Elbert County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,637.[1] The county seat is Elberton.[2] The county was established on December 10, 1790, and was named for Samuel Elbert.[3][4]
Elbert County | |
|---|---|
 Elbert County courthouse in Elberton, 1973 | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Georgia | |
 Georgia's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 34°07′N 82°50′W / 34.11°N 82.84°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Founded | 1790 |
| Named for | Samuel Elbert |
| Seat | Elberton |
| Largest city | Elberton |
| Area | |
• Total | 374 sq mi (970 km2) |
| • Land | 351 sq mi (910 km2) |
| • Water | 23 sq mi (60 km2) 6.2% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 19,637 |
| • Density | 56/sq mi (22/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 9th |
| Website | www |
Geography
editAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 374 square miles (970 km2), of which 351 square miles (910 km2) is land and 23 square miles (60 km2) (6.2%) is water.[5] The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state.
The northern half of Elbert County, north of a line made by following State Route 17 from Bowman southeast to Elberton, and then following State Route 72 east to just before the South Carolina border, and then heading south along the shores of Lake Richard B. Russell & Clarkes Hill to the county's southeastern tip, is located in the Upper Savannah River sub-basin of the larger Savannah River basin. The portion of the county south of this line is located in the Broad River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin.[6]
Major highways
editState Route 17
State Route 72
State Route 77
State Route 77 Connector
State Route 79
State Route 172
State Route 368
Adjacent counties
edit- Anderson County, South Carolina (northeast)
- Abbeville County, South Carolina (east)
- McCormick County, South Carolina (southeast)
- Lincoln County (southeast)
- Wilkes County (south)
- Oglethorpe County (southwest)
- Madison County (west)
- Hart County (north)
- Franklin County (northwest)
Communities
editCities
editCensus-designated place
editUnincorporated communities
editGhost town
editDemographics
edit| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 10,094 | — | |
| 1810 | 12,156 | 20.4% | |
| 1820 | 11,788 | −3.0% | |
| 1830 | 12,354 | 4.8% | |
| 1840 | 11,125 | −9.9% | |
| 1850 | 12,959 | 16.5% | |
| 1860 | 10,433 | −19.5% | |
| 1870 | 9,249 | −11.3% | |
| 1880 | 12,957 | 40.1% | |
| 1890 | 15,376 | 18.7% | |
| 1900 | 19,729 | 28.3% | |
| 1910 | 24,125 | 22.3% | |
| 1920 | 23,905 | −0.9% | |
| 1930 | 18,485 | −22.7% | |
| 1940 | 19,618 | 6.1% | |
| 1950 | 18,585 | −5.3% | |
| 1960 | 17,835 | −4.0% | |
| 1970 | 17,262 | −3.2% | |
| 1980 | 18,758 | 8.7% | |
| 1990 | 18,949 | 1.0% | |
| 2000 | 20,511 | 8.2% | |
| 2010 | 20,166 | −1.7% | |
| 2020 | 19,637 | −2.6% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 20,013 | [7] | 1.9% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790–1880[9] 1890–1910[10] 1920–1930[11] 1930–1940[12] 1940–1950[13] 1960–1980[14] 1980–2000[15] 2010[16] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 12,610 | 64.22% |
| Black or African American | 5,253 | 26.75% |
| Native American | 26 | 0.13% |
| Asian | 182 | 0.93% |
| Pacific Islander | 3 | 0.02% |
| Other/Mixed | 567 | 2.89% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 996 | 5.07% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,637 people, 7,559 households, and 5,065 families residing in the county.
Judiciary and government
editElbert County is part of the Northern Judicial Circuit of Georgia, which also includes the counties of Hart, Franklin, Madison, and Oglethorpe. Elbert County's governing authority, the Elbert County Board of Commissioners, has five Commissioners elected in districts, a Chairperson elected County-wide, and an appointed County Administrator.
Politics
edit| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 6,860 | 71.54% | 2,700 | 28.16% | 29 | 0.30% |
| 2020 | 6,226 | 67.85% | 2,879 | 31.38% | 71 | 0.77% |
| 2016 | 5,292 | 65.93% | 2,539 | 31.63% | 196 | 2.44% |
| 2012 | 4,859 | 59.58% | 3,181 | 39.00% | 116 | 1.42% |
| 2008 | 4,868 | 58.43% | 3,366 | 40.40% | 98 | 1.18% |
| 2004 | 4,626 | 60.33% | 2,984 | 38.91% | 58 | 0.76% |
| 2000 | 3,262 | 55.73% | 2,527 | 43.17% | 64 | 1.09% |
| 1996 | 2,393 | 40.86% | 2,900 | 49.51% | 564 | 9.63% |
| 1992 | 2,372 | 38.46% | 3,025 | 49.05% | 770 | 12.49% |
| 1988 | 2,796 | 56.77% | 2,118 | 43.01% | 11 | 0.22% |
| 1984 | 3,366 | 55.77% | 2,670 | 44.23% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 1,967 | 32.45% | 4,014 | 66.23% | 80 | 1.32% |
| 1976 | 961 | 16.89% | 4,730 | 83.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1972 | 2,875 | 76.48% | 884 | 23.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 914 | 16.98% | 1,216 | 22.59% | 3,252 | 60.42% |
| 1964 | 1,887 | 37.30% | 3,172 | 62.70% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 609 | 14.23% | 3,672 | 85.77% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 447 | 10.95% | 3,635 | 89.05% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 552 | 14.41% | 3,279 | 85.59% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 152 | 7.16% | 1,617 | 76.17% | 354 | 16.67% |
| 1944 | 370 | 19.11% | 1,564 | 80.79% | 2 | 0.10% |
| 1940 | 357 | 14.70% | 2,052 | 84.48% | 20 | 0.82% |
| 1936 | 438 | 19.62% | 1,772 | 79.39% | 22 | 0.99% |
| 1932 | 77 | 3.63% | 2,023 | 95.47% | 19 | 0.90% |
| 1928 | 931 | 46.95% | 1,052 | 53.05% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 72 | 5.59% | 1,024 | 79.56% | 191 | 14.84% |
| 1920 | 187 | 13.04% | 1,247 | 86.96% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 0 | 0.00% | 1,756 | 90.56% | 183 | 9.44% |
| 1912 | 13 | 1.15% | 882 | 77.85% | 238 | 21.01% |
Historical and cultural sites
editHistorical and cultural sites in Elbert County include the Nancy Hart cabin, the Dan Tucker gravesite, the Stephen Heard Cemetery, the Petersburg Township site, Vans Creek Church, the Elbert County Courthouse, the Elberton Seaboard-Airline Depot, the Rock Gym, the Granite Bowl, the Elberton Granite Museum and Exhibit, the Richard B. Russell Dam, the Elbert Theatre, Richard B. Russell State Park, and Bobby Brown Park. The Georgia Guidestones stood in Elbert County from 1980 until their destruction in 2022.
Notable people
edit- Warren Akin Sr., member of the Georgia House of Representatives and Confederate States Congress
- Milton Alexander, brigadier general during the Black Hawk War
- William J. Alston, U.S. House of Representatives, Alabama House of Representatives, and Alabama Senate
- Richard E. Banks, physician and surgeon
- William Barnett, U.S. House of Representatives
- William Augustus Bell, academic and president of Miles College
- Fred Bond Jr., tobacco industry representative and mayor Cary, North Carolina
- Nathaniel J. Hammond, United States House of Representatives and Georgia Attorney General
- Mecole Hardman, professional football player
- Derek Harper, professional basketball player
- Corra Mae Harris, journalist and war correspondent
- Sampson Willis Harris, U.S. House of Representatives and Georgia House of Representatives
- Nancy Hart, rebel heroine of the American Revolutionary War
- William Henry Heard, clergyman and diplomat
- R. H. Hunt, architect
- Mammy Kate, enslaved women
- Joseph Rucker Lamar, US Supreme Court justice
- Otis Leavill, R&B singer, songwriter and record company executive
- Daniel Parker, leader in the Primitive Baptist Church
- Charles Tait, United States Senator and a United States district judge
- Horace Tate, educator, activist, scholar, and politician
- Daniel Tucker, Methodist minister, farmer, and ferryman as well as a captain during the American Revolution
- Matthias Ward, lawyer and United States Senator from Texas.
- William J. White, civil rights leader, minister, educator, and journalist
- Thomas Simpson Woodward, brigadier general in the Georgia militia
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Census – Geography Profile: Elbert County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Elbert County". georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 116.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790–1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
- ^ "1910 Census of Population – Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
- ^ "1930 Census of Population – Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
- ^ "1940 Census of Population – Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
- ^ "1950 Census of Population – Georgia –" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
- ^ "1980 Census of Population – Number of Inhabitants – Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
- ^ "2000 Census of Population – Population and Housing Unit Counts – Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 19, 2018.