * Pineview

Census-designated place

 * Seville

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,766 people, 2,575 households, and 1,807 families residing in the county.

Education
The county is served by Wilcox County Schools. The district headquarters are in Abbeville and the schools, including Wilcox County High School, are in Rochelle.

Notable event
The Ocmulgee Wild Hog Festival takes place in Abbeville annually on the Saturday before Mother's Day.

title: Wilcox County, Georgia


text:
Whitfield County, Georgia

Whitfield County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census shows a population of 102,864. The county seat is Dalton. The county was created on December 30, 1851, and named after George Whitefield, Methodist evangelist. The "e" was omitted to reflect the pronunciation of his name.

Whitfield County is part of the Dalton metropolitan area, Georgia, which is also included in the Chattanooga–Cleveland–Dalton combined statistical area.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 291 sqmi, of which 290 sqmi is land and 0.6 sqmi (0.2%) is water. The majority of Whitfield County is located in the Conasauga River sub-basin in the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin), with a part of the western edge of the county is located in the Middle Tennessee-Chickamauga sub-basin of the Middle Tennessee-Hiwassee basin. A very small portion of the southern edge of the county is located in the Oostanaula River sub-basin in the larger ACT River Basin.

Adjacent counties

 * Bradley County, Tennessee (north)
 * Murray County (east)
 * Gordon County (south)
 * Walker County (west-southwest)
 * Catoosa County (west-northwest)
 * Hamilton County, Tennessee (northwest)

National protected area

 * Chattahoochee National Forest (part)

Major highways

 * I-75.svg Interstate 75
 * US 41.svg U.S. Route 41
 * US 76.svg U.S. Route 76
 * Georgia 2.svg State Route 2
 * Georgia 3.svg State Route 3
 * Georgia 3 Connector.svg State Route 3 Connector
 * Georgia 52.svg State Route 52
 * Georgia 71.svg State Route 71
 * Georgia 201.svg State Route 201
 * Georgia 286.svg State Route 286
 * Georgia 401.svg State Route 401 (unsigned designation for I-75)

Pedestrians and cycling

 * Pinhoti Trail

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 102,864 people, 34,518 households, and 25,351 families residing in the county.

2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 102,599 people, 35,180 households, and 26,090 families residing in the county. The population density was 353.2 PD/sqmi. There were 39,899 housing units at an average density of 137.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 76.6% white, 3.7% black or African American, 1.3% Asian, 0.6% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 15.0% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 31.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 12.1% were American, 11.0% were Irish, 8.4% were English, and 7.5% were German.

Of the 35,180 households, 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 25.8% were non-families, and 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.36. The median age was 34.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,345 and the median income for a family was $48,991. Males had a median income of $34,150 versus $27,315 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,780. About 15.6% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.7% of those under age 18 and 13.8% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the 2000 Census, there were 29,385 households, out of which 36.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 20.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.30% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 30.80% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,377, and the median income for a family was $44,652. Males had a median income of $30,122 versus $23,709 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,515. About 8.60% of families and 11.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.70% of those under age 18 and 11.70% of those age 65 or over.

High schools

 * Northwest Whitfield High School
 * Southeast Whitfield High School
 * Coahulla Creek High School

Middle schools

 * Eastbrook Middle School
 * New Hope Middle School
 * North Whitfield Middle School
 * Valley Point Middle School
 * Westside Middle School

Elementary schools

 * Antioch Elementary School
 * Beaverdale Elementary School
 * Cedar Ridge Elementary School
 * Cohutta Elementary School
 * Dawnville Elementary School
 * Dug Gap Elementary School
 * Eastside Elementary School
 * New Hope Elementary School
 * Pleasant Grove Elementary School
 * Tunnel Hill Elementary School
 * Valley Point Elementary School
 * Varnell Elementary School
 * Westside Elementary School

Alternative schools

 * Crossroads Academy
 * Phoenix High School

High schools

 * Dalton High School
 * Morris Innovative High School

Middle schools

 * Dalton Middle School

Elementary schools

 * Brookwood Elementary
 * Blue Ridge Elementary
 * City Park Elementary
 * Park Creek Elementary
 * Roan Elementary
 * Westwood Elementary

Private schools

 * Cedar Valley Christian Academy
 * Christian Heritage School
 * Learning Tree School

Cities

 * Dalton
 * Tunnel Hill
 * Varnell

Towns

 * Cohutta

Unincorporated community

 * Rocky Face
 * Dawnville
 * Tilton

Politics
Like much of the rest of Georgia, Whitfield County was strongly Democratic in the early 20th century, albeit less so than other parts of the state; it went Republican for William Howard Taft in 1908, Warren G. Harding in 1920 and for Herbert Hoover in 1928. The three Republicans would lose Georgia but win their respective national elections.

Despite being strongly Democratic through Franklin D. Roosevelt's four elections and in the subsequent two, the county only narrowly went for Democrat Adlai Stevenson II in 1956 and flipped Republican for Richard Nixon in 1960. It would flip back to the Democrats and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, even as Barry Goldwater would become the first Republican to ever carry the state of Georgia in a presidential election. However, it would be one of the last hurrahs for the Democratic Party in Whitfield County; Hubert Humphrey would finish third here in 1968 behind Richard Nixon and third-party candidate George Wallace, and it would give Nixon over 80% of the vote in 1972. It snapped back Democratic for native Georgian Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980, but this would be the final time it voted Democratic at the presidential level. It has become a safely Republican area throughout the remainder of the 20th century and into the 21st.

title: Whitfield County, Georgia


text:
White County, Georgia

White County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,003. The county seat is Cleveland. The county was created on December 22, 1857, formerly a part of Habersham County and most likely was named for Newton County Representative David T. White, who helped a Habersham representative successfully attain passage of an act creating the new county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 242 sqmi, of which 241 sqmi is land and 1.5 sqmi (0.6%) is water.

The county is mostly located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Northern parts of the county have the highest elevations, being in the mountains themselves. The highest point in White County is 4430 ft Tray Mountain, shared with Towns County to the north. Tray Mountain is the 6th-highest mountain in Georgia. Another very prominent White County peak is Yonah Mountain, also known as Mount Yonah. This 3143 ft peak, located between Helen and Cleveland, is rimmed by sheer cliffs and is the highest point on Georgia's Piedmont Plateau.

All of White County is located in the Upper Chattahoochee River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin).

Adjacent counties

 * Towns County - north
 * Habersham County - east
 * Hall County - south
 * Lumpkin County - west
 * Union County - northwest

Protected areas

 * Chattahoochee National Forest (part)
 * Unicoi State Park

Major highways

 * US 129.svg U.S. Route 129
 * Georgia 11.svg State Route 11
 * Georgia 17.svg State Route 17
 * Georgia 75.svg State Route 75
 * Georgia 75 Alternate.svg State Route 75 Alternate
 * Georgia 115.svg State Route 115
 * Georgia 254.svg State Route 254
 * Georgia 255.svg State Route 255
 * Georgia 284.svg State Route 284
 * Georgia 348.svg State Route 348
 * Georgia 356.svg State Route 356
 * Georgia 384.svg State Route 384

Pedestrians and cycling

 * River Bridge Trail
 * River Hiking Trail
 * Unicoi State Park Trail

 * Yonah Preserve Trail

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 19,944 people, 7,731 households, and 5,782 families living in the county. The population density was 83 /mi2. There were 9,454 housing units at an average density of 39 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 95.16% White, 2.17% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. 1.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,731 households, out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.70% were married couples living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.20% were non-families. 21.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.20% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,084, and the median income for a family was $40,704. Males had a median income of $29,907 versus $22,168 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,193. About 8.40% of families and 10.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 15.40% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 27,144 people, 10,646 households, and 7,750 families living in the county. The population density was 112.8 PD/sqmi. There were 16,062 housing units at an average density of 66.7 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 95.1% white, 1.7% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, 0.8% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 16.0% were English, 14.9% were American, 14.5% were Irish, and 10.8% were German.

Of the 10,646 households, 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.2% were non-families, and 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age was 42.3 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,756 and the median income for a family was $50,981. Males had a median income of $40,265 versus $31,061 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,680. About 16.9% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.4% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 28,003 people, 11,695 households, and 8,581 families residing in the county. However, the county is challenging the accuracy of the count.

Cities

 * Cleveland
 * Helen

Census-designated places

 * Sautee-Nacoochee
 * Yonah

Unincorporated communities

 * Mossy Creek
 * Robertstown
 * Scorpion Hollow
 * Benefit
 * Leaf

title: White County, Georgia


text:
Wheeler County, Georgia

Wheeler County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,471. The county seat is Alamo.

History
Wheeler County is named after Confederate General Joseph Wheeler. The constitutional amendment to create the county was proposed August 14, 1912, and ratified November 5, 1912.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 300 sqmi, of which 295 sqmi is land and 4.8 sqmi (1.6%) is water.

The eastern portion of Wheeler County, defined by a line running from north of Alamo to the southern border of the county, due south of Mount Vernon, is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The bulk of the rest of the county is located in the Little Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin, except for a small southern portion of Wheeler County, east of Lumber City, which is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the larger Altamaha River basin.

Major highways

 * US 280.svg U.S. Route 280
 * US 319.svg U.S. Route 319
 * US 441.svg U.S. Route 441
 * Georgia 19.svg State Route 19
 * Georgia 30.svg State Route 30
 * Georgia 31.svg State Route 31
 * Georgia 46.svg State Route 46
 * Georgia 126.svg State Route 126
 * Georgia 149.svg State Route 149

Adjacent counties

 * Treutlen County (north)
 * Montgomery County (east)
 * Jeff Davis County (southeast)
 * Telfair County (southwest)
 * Dodge County (west)
 * Laurens County (northwest)

City

 * Glenwood

Town

 * Alamo (county seat)

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,471 people, 1,862 households, and 1,159 families residing in the county.

title: Wheeler County, Georgia


text:
Webster County, Georgia

Webster County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census reflected a population of 2,348, making it the third-least populous county in Georgia. The county seat is Preston.

History
Webster County was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 16, 1853, as Kinchafoonee County. A subsequent legislative act on February 21, 1856, changed the name to Webster. The land for the county came from eastern portions of Stewart County.

The county is named for Daniel Webster, U.S. representative of New Hampshire and U.S. representative and U.S. senator of Massachusetts. Webster County's original name of Kinchafoonee came from the Kinchafoonee Creek which runs through the county.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 210 sqmi, of which 209 sqmi is land and 1.1 sqmi (0.5%) is water.

The majority of Webster County, bordered to the southwest by State Route 520, is located in the Kinchafoonee-Muckalee sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The southwestern corner of the county is located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin. A tiny edge of the southwestern border, just south of State Route 520, is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.

Major highways

 * US 280.svg U.S. Route 280
 * Georgia 27.svg State Route 27
 * Georgia 41.svg State Route 41
 * Georgia 45.svg State Route 45
 * Georgia 153.svg State Route 153
 * Georgia 520.svg State Route 520

Adjacent counties

 * Marion County – north
 * Sumter County – east
 * Terrell County – south
 * Randolph County – southwest
 * Stewart County – west

Communities
None of these places are incorporated, instead Webster county acts as a unified county. Preston is the county seat, despite being unincorporated.
 * Archery
 * Preston (County Seat)
 * Weston

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,348 people, 1,140 households, and 724 families residing in the county.

Education
Webster County School District operates public schools.

Politics
Webster County was reliably Democratic throughout the 20th century. However, the margins tightened in the 2000 election and in 2004, Democrat John Kerry only won this county very narrowly as George Bush won Georgia's electoral votes easily. Webster County is the only county in Georgia that flipped to John McCain's column in 2008 after voting for Kerry in 2004.

title: Webster County, Georgia


text:
Wayne County, Georgia

Wayne County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,144. The county seat is Jesup.

Wayne County comprises the Jesup, Georgia micropolitan statistical area.

History
At the time of European contact, the area of what would become Wayne County was settled by the Guale people. Being close to the coast and bordered by the Altamaha River, Wayne County's history includes occupation by Spanish missionaries at the time of the settlement of Saint Augustine as well as short-lived French occupation. The flags of France, Spain, England, and the Confederate States of America all flew over Wayne.

Early years
Seventy years after General James Oglethorpe settled the colony of Georgia and 27 years after that colony became one of the 13 original states, Wayne County came into being. The county was named for Mad Anthony Wayne whose military career had made him a well-known hero. When he surprised the British garrison at Stony Point on July 15, 1779, he acquired the nickname "Mad" Anthony. From one siege to another, he was a vital member of General George Washington's staff serving well under General Nathanael Greene and coming to Georgia in 1781 in his service during the American Revolution.

It was created by an Act of the Legislature in 1803 after the Wilkinson Treaty was signed with the Creek Indians on January 16, 1802, which ceded part of the Tallassee Country and part of the lands within the forks of the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers to the United States. As originally laid out, the new county – the 28th Georgia county – was a long narrow strip of land approximately 100 mi in length but with varying measures of width along the way. It was 6 mi as it stood just south of the Altamaha River, 8 mi wide near the Satilla and 5 mi wide at a location about 27 mi south of the Altamaha. All counties organized prior to 1802 were headright counties – no surveys were ever made of those counties. It was found that under the headright system more land was given away than actually existed and this was the case for Wayne County. Although created in 1803, no valid lottery was done for the county until the Land Lottery Act of 1805. The 1805 Act divided the half million acres (2,000 km2) of Wayne County, formed the Tallassee Strip, and set the stage for the land lottery that would result in more formal settlement of the area. It is the second date, December 7, 1805, that the county chose to observe as the creation date. The area was not a popular one for lottery draws as the straws were drawn sight unseen and the winner was as likely to draw swampland as he was prime agricultural lots.

The fight for the county seat
The county was slow in developing and those in the area were in no hurry to be concerned with matters governmental. On December 8, 1806, the Georgia General Assembly created appointed five commissioners to establish a permanent site for a county seat and called for county court to be held at the home of one those commissioners, Roberta Smallwood, until a permanent site could be established. In December 1808, the General Assembly called for a new set of commissioners to select a county seat, as the site picked by the previous set had picked a site near the upper corner of the county and was not centrally located. Court was to be held at the house of a Captain William Clements until a site was selected.

In December 1823, the General Assembly appointed another board of commissioners to establish a county seat.

The first post office in Wayne County was established at Tuckersville, sometimes seen as Tuckerville, on January 29, 1814. Tuckersville acted as the county seat until Waynesville was so designated. John Tucker was the first postmaster and his service was followed by William A. Knight and Robert Stafford Jr. before the mail service was discontinued in 1827. Tuckersville disappears from most maps by 1850. Its exact location remains a mystery although it is known it was 9 miles north of Waynesville on the Post Road near the ford of Buffalo Swamp. The intersection of Mount Pleasant Road and 10 Mile Road is a possible location.

It was not until December 1829, that legislative action created a county seat. Wayne County's first official county seat was Waynesville, Georgia then considered to be a central location in the long and narrow county for settlers to travel for court and other primary government functions. Waynesville was the site of Wayne County's first school, which was called Mineral Springs Academy. It was named for the famous mineral springs which were a short distance east of the residential section of the town.

In December 1832, a petition of voters from Wayne County caused the General Assembly to call for the election of another board of commissioners to establish a centrally located county seat.

In the early 1840s, Waynesville was still being used as the county seat. In December 1847, the General Assembly called for another set of commissioners to select a county seat near the home of William Flowers near the ford of the Buffalo Swamp. The law also called for county court to be held at the courthouse then in existence near the residence of James Rawlinson.

In January 1856, the General Assembly called for a vote to be held in Wayne County about the removal of the county seat and to where it should be removed.

A new county seat
Although there is some doubt about whom the City of Jesup is named for, there is no doubt it became Jesup on October 24, 1870. At the time Jesup was part of Appling County. Ambling along as Station Number 6 on the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, the town grew into a city primarily due to the efforts of its first mayor, Willis Clary. Clary had first moved to Wayne County in 1868 and was elected mayor shortly after moving into the town at a meeting held December 3, 1870. Clary is credited with convincing the Macon and Brunswick Railroad to locate its tracks so that they crossed the Atlantic and Gulf rails at Jesup. On August 27, 1872, eastern sections of Appling land districts 3 and 4 were added to Wayne County. From its beginning, Jesup has been a railway town and as early as 1891, the town's population was essentially connected to the railroads in some way.

In February 1873, the Georgia General Assembly called for a vote to be held in Wayne County to be held about removing the county seat. The voters were to be given the choice of "No removal", "Removal, Jesup", "Removal, Waynesville", and "Removal, Screven." Jesup was selected as the new county seat.

Screven and Odum
Although not formally incorporated until 1907, the cities of Screven and Odum are also historic railroad towns. Screven ranks as the oldest established town being formally established in 1854 when the town became a terminus on the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad. The rail line connected Screven and Thomasville which at the time was a resort city popular with Europeans and wealthy Americans. It is not known exactly when Station Number 7 became known as Screven but the town bears the name of the family of Dr. James Proctor Screven and his son, John Bryan Screven of Savannah who were operating the railroad at the time of its inception. Screven's first businessman and landowner, C. C. Grace helped to build the community. Likewise, Godfrey Odum used real estate to build his fortune and to improve the community into a town. Odum became a stop on the Macon and Brunswick Railroad and later became a part of the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia. Odum was known as Satilla on an 1870 timetable from the Macon and Brunswick and before that it was known as Haslum. Rail access made it easier for Odum's turpentine and sawmills products to be shipped to larger markets.

Naval stores
Henry W. Grady once said South Georgia was only suited for pine trees and cows and it is the pine that has made Wayne County the pine tree infested place it is. Through the years, pine tree by-products like turpentine and naval stores made communities, schools and churches spring up along the paths of the railroads and the streams and creeks. Places like Mount Pleasant, Gardi, McKinnon, Doctortown, Manningtown, Brentwood, Ritch, O'Quinn, Madray Springs and Piney Grove were centers of family life.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 649 sqmi, of which 642 sqmi is land and 7.0 sqmi (1.1%) is water.

The northern and eastern two-thirds of Wayne County, from north of Odum to south and east of Screven, is located in the Altamaha River sub-basin of the basin by the same name. The entire western edge of the county is located in the Little Satilla River sub-basin of the St. Marys River-Satilla River basin. A small southern portion of Wayne County, north and east of Hortense, is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the St. Marys River-Satilla River basin, with the adjacent southeastern portion of the county located in the Cumberland-St. Simons sub-basin of the same St. Marys River-Satilla River basin.

Adjacent counties

 * Tattnall County (north)
 * Long County (northeast)
 * McIntosh County (east)
 * Glynn County (southeast)
 * Brantley County (south)
 * Pierce County (southwest)
 * Appling County (northwest)

Cities

 * Jesup (county seat)
 * Screven

Town

 * Odum

Unincorporated communities

 * Akin

 * Brentwood
 * Doctortown
 * Gardi
 * Madray Springs
 * Manningtown

Former communities

 * Dales Mill
 * Fort Barrington
 * Pendarvis
 * Tuckersville
 * Waynesville
 * Williamsburg

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 30,144 people, 10,400 households, and 7,166 families residing in the county. The median income for a household in the county was $45,773.

Education
Wayne County School District operates public schools.

Government and infrastructure
The Federal Bureau of Prisons operates the Federal Correctional Institution, Jesup in Jesup, Wayne County.

Politics
Prior to 1964, Wayne County voted in line with most counties in the Solid South and Georgia, consistently supporting Democratic presidential candidates. From 1964 on, the county has swung hard to the Republican Party in most presidential elections, with the only times they have failed to win the county since then being 1968 for segregationist George Wallace as well as 1976 and 1980 for Georgian Jimmy Carter. Non-Georgian Democrats have only managed 40 percent of the vote twice since then, in 1988 and 1992.

Notable people

 * Anne Nichols (1891-1966), from Dales Mill, was an American playwright best known as the author of Abie's Irish Rose.
 * David Larson from Jesup was a gold medalist Swimmer at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
 * Howard E. Wasdin is a Purple Heart and Silver Star Recipient for his actions and injuries sustained in the Battle of Mogadishu in Mogadishu, Somalia. He is a former sniper in the Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU).

title: Wayne County, Georgia


text:
Washington County, Georgia

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,988. The county seat is Sandersville. The county was established on February 25, 1784. It was named for Revolutionary War general (and afterward President of the United States) George Washington.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 684 sqmi, of which 678 sqmi is land and 5.9 sqmi (0.9%) is water.

The western portion of Washington County, west of a north-to-south line running through Sandersville, is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The northeastern portion of the county, north of Riddleville, is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin, while the southeastern portion, centered on Harrison, is located in the Ohoopee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.

Major highways

 * Georgia 15.svg State Route 15
 * Georgia 24.svg State Route 24
 * Georgia 24 Spur.svg State Route 24 Spur
 * Georgia 57.svg State Route 57
 * Georgia 68.svg State Route 68
 * Georgia 88.svg State Route 88
 * Georgia 102.svg State Route 102
 * Georgia 231.svg State Route 231
 * Georgia 242.svg State Route 242
 * Georgia 272.svg State Route 272
 * Georgia 540.svg State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)

Adjacent counties

 * Glascock County (northeast)
 * Jefferson County (east)
 * Johnson County (south)
 * Wilkinson County (southwest)
 * Baldwin County (west)
 * Hancock County (northwest)

Cities

 * Davisboro
 * Oconee
 * Sandersville (county seat)
 * Tennille

Towns

 * Deepstep
 * Harrison
 * Riddleville

Census-designated places

 * Warthen

Other unincorporated communities

 * Goat Town
 * Irwins Crossroads
 * Pringle
 * Sun Hill

2020 Census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,988 people, 7,503 households, and 5,315 families residing in the county.

Education
The county is served by the Washington County School District, which includes:
 * Ridge Road Elementary School
 * T.J. Elder Middle School
 * Washington County High School.

The county is also the location of one privately run school:
 * Brentwood School

In popular culture
The 1933 short story "The People's Choice" by Erskine Caldwell is set in Washington County, where the story's protagonist is a popular local politician elected again and again as the county's tax assessor.

In 1992, the Pig Monument was erected in the county, near Oconee off of Georgia State Route 272. The monument commemorates a 1933 event where several residents of the county gathered together to help a local farmer rescue a pig that had fallen down a dry well.

The biography of one of the main characters (Grant Alexander) in the 2011 console game "X-Men: Destiny" states that they were born in Sandersville, Georgia.

Politics
Like most other majority-minority counties in the South, Washington County has primarily backed Democratic Party candidates for most of its history. Democratic margins of victory in presidential elections were far greater prior to 1964, but the county has only failed to back a Democratic presidential candidate five times in its history. However, no candidate of any party since Bill Clinton in 1996 has managed to win the county by a margin of 1,000 votes or greater.

title: Washington County, Georgia


text:
Warren County, Georgia

Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 5,215, a decrease from 2010. The county seat is Warrenton. The county was created on December 19, 1793, and is named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 287 sqmi, of which 284 sqmi is land and 2.4 sqmi (0.8%) is water.

The north-to-northeastern quarter of Warren County, north of a line between the county's northwestern corner, Norwood, and Camak, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. The southeastern quarter, from Camak in the north, and bordered by a northwest-to-southeast line running through Warrenton, is located in the Brier Creek sub-basin of the larger Savannah River basin. The western half of the county, west of Warrenton, is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin.

Major highways
U.S. Route 278 Bypass
 * I-20.svg Interstate 20
 * US 278.svg U.S. Route 278
 * By-pass plate.svg
 * Georgia 12.svg State Route 12
 * Georgia 12 Bypass.svg State Route 12 Bypass
 * Georgia 16.svg State Route 16
 * Georgia 17.svg State Route 17
 * Georgia 17 Connector.svg State Route 17 Connector
 * Georgia 80.svg State Route 80
 * Georgia 80 Alternate.svg State Route 80 Alternate
 * Georgia 123.svg State Route 123
 * Georgia 171.svg State Route 171
 * Georgia 223.svg State Route 223
 * Georgia 402.svg State Route 402 (unsigned designation for I-20)

Adjacent counties

 * Wilkes County (north)
 * McDuffie County (east)
 * Glascock County (south)
 * Jefferson County (southeast)
 * Hancock County (southwest)
 * Taliaferro County (northwest)

Cities

 * Norwood
 * Warrenton (county seat)

Towns

 * Camak

Unincorporated communities

 * Cadley
 * Jewell
 * Mesena

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,215 people, 2,244 households, and 1,456 families residing in the county.

title: Warren County, Georgia


text:
Ware County, Georgia

Ware County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,251. The county seat and only incorporated place is Waycross. Ware County is part of the Waycross, Georgia micropolitan statistical area.

History
Ware County, Georgia's 60th county, was created on December 15, 1824, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly from land that was originally part of Appling County.

The county is named for Nicholas Ware, the mayor of Augusta, Georgia from (1819–1821) and United States Senator who represented Georgia from 1821 until his death in 1824.

Several counties were later created from parts of the original Ware County borders:
 * Bacon County (from portions of Appling, Pierce, and Ware counties in 1917)
 * Charlton County (from portions of Camden and Ware county in 1854)
 * Clinch County (from portions of Lowndes and Ware counties in 1850)
 * Coffee County (from portions of Clinch, Irwin, Telfair, and Ware counties in 1854)
 * Pierce County (from portions of Appling and Ware counties in 1857)

Ware County was home to Laura S. Walker (1861-1955) a noted author and conservationist. Walker promoted a comprehensive program of forestry activity, including the establishment of forest parks. She erected markers and monuments along old trails and at historic sites, in Waycross and Ware County so that local history would not be forgotten. Walker wrote three books about the land and history of her home. They are: History of Ware County, Georgia About "Old Okefenåok" and Doctors of Primitive Times and Horse and Buggy Days of Ware County.

An effort to recognize her work culminated in President Franklin D. Roosevelt issuing a proclamation to establish the Laura S. Walker National Park, located in Ware County, in her honor. She was the only living person for whom a state or national park was named. In 1937, the federal government purchased distressed farmland for the park. Work on the park was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1941, the national park was deeded over to Georgia, becoming the State's 13th state park.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 908 sqmi, of which 892 sqmi is land and 16 sqmi (1.7%) is water. It is the largest county in Georgia by area. A large portion of the county lies within the Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected areas.

More than half of Ware County, made up by the western half of the southern portion of the county, the land bridge to the northern portion of the county, and the southern and western portion of the northern section of the county, is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The eastern half of the southern portion of Ware County is located in the St. Marys River sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla River basin. The rest of the county, from just southeast to north and west of Waycross, is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the same St. Marys-Satilla River basin.

Major highways
U.S. Route 1 Business U.S. Route 23 Business
 * US 1.svg U.S. Route 1
 * Business plate.svg
 * US 23.svg U.S. Route 23
 * Business plate.svg
 * US 82.svg U.S. Route 82
 * US 84.svg U.S. Route 84
 * Georgia 4.svg State Route 4
 * Georgia 4 Business.svg State Route 4 Business
 * Georgia 38.svg State Route 38
 * Georgia 122.svg State Route 122
 * Georgia 158.svg State Route 158
 * Georgia 177.svg State Route 177
 * Georgia 520.svg State Route 520

Adjacent counties

 * Bacon County - north
 * Pierce County - east
 * Brantley County - east
 * Charlton County - southeast
 * Baker County, Florida - south
 * Clinch County - west
 * Atkinson County - west
 * Coffee County - northwest

National protected area

 * Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (part)

City

 * Waycross

Census-designated places

 * Deenwood
 * Sunnyside
 * Waresboro
 * Millwood
 * Manor
 * Dixie Union

Unincorporated communities

 * Bickley
 * Ruskin
 * Jamestown
 * Telmore

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 36,251 people, 13,823 households, and 8,909 families residing in the county.

High schools

 * Ware County High School, Waycross

Middle schools

 * Ware County Middle School, Waycross
 * Waycross Middle School, Waycross

Elementary schools

 * Wacona Elementary School, Waycross
 * Center Elementary School, Waycross
 * Williams Heights Elementary School, Waycross
 * Memorial Drive Elementary School, Waycross
 * Ruskin Elementary School, Waycross
 * Waresboro Elementary School, Waycross

Preschools

 * DAFFODIL Preschool, Waycross

Private schools

 * Southside Christian School

Higher education

 * South Georgia State College, Waycross
 * Coastal Pines Technical College, Waycross

title: Ware County, Georgia


text:
Walton County, Georgia

Walton County is a county located in the Middle Georgia portion of the U.S. - State of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 96,673. It is located about 30 miles east of the state capital, the city of Atlanta. Monroe is the county seat; Loganville is another major city.

Walton County is part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Walton County was created on December 15, 1818. It is named for George Walton, one of the three men from Georgia who signed the United States Declaration of Independence. The other two were Button Gwinnett and Lyman Hall.

A Supreme Court ruling in April 1946 had ruled that white primaries were unconstitutional, enabling some black citizens in Georgia to cast ballots for the first time during the primary race later that summer. This increased social tensions in many areas, as whites continued to oppose voting by blacks. In addition, many whites resisted black veterans' efforts to gain expanded freedoms following their service during World War II.

Moore's Ford lynchings (1946)
In July 1946, four African Americans were lynched in Walton County, Georgia. The victims were two married couples: George and Mae Murray Dorsey, and Roger and Dorothy Dorsey Malcom (reportedly pregnant).

A historical highway marker erected by the state in the 21st century reads: "2.4 miles east, at Moore’s Ford Bridge on the Apalachee River, four African-Americans - George and Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Dorsey Malcom (reportedly 7 months pregnant) - were brutally beaten and shot by an unmasked mob on the afternoon of July 25, 1946. The lynching followed an argument between Roger Malcom and a local white farmer. These unsolved murders played a crucial role in both President Truman’s commitment to civil rights legislation and the ensuing modern civil rights movement."

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 330 sqmi, of which 326 sqmi is land and 4.3 sqmi (1.3%) is water. The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state.

The western half of Walton County, in a half circle from Social Circle through Monroe to northeast of Loganville, is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The eastern part of the county, east of that curve, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin.

Adjacent counties

 * Barrow County – north
 * Oconee County – northeast
 * Morgan County – southeast
 * Newton County – south
 * Rockdale County – southwest
 * Gwinnett County – northwest

Cities

 * Good Hope
 * Jersey
 * Loganville
 * Monroe
 * Social Circle
 * Walnut Grove

Towns

 * Between

Unincorporated communities

 * Bold Springs
 * Campton
 * Gratis
 * Mt. Vernon
 * Pannell
 * Windsor
 * Youth
 * Split Silk

Demographics
There was a noted decline in the African American population from 1900 to 1960 as thousands left rural areas in the South during the Great Migration to the North, Midwest and West Coast to escape social oppression and to gain better jobs and opportunities.

With dramatic new growth related to the rise of Atlanta as a corporate city, the demographics have changed and the county is majority white in the 21st century. The area has been developed for suburban housing and retail.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 96,673 people, 33,350 households, and 25,736 families residing in the county.

Government
Walton County has a six-member commission elected from single-member districts. This legislative body can pass laws for the county and tax bills. The county chairman is elected at-large to serve as the leader. If a seat becomes vacant during the term, the governor can appoint someone to fill the seat, based on recommendations. In 2015, two of the six positions were filled by appointees.

Education
Walton County School District is the local school district for all sections except those in Social Circle. Areas in Social Circle are in the Social Circle City School District.

Major highways

 * I-20.svg Interstate 20
 * US 78.svg U.S. Route 78
 * US 278.svg U.S. Route 278
 * Georgia 10.svg State Route 10
 * Georgia 10 Business.svg State Route 10 Business
 * Georgia 11.svg State Route 11
 * Georgia 12.svg State Route 12
 * Georgia 20.svg State Route 20
 * Georgia 81.svg State Route 81
 * Georgia 83.svg State Route 83
 * Georgia 138.svg State Route 138
 * Georgia 186.svg State Route 186
 * Georgia 402.svg State Route 402 (unsigned designation for I-20)

Walton County doesn't have any pedestrian trails. However, there are trails in neighboring Gwinnett and Rockdale county such as the Arabia Mountain Path, Conyers Trail and Cedar Creek Trail Loop.

title: Walton County, Georgia


text:
Walker County, Georgia

Walker County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,654, down from 68,756 in 2010. The county seat is LaFayette. The county was created on December 18, 1833, from land formerly belonging to the Cherokee Indian Nation.

Walker County is part of the Chattanooga TN/GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Walker County was named after Georgia's U.S. Senator, Freeman Walker (1780–1827).

Civil War battles fought in Walker County were part of the Chickamauga Campaign fought between August 21 and September 20, 1863:
 * Second Battle of Chattanooga, August 21.
 * Battle of Davis's Cross Roads, September 10–11.
 * Battle of Chickamauga, September 19–20.

In 2002 the Tri-State Crematory scandal in Noble came to national attention when 339 bodies that were consigned to be cremated were discovered on the property. The owner, Ray Brent Marsh, was convicted of several charges and sentenced to twelve years in prison.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 447 sqmi, of which 446 sqmi is land and 0.6 sqmi (0.1%) is water. The northern two-thirds of Walker County is located in the Middle Tennessee-Chickamauga sub-basin of the Middle Tennessee-Hiwassee basin. Most of the southeastern portion of the county is located in the Oostanaula River sub-basin in the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin), with a very small southeastern sliver located in the Conasauga River sub-basin in the larger ACT River Basin. The rest of the southern portion of Walker County is located in the Upper Coosa River sub-basin in the ACT River Basin.

Adjacent counties

 * Hamilton County, Tennessee - north
 * Catoosa County - northeast
 * Whitfield County - east
 * Gordon County - southeast
 * Floyd County - south
 * Chattooga County - south
 * DeKalb County, Alabama - southwest/CST Border
 * Dade County - west

Natural attractions and features

 * Chattahoochee National Forest (part)
 * Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (part)
 * Ellison's Cave (12th deepest cave in the United States)
 * Lookout Mountain (part)
 * McLemore Cove
 * Petty John's Cave
 * Pigeon Mountain
 * Rocktown
 * Rock City
 * Lula Lake Land Trust

Government
Until 2020, Walker County was one of only nine counties in the United States still employing the sole commissioner form of government. Georgia is the last remaining state that allows sole commissioners. In a 2018 referendum, Walker County voters approved with an 80% margin a transition to a five-member board of commissioners, consisting of four commissioners elected by district and a chairperson. The first members of the board were elected in November 2020 and took office in January 2021 with Districts 1 and 2 commissioners serving an initial 2-year term and Districts 3 and 4 commissioners and the chairperson serving an initial 4-year term. From 2022, every commissioner will serve 4 year terms, therefore ensuring that half the commission is up for reelection every 2 years. The commission meets in LaFayette, the county seat.

The commissioners of each district represent the following areas:
 * District 1: Rossville
 * District 2: Chickamauga
 * District 3: LaFayette
 * District 4: Lookout Mountain

Major highways
U.S. Route 27 Business
 * US 27.svg U.S. Route 27
 * Business plate.svg
 * Georgia 1.svg State Route 1
 * Georgia 1 Business.svg State Route 1 Business
 * Georgia 2.svg State Route 2
 * Georgia 95.svg State Route 95
 * Georgia 136.svg State Route 136
 * Georgia 151.svg State Route 151
 * Georgia 157.svg State Route 157
 * Georgia 189.svg State Route 189
 * Georgia 193.svg State Route 193
 * Georgia 201.svg State Route 201
 * Georgia 337.svg State Route 337
 * Georgia 341.svg State Route 341

Current

 * Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway
 * Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (occasional tourist excursions)

Defunct

 * Chattanooga Southern Railway (became Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway)
 * Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railway (merged into Southern Railway, then abandoned )
 * Chickamauga and Durham Railroad (merged into Chattanooga & Durham)
 * Chattanooga and Durham Railroad (merged by Chattanooga, Rome and Southern)
 * Chattanooga, Rome and Southern Railroad (merged into Central of GA Railway)
 * Central of Georgia Railway (merged into Southern Railway)
 * Southern Railway (merged into Norfolk Southern, Walker County line transferred to State of Georgia, leased to Chattooga and Chickamauga Railway)

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 67,654 people, 26,760 households, and 17,810 families residing in the county.

2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 68,756 people, 26,497 households, and 18,898 families living in the county. The population density was 154.0 PD/sqmi. There were 30,100 housing units at an average density of 67.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 93.0% white, 4.1% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.6% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.9% were American, 15.3% were Irish, 11.2% were English, and 9.3% were German.

Of the 26,497 households, 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.7% were non-families, and 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.01. The median age was 39.7 years.

The county's population age groups were spread out, with 23.6% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 20 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 15% who were 65 years of age or older. The gender ratio of the county's population was 50.9% female versus 49.1% male.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,723 and the median income for a family was $46,307. Males had a median income of $38,297 versus $29,285 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,440. About 11.6% of families and 15.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 61,053 people, 23,605 households, and 17,467 families living in the county. The population density was 137 PD/sqmi. There were 25,577 housing units at an average density of 57 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 94.43% White, 3.78% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 23,605 households, out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.80% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.00% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 37 years.

The county's population age groups were spread out, with 24.80% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,406, and the median income for a family was $39,034. Males had a median income of $29,448 versus $21,583 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,867. About 10.00% of families and 12.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.10% of those under age 18 and 11.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities

 * Chickamauga
 * Fort Oglethorpe (small portion only)
 * LaFayette (county seat)
 * Lookout Mountain
 * Rossville

Census-designated places

 * Chattanooga Valley
 * Fairview
 * Lakeview
 * Rock Spring

Unincorporated communities

 * Flintstone
 * High Point
 * Hinkles
 * Kensington
 * Naomi
 * Villanow
 * East Armuchee

title: Walker County, Georgia


text:
Upson County, Georgia

Upson County is a county located in the west central Piedmont portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,700. The county seat is Thomaston. The county was created on December 15, 1824.

Upson County comprises the Thomaston, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs CSA.

History
Upson County was formed in 1824 and named after Stephen Upson, a state legislator.

Emancipation Day
On May 29, 1865, following the conclusion of the American Civil War, enslaved African Americans in the county were notified in Thomaston that they had been emancipated. By the following year, celebrations were held on that date, which continue to this day. It is considered one of the largest Emancipation Day celebrations in Georgia and one of the oldest continuously celebrated ones in the United States.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 328 sqmi, of which 323 sqmi is land and 4.1 sqmi (1.3%) is water. Upson County boasts the lowest average summer humidity in the state.

The vast majority of Upson County is located in the Upper Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin), with just a tiny northeastern corner of the county, north of Yatesville, located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.

Major highways

 * US 19.svg U.S. Route 19
 * US 80.svg U.S. Route 80
 * Georgia 3.svg State Route 3
 * Georgia 22.svg State Route 22
 * Georgia 36.svg State Route 36
 * Georgia 74.svg State Route 74
 * Georgia 74 Alternate.svg State Route 74 Alternate

Adjacent counties

 * Lamar County - north
 * Pike County - north
 * Monroe County - northeast
 * Crawford County - southeast
 * Taylor County - south
 * Talbot County - southwest
 * Meriwether County - northwest

City

 * Thomaston

Town

 * Yatesville

Census-designated places

 * Hannahs Mill
 * Lincoln Park
 * Salem
 * Sunset Village

Unincorporated communities

 * Atwater
 * Crest
 * Dog Crossing
 * The Rock

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 27,700 people, 10,154 households, and 6,100 families residing in the county.

Notable people

 * James L. Bentley
 * C.C. Crews
 * Martha Hudson
 * John Brown Gordon
 * Coy Bowles

title: Upson County, Georgia


text:
Union County, Georgia

Union County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,632. The county seat is Blairsville.

History
Union County was originally a core part of the homeland of the native Cherokee tribe. Mountainous and formerly one of the most remote and inaccessible parts of Georgia, the area became the object of desire for white settlers with the discovery of gold in the 1820s. While the gold rush didn't last long, a land lottery system opened up the area for settlement in the 1830s and Union County was formed in 1832, carved from part of Cherokee County. The newcomers formed political groups to force the Cherokee off their land, part of the removal of most of the southeastern native tribes in what is known as the Trail of Tears. The part that was Cherokee Removal occurred between 1836 and 1839. The Cherokee nation and roughly 1,600 of their black slaves were forced west to the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) in the then Western United States. The resultant deaths along the way and at the end of the movement of an estimated 4,000 Cherokee. The Union Party was a political group that supported removing the Indians and opening the area to white settlers, and is the probable reason for the county's name. The western part of Union County was annexed by Fannin County on January 12, 1854, and in 1856 the southern tip was given to Gilmer County and an eastern section went to Towns County. Many of the early white settlers of the area were Virginians or North Carolianians who came via various frontier roads. As a mountainous region not suited to plantation farming and settled by hardscrabble, independent farmers, Union County had relatively few slaves compared to other areas of Georgia. In the 1850 census, just 61 slave owners were listed, with a total of 278 enslaved people.

The white population of Union County residents were largely pro-Union in the years prior to the Civil War, with sentiments against the plantation-owning aristocratic elites in the lowland sections of the state, as was true of much of Georgia's mountainous north and the Appalachian region in general. When the state seceded and when Lincoln raised a Union army to suppress the rebellion, most Union County residents supported the Confederacy and most of the soldiers from the county fought on the Confederate side either as enlistees or, after the Confederate draft of 1862, as draftees. Joseph E. Brown, the wartime governor of Georgia, was a resident of Union County, having moved there from western South Carolina. Brown was an ardent secessionist and a defender of slavery, but was a controversial southern governor, a north Georgian never fully accepted by the plantation class but still popular with the common white Georgians, whom he championed. Brown vehemently opposed the Confederate draft and was a constant thorn in the side of the central Confederate government which he saw as usurping increasing power from the states. Despite general support for the Confederacy, a smaller number of Union sympathizers remained in Union County, which was one of the few Georgia counties to provide men for a Union Army unit, company A of the 1st Georgia Infantry Battalion, in which 6 men were killed.

After the war, railroad lines were built that linked Union County to other areas, including Gainesville and Culberson, North Carolina, giving farmers expanded distribution. The first paved road in Union County was completed in 1926 and ran from Cleveland to the North Carolina border. Tourism increased when the federal government acquired 31,000 acres of forest in the area, spread across Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin, and Union counties, and created the Chattahoochee National Forest in 1937.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 329 sqmi, of which 322 sqmi is land and 7.1 sqmi (2.2%) is water. Brasstown Bald, the highest mountain in Georgia, rises in southeast Union County, straddling the Towns County line. The central and northern portion of Union County is located in the Hiwassee River sub-basin of the Middle Tennessee-Hiwassee basin, while the southwestern portion of the county is located in the Ocoee River sub-basin of the same larger watershed. A very small portion of the county's southeastern corner is located in the Upper Chattahoochee River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, also listed as simply the Apalachicola Basin by USGS). This is also where the source of the Chattahoochee is found. The Appalachian Trail winds through southern Union County.

Adjacent counties

 * Cherokee County, North Carolina (north)
 * Clay County, North Carolina (northeast)
 * Towns County (east)
 * White County (southeast)
 * Lumpkin County (south)
 * Fannin County (west)

National protected area

 * Appalachian Trail (part)
 * Chattahoochee National Forest (part)

Major highways

 * US 19.svg U.S. Route 19
 * US 76.svg U.S. Route 76
 * US 129.svg U.S. Route 129
 * Georgia 2.svg State Route 2
 * Georgia 11.svg State Route 11
 * Georgia 60.svg State Route 60
 * Georgia 180.svg State Route 180
 * Georgia 325.svg State Route 325
 * Georgia 348.svg State Route 348
 * Georgia 515.svg State Route 515

Other roads

 * Blue Ridge Highway (Old US 76/Old SR 2)
 * Skeenah Gap Road
 * Town Creek School Road
 * Mulky Gap Road
 * Owltown Road
 * Spiva Bridge Way
 * Gumlog Road
 * Loving Road
 * Nottely Dam Road (Old SR 325). Not all of Nottely Dam Road remains a state route.
 * Pat Haralson Memorial Drive
 * Trackrock Gap Road

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 24,632 people, 9,743 households, and 6,957 families residing in the county.

2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 21,356 people, 9,116 households, and 6,382 families living in the county. The population density was 66.3 PD/sqmi. There were 14,052 housing units at an average density of 43.6 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 96.8% white, 0.5% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.9% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 16.0% were English, 15.8% were Irish, 15.0% were "American", and 13.2% were German.

Of the 9,116 households, 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.0% were non-families, and 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age was 50.7 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,298 and the median income for a family was $50,772. Males had a median income of $42,330 versus $29,176 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,182. About 9.5% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,289 people, 7,159 households, and 5,211 families living in the county. The population density was 54 /mi2. There were 10,001 housing units at an average density of 31 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 97.94% White, 0.58% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 0.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Union County was mentioned as an "Extreme Whitopia", a place with a high concentration of white residents, in Rich Benjamin's book, Searching for Whitopia. (Because American Indians were forced out, and black slavery was virtually nonexistent in this part of the Georgia mountains, the county has had a minuscule nonwhite population for almost 200 years.)

There were 7,159 households, out of which 24.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.90% were married couples living together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.20% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.00% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 23.60% from 25 to 44, 28.20% from 45 to 64, and 21.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,893, and the median income for a family was $39,776. Males had a median income of $29,127 versus $20,871 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,845. About 9.30% of families and 12.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.10% of those under age 18 and 15.90% of those age 65 or over.

Media
The North Georgia News has been published weekly in Blairsville since 1909. Since 2012, it has been the only newspaper serving Union County.

City

 * Blairsville

Unincorporated communities

 * Choestoe
 * Ivy Log
 * Suches

Government and politics
The county's Sole Commissioner is Lamar Paris, who has served since 2001.

title: Union County, Georgia


text:
Twiggs County, Georgia

Twiggs County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,022. The county seat is Jeffersonville. The county was created on December 14, 1809, and named for American Revolutionary War general John Twiggs.

Twiggs County is included in the Macon, GA metropolitan statistical area. The Twiggs County Courthouse is located in Jeffersonville.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 363 sqmi, of which 358 sqmi is land and 4.2 sqmi (1.2%) is water.

Due to its location on the fall line, the county boasts a diverse geography. Northern parts of the county tend to be hillier, being part of the Piedmont region, and southern parts of the county tend to be flatter, being part of the upper Atlantic coastal plain.

The geographical center of Georgia lies in Twiggs County — off Bullard Road near Old Marion.

The southwestern and central portion of Twiggs County, south of Dry Branch and west of Jeffersonville, is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. A narrow northwestern portion of the county, from just north to southwest of Dry Branch, is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The entire eastern edge of the county is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin, with a small triangular portion of Twiggs County, south of Interstate 16 and west of Danville, located in the Little Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the same larger Altamaha River basin.

Major highways
U.S. Route 129 Alternate
 * I-16.svg Interstate 16
 * US 23.svg U.S. Route 23
 * US 80.svg U.S. Route 80
 * Alternate plate.svg
 * Georgia 18.svg State Route 18
 * Georgia 19.svg State Route 19
 * Georgia 57.svg State Route 57
 * Georgia 87.svg State Route 87
 * Georgia 96.svg State Route 96
 * Georgia 112.svg State Route 112
 * Georgia 358.svg State Route 358
 * Georgia 404.svg State Route 404 (unsigned designation for I-16)
 * Georgia 540.svg State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)

Adjacent counties

 * Wilkinson County - northeast
 * Laurens County - southeast
 * Bleckley County - south
 * Houston County - southwest
 * Bibb County - west
 * Jones County - northwest

National protected area

 * Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Cities

 * Allentown (partly in Wilkinson County, Laurens County, and Bleckley County)
 * Jeffersonville (county seat)

Town

 * Danville (partly in Wilkinson County)

Unincorporated community

 * Dry Branch (partly in Bibb County)

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,022 people, 3,044 households, and 1,838 families residing in the county.

Education

 * Twiggs Academy
 * Twiggs County Comprehensive Middle/High School
 * Jefersonville Elementary

Notable people

 * Philip Cook, Confederate general in the Civil War and postbellum U.S. Congressman.
 * Darqueze Dennard, cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League and former cornerback for the Michigan State Spartans football team. He was the winner of the 2013 Jim Thorpe Award.
 * Dudley Mays Hughes, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, American politician, farmer and railroad executive.
 * Chuck Leavell, an American musician and current tree farmer in Twiggs County, who was a member of The Allman Brothers Band during the height of their 1970s popularity, a founding member of the jazz-rock combo Sea Level, a frequently-employed session musician, and long-time touring member of The Rolling Stones.

title: Twiggs County, Georgia


text:
Turner County, Georgia

Turner County is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,006. The county seat is Ashburn. The county was created on August 18, 1905, and named for Henry Gray Turner, U.S. representative and Georgia state Supreme Court justice.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 290 sqmi, of which 285 sqmi is land and 4.6 sqmi (1.6%) is water.

The eastern two-thirds of Turner County, from just west of Interstate 75 heading east, are located in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The southern and western portion of the county are located in the Little River sub-basin of the same Suwannee River basin. The entire western edge of Turner County is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin).

Major highways

 * I-75.svg Interstate 75
 * US 41.svg U.S. Route 41
 * Georgia 7.svg State Route 7
 * Georgia 32.svg State Route 32
 * Georgia 32 Connector.svg State Route 32 Connector
 * Georgia 90.svg State Route 90
 * Georgia 107.svg State Route 107
 * Georgia 112.svg State Route 112
 * Georgia 159.svg State Route 159
 * Georgia 401.svg State Route 401 (unsigned designation for I-75)

Adjacent counties

 * Wilcox County (northeast)
 * Ben Hill County (east)
 * Irwin County (east)
 * Tift County (southeast)
 * Worth County (southwest)
 * Crisp County (northwest)

Cities/Unincorporated Communities

 * Ashburn (county seat)
 * Rebecca
 * Dakota
 * Amboy
 * Coverdale
 * Sycamore
 * Live Oak
 * Sibley

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,006 people, 3,169 households, and 2,297 families residing in the county.

Notable people

 * Henry T. Elrod, Medal of Honor recipient.

title: Turner County, Georgia


text:
Troup County, Georgia

Troup County (pronounced ) is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,426. The county seat is LaGrange.

Troup County comprises the LaGrange micropolitan statistical area along with Chambers County, AL. It is included in the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs combined statistical area.

History
For thousands of years, this area of what is now defined as west central Georgia was occupied by cultures of indigenous peoples. In the historic period, it was part of a large area controlled by the Muscogee, also known as the Creek people.

The land for Lee, Muscogee, Troup, Coweta, and Carroll counties was ceded by the Creek to the United States in the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs. The counties' boundaries were created by the Georgia General Assembly on June 9, 1826, but the counties themselves were not named until December 14, 1826.

The county is named for George Troup, thirty-fourth governor of Georgia, U.S. representative, and senator.

As with much of the Piedmont, this area was developed in the antebellum era for cotton cultivation after short-staple cotton was made profitable by invention of the cotton gin. By 1860 Troup County was the fourth-wealthiest in Georgia and fifth-largest slaveholding county in the state.

According to U.S. Census data, the 1860 Troup County population included 6,223 whites, 37 "free colored" and 10,002 slaves. By the 1870 census, the white population had increased about 3% to 6,408, while the "colored" population had increased about 12% to 11,224.

During the post-Reconstruction period, violence and the number of lynchings of blacks increased in the late 19th century, as whites exercised terrorism to re-establish and maintain white supremacy. Whites lynched three African Americans in Troup County in this period, most were killed around the turn of the 20th century. Such deaths occurred through the post-World War II period. A fourth man from Troup County was lynched in neighboring Harris County.

In the late 19th century, entrepreneurs in LaGrange built the first cotton mill, and others were rapidly established in this area. Initially they employed only white workers.

20th century to present
During the first half of the 20th century, thousands of blacks left Georgia and other southern states in what is known as the Great Migration. They were seeking work as mechanization reduced the number of farm jobs, and they were seeking more opportunities than in the Jim Crow South, where they were disenfranchised and socially oppressed.

On September 8, 1940, 16-year-old Austin Callaway, a black youth, was arrested in LaGrange as a suspect in an attack on a white woman. The next night a small, armed group of white men took him from the county jail, driving him out to the nearby countryside, where they lynched him: shooting him several times and leaving him for dead. In 2017 a man who was a child at the time revealed that his white family found and took Callaway to the hospital, where he died the next day. They had kept their role secret out of fear of the KKK. Callaway was noted by the local paper as dying from gunshot wounds; the New York Times at the time described it as a lynching. As was typical in these cases, no one was prosecuted for the murder. In response, that fall African Americans organized the first NAACP chapter in Troup County at Warren Temple Methodist Church in LaGrange. It has worked on a variety of civil rights issues, including voting rights, equal justice, access, and human services.

In 1947, prosperous farmer Henry "Peg" Gilbert, a married African-American father who owned and farmed 100 acres in the county, was arrested and charged with harboring a fugitive by officials from neighboring Harris County, Georgia, in the case of Gus Davidson. Also African American, the latter man was charged in the shooting death of a white farmer. Four days later Gilbert was dead, shot while held in jail by the Harris County Sheriff, in what he said was self-defense. In 2016 the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project of Northeastern University reported on this death in custody. They found that Gilbert had been beaten severely before his death, and shot five times. They asserted he had been detained and killed because of his success as a farmer.

By 1960, the county was recorded in the US Census as having 31,418 whites and 15,760 "Negroes" (now classified as black or African Americans). Following passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, blacks gradually regained the ability to vote and take part in the political process.

Textile manufacturing was a major part of the economy until the late 20th century, when textile manufacturing moved offshore to areas with cheaper labor. The county has acquired other industry, notably auto parts manufacturers who support the nearby Kia Motors plant. Also in the area are West Point Lake and Callaway Gardens, which attract tourists and visitors as top recreation destinations in the state.

As of 2015, the official historian of Troup County is writer Forrest Clark Johnson, III, who has published several books on the county and region's history. He is a retired teacher in the county's school system.

On January 25, 2017, Mayor Jim Thornton and Police Chief Louis M. Dekmar, of the county seat of LaGrange, publicly apologized to more than 200 people gathered for a reconciliation service at Warren Temple United Methodist Church for the police's failure decades before to protect Callaway, saying:

"'I sincerely regret and denounce the role our Police Department played in Austin's lynching, both through our action and our inaction,' Chief Dekmar told a crowd at a traditionally African-American church. 'And for that, I'm profoundly sorry. It should never have happened.'"

Residents organized Troup Together, a grassroots group to acknowledge lynchings, commemorate the victims, and work on racial reconciliation. On March 18, 2017, black and white residents of the county gathered to dedicate a historic marker at Warren Temple Church "memorializing Callaway's lynching and three others documented in the area: Willis Hodnett in 1884; Samuel Owensby in 1913 and Henry Gilbert, a Troup County resident who was lynched in neighboring Harris County in 1947." Another ceremony was held at Southview Cemetery in LaGrange, where these names were read.

On April 7, 2017, Troup County's computer systems were the victim of a ransomware attack; it caused all county computer systems to be inaccessible. This included the sheriff's office and district attorney's office. After 5 days, the county was still working to get 400 computer systems back online.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 446 sqmi, of which 414 sqmi is land and 32 sqmi (7.2%) is water. The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state.

The entirety of Troup County is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Lake Harding sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin).

Major highways

 * I-85.svg Interstate 85
 * I-185 (GA).svg Interstate 185
 * US 27.svg U.S. Route 27
 * US 29.svg U.S. Route 29
 * Georgia 1.svg State Route 1
 * Georgia 14.svg State Route 14
 * Georgia 14 Connector.svg State Route 14 Connector
 * Georgia 14 Spur.svg State Route 14 Spur
 * Georgia 18.svg State Route 18
 * Georgia 54.svg State Route 54
 * Georgia 100.svg State Route 100
 * Georgia 103.svg State Route 103
 * Georgia 109.svg State Route 109
 * Georgia 219.svg State Route 219
 * Georgia 403.svg State Route 403 (unsigned designation for I-85)
 * Georgia 411.svg State Route 411 (unsigned designation for I-185)

Adjacent counties

 * Coweta County (northeast)
 * Meriwether County (east)
 * Harris County (south)
 * Chambers County, Alabama (southwest/CST Border except for Lanett and Valley as they are part of the Columbus Metropolitan Area)
 * Randolph County, Alabama (northwest/CST Border)
 * Heard County (north)

Cities

 * Hogansville
 * LaGrange (county seat)
 * West Point

Unincorporated communities

 * Abbottsford
 * Harrisonville
 * Long Cane
 * Mountville

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 69,426 people, 24,436 households, and 15,354 families residing in the county.

Government
The government of Troup County is based on an elected county commission, or council. The chairman is elected county-wide, or at-large, and four commissioners are each elected from single-member districts. District 5 includes much of the territory of LaGrange, the county seat and most densely settled community in the county.

title: Troup County, Georgia


text:
Treutlen County, Georgia

Treutlen County is a county located in the east central and Magnolia midlands portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,406. The county seat is Soperton. Treutlen County is host to the Million Pines Arts and Crafts Festival which takes place during the first weekend in November.

History
Before colonization, the area was home to the Muscogee. Following the American Revolution, the location's wiregrass (Aristida stricta) attracted settlers, and a timber industry began to develop around the area's longleaf pine forests, supporting occupations from cabinetmaking and milling to turpentine and other naval stores production.

The area's landscape made it difficult to build roads, resulting in a sparse population until after the Civil War when railroads arrived. In 1902, the Macon, Dublin and Savannah Railroad completed its extension from Macon to Vidalia and constructed a railroad depot near Lothair. The newly-incorporated town of Soperton quickly outgrew Lothair due to the new rail link.

An official process to create Treutlen County was spearheaded by Neil L. Gillis, known as the "father of Treutlen County" due to his efforts. The state constitutional amendment to create Treutlen County was proposed by the Georgia General Assembly on August21, 1917, and ratified November5, 1918, officially making it Georgia's 154th county. The county is made up of former sections of Emanuel and Montgomery counties, and is named for John A. Treutlen, Georgia's first state governor following adoption of the state Constitution of 1777. By this time, as Soperton had become larger than Lothair, it was the clear choice for county seat.

During the 1920s, a local cotton farmer named James Fowler planted over 7million pine trees across 10,000 acres of land. Fowler worked together with scientist Charles Herty, who developed a process to use pine pulp to create paper.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 202 sqmi, of which 199 sqmi is land and 3.0 sqmi (1.5%) is water. Approximately 90% of the county is forested.

The western portion of Treutlen County, west of Soperton, is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The eastern portion of the county is located in the Ohoopee River sub-basin of the larger Altamaha River basin.

Major highways

 * I-16.svg Interstate 16
 * US 221.svg U.S. Route 221
 * Georgia 15.svg State Route 15
 * Georgia 29.svg State Route 29
 * Georgia 46.svg State Route 46
 * Georgia 56.svg State Route 56
 * Georgia 78.svg State Route 78
 * Georgia 86.svg State Route 86
 * Georgia 171.svg State Route 171
 * Georgia 199.svg State Route 199
 * Georgia 199 Spur.svg State Route 199 Spur
 * Georgia 227.svg State Route 227
 * Georgia 297.svg State Route 297
 * Georgia 298.svg State Route 298
 * Georgia 404.svg State Route 404 (unsigned designation for I-16)

Adjacent counties

 * Emanuel County (northeast)
 * Montgomery County (southeast)
 * Wheeler County (southwest)
 * Laurens County (west)
 * Johnson County (northwest)

City

 * Soperton (county seat)

Unincorporated community

 * Lothair

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,406 people, 2,490 households, and 1,654 families residing in the county.

title: Treutlen County, Georgia