Jefferson County, Georgia

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Not to be confused with Jefferson, Georgia.

Jefferson County, Georgia
County courthouse in Louisville
Location in the state of Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 20, 1796 (1796-02-20)
Named for	Thomas Jefferson
Seat	Louisville
Largest city	Wadley
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	530 sq mi (1,373 km²) 526 sq mi (1,362 km²) 3.2 sq mi (8 km²), 0.6%
Population  - (2020)  - Density	15,709 30/sq mi (12/km²)
Congressional district	10th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4

Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,709. The county seat is Louisville. The county was created on February 20, 1796, and named for Thomas Jefferson, the main author of the Declaration of Independence who became the third president of the United States.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 530 square miles (1,400 km²), of which 526 square miles (1,360 km²) is land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) (0.6%) is water.

The small northern portion of Jefferson County, defined by a line running from Stapleton southeast and just south of State Route 80, is located in the Brier Creek sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. The entire rest of the county is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin.

Major highways

• U.S. Route 1
• 
  U.S. Route 1 Business (Louisville)
• 
  U.S. Route 1 Business (Wadley)
• U.S. Route 221
• U.S. Route 319
• State Route 4
• State Route 4 Business (Louisville)
• State Route 4 Business (Wadley)
• State Route 17
• State Route 24
• State Route 47
• State Route 78
• State Route 80
• State Route 88
• State Route 102
• State Route 171
• State Route 242
• State Route 296
• State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)

Adjacent counties

• McDuffie County - north
• Richmond County - northeast
• Burke County - east
• Emanuel County - south
• Johnson County - southwest
• Glascock County - northwest
• Washington County - west
• Warren County - northwest

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1800	5,684		—
1810	6,111		7.5%
1820	7,056		15.5%
1830	7,309		3.6%
1840	7,254		−0.8%
1850	9,131		25.9%
1860	10,219		11.9%
1870	12,190		19.3%
1880	15,671		28.6%
1890	17,213		9.8%
1900	18,212		5.8%
1910	21,379		17.4%
1920	22,602		5.7%
1930	20,727		−8.3%
1940	20,040		−3.3%
1950	18,855		−5.9%
1960	17,468		−7.4%
1970	17,174		−1.7%
1980	18,403		7.2%
1990	17,408		−5.4%
2000	17,266		−0.8%
2010	16,930		−1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2020 census

Jefferson County racial composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	6,834	43.5%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	7,970	50.74%
Native American	21	0.13%
Asian	70	0.45%
Other/Mixed	352	2.24%
Hispanic or Latino	462	2.94%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 15,709 people, 5,664 households, and 3,598 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 16,930 people, 6,241 households, and 4,407 families residing in the county. The population density was 32.2 inhabitants per square mile (12.4 /km²). There were 7,298 housing units at an average density of 13.9 per square mile (5.4 /km²). The racial makeup of the county was 54.4% black or African American, 42.6% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% American Indian, 1.6% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, and 26.7% were American.

Of the 6,241 households, 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 23.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.4% were non-families, and 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.16. The median age was 38.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,268 and the median income for a family was $36,980. Males had a median income of $36,284 versus $27,191 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,165. About 19.0% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.7% of those under age 18 and 24.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Main article: Louisville, Georgia#Education

Communities

Cities

• Avera
• Louisville (county seat)
• Stapleton
• Wadley
• Wrens

Towns

• Bartow
• Matthews

Politics

United States presidential election results for Jefferson County, Georgia

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	3,537	46.30%	4,058	53.12%	44	0.58%
2016	3,063	43.91%	3,821	54.77%	92	1.32%
2012	2,999	41.08%	4,261	58.36%	41	0.56%
2008	3,061	42.31%	4,149	57.35%	25	0.35%
2004	3,066	46.89%	3,447	52.71%	26	0.40%
2000	2,559	45.98%	2,973	53.41%	34	0.61%
1996	2,077	35.86%	3,404	58.77%	311	5.37%
1992	2,077	34.68%	3,220	53.77%	692	11.55%
1988	2,788	54.13%	2,346	45.54%	17	0.33%
1984	2,999	51.57%	2,816	48.43%	0	0.00%
1980	1,605	32.24%	3,305	66.39%	68	1.37%
1976	1,309	29.59%	3,115	70.41%	0	0.00%
1972	2,777	70.11%	1,184	29.89%	0	0.00%
1968	1,227	23.51%	1,901	36.43%	2,090	40.05%
1964	2,950	70.15%	1,253	29.80%	2	0.05%
1960	986	43.71%	1,270	56.29%	0	0.00%
1956	512	27.48%	1,351	72.52%	0	0.00%
1952	744	33.51%	1,476	66.49%	0	0.00%
1948	137	7.98%	544	31.70%	1,035	60.31%
1944	274	20.80%	1,043	79.20%	0	0.00%
1940	171	13.72%	1,068	85.71%	7	0.56%
1936	168	11.85%	1,238	87.31%	12	0.85%
1932	65	4.23%	1,454	94.66%	17	1.11%
1928	1,057	56.98%	798	43.02%	0	0.00%
1924	103	15.10%	502	73.61%	77	11.29%
1920	82	8.92%	837	91.08%	0	0.00%
1916	63	7.91%	588	73.87%	145	18.22%
1912	45	3.31%	899	66.15%	415	30.54%
1908	361	48.92%	373	50.54%	4	0.54%
1904	489	48.95%	379	37.94%	131	13.11%
1900	128	23.49%	394	72.29%	23	4.22%
1896	223	23.98%	541	58.17%	166	17.85%
1892	641	22.37%	768	26.81%	1,456	50.82%
1888	130	13.67%	816	85.80%	5	0.53%
1884	477	43.88%	610	56.12%	0	0.00%
1880	308	33.01%	625	66.99%	0	0.00%

See also

• Central Savannah River Area
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Georgia

External links

• The Jefferson County Information Center Website
• The Friends of Historic Downtown Louisville Website
• The Fire House Gallery Website - Contemporary art in Jefferson County
• Videos about life in Jefferson County by Fire Team Productions
• A genealogy table for Jefferson County, Georgia ←Broken link, December 2015.
• USA Today Q&A with Jefferson County High principal Molly Howard
• The News and Farmer and Wadley Herald/ Jefferson Reporter, the county's weekly newspaper and the oldest weekly in Georgia
• The Official Jefferson County Economic Development Website
• General Wood's Fort historical marker
• Old Savannah Road historical marker
• Old Town Plantation historical marker
• Rocky Comfort Creek historical marker
• Yazoo Fraud historical marker