Rockdale County, Georgia

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Rockdale County, Georgia
Rockdale County Courthouse in Conyers
Location in the state of Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia's location in the U.S.
Founded	October 18, 1870 (1870-10-18)
Named for	Rockdale Baptist Church
Seat	Conyers
Largest city	Conyers
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	132 sq mi (342 km²) 130 sq mi (337 km²) 2.3 sq mi (6 km²), 1.7%
Population  - (2020)  - Density	93,570 686/sq mi (265/km²)
Congressional district	4th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.rockdalecountyga.gov

Rockdale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,570. The county seat is Conyers.

Rockdale County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Rockdale Baptist Church

Rockdale County was created on October 18, 1870 and received its name from Rockdale Baptist Church (est. 1846), which was named after the granite strata that rests under the county's red clay top soil. A bill introduced by John F. Hardin and John Harris carved Rockdale out of the northern portion of Newton County; parts of Rockdale County also came from neighboring Henry, Walton, Gwinnett, and DeKalb counties. Conyers, Rockdale's only incorporated town and urban center, became the county seat.

Prior to Rockdale becoming a county, the land had been inhabited by the Creek and Cherokee; the boundary between the two native nations, the Hightower Trail, ran directly through area. Burial remains have been discovered in the Honey Creek and Hi-Roc areas. Whites began migrating to the area in the early 19th century and initial white settlers suffered from Indian raids. Early white settlements developed along Big Haynes Creek in the northern part of the county, the Yellow River in the middle portion of the county, and Honey Creek in the south. Communities formed around grist mills and newly formed churches such as Haralson Mill, Costleys Mill, Dial Mill, Zacharys Mill, McElroys Mill, Union Grove Baptist Church, Ebenezer Methodist Church, Philadelphia Methodist Church, Salem Baptist Church, Smyrna Presbyterian Church, Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Bethel Christian Church, Honey Creek Baptist Church, and Whites Chapel Methodist Church. Other communities included Magnet and Zingara. These settlers were largely subsistence farmers.

During the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman marched the Union Army north of Conyers on his way to Covington from Lithonia. Seizure and destruction of property accompanied his army's march through the area. Many of the residents of Conyers, fearing Sherman would raze the city, fled to nearby Social Circle in Walton County, since Conyers was an important stop on the Georgia Railroad, but Conyers remained unscathed by the war. The city is a fine example of residential and commercial architecture of the 19th century. According to a historical marker on U.S. Highway 278 west of Conyers, Major General Joseph Wheeler of the Confederate States Army and part of his staff were captured by Union troops pursuing Jefferson Davis on May 9, 1865. Wheeler was later released in Athens only to be recaptured again. He was wounded three times and had his horse shot out from under him sixteen times.

During Reconstruction, Conyers and Rockdale County experienced tremendous growth. According to the local newspaper, The Weekly Farmer, the population of Conyers increased from 300 to 2,000. The number of stores, businesses, schools, and churches of the county rapidly multiplied as well. Parts of the county were infamous for moonshining and the county became dry in 1882, prohibiting the sale and manufacture of liquor except by a licensed pharmacist as prescribed by a physician. The economy of the county was still based primarily on agriculture into the early 20th century. The PBS documentary The Lost Children of Rockdale County is about a syphilis outbreak which occurred in the county during the 1990s.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 132 square miles (340 km²), of which 130 square miles (340 km²) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²) (1.7%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in Georgia by area, ahead of Clarke County.

The entirety of Rockdale County is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.

Adjacent counties

• Gwinnett County – north
• Walton County – northeast
• Newton County – east
• Henry County – southwest
• DeKalb County – west

Transportation

Major highways

• Interstate 20
• U.S. Route 278
• State Route 12
• State Route 20
• State Route 138
• State Route 162
• State Route 212
• State Route 402 (unsigned designation for I-20)

The county features an interchange of I-20 and SR 20. In order to ease potential motorist confusion, the concurrency of SR 20 & 138 is usually called just "138".

Pedestrians and cycling

• Arabia Mountain Path
• Conyers Trail
• Deer Run Trial
• Rockdale River Trail
• S River Trail

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	6,838		—
1890	6,813		−0.4%
1900	7,515		10.3%
1910	8,916		18.6%
1920	9,521		6.8%
1930	7,247		−23.9%
1940	7,724		6.6%
1950	8,464		9.6%
1960	10,572		24.9%
1970	18,152		71.7%
1980	36,747		102.4%
1990	54,091		47.2%
2000	70,111		29.6%
2010	85,215		21.5%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2020 census

Rockdale County racial composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	24,500	26.18%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	53,785	57.48%
Native American	168	0.18%
Asian	1,532	1.64%
Pacific Islander	72	0.08%
Other/Mixed	3,973	4.25%
Hispanic or Latino	9,540	10.2%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 93,570 people, 32,792 households, and 23,533 families residing in the county.

2010 census

According to the 2010 U.S Census, the racial makeup of the county was 40.9% White, 45.8% Black, 0.2% American Indian, 1.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.3% Other race, and 1.6% from two or more races. 9.5% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

There were 24,052 households, out of which 39.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.60% were married couples living together, 12.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.50% were non-families. 16.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.50% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 9.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $53,599, and the median income for a family was $60,065. Males had a median income of $41,087 versus $29,189 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,300. About 5.70% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.00% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Main article: Rockdale County School District

Government and policing

Rockdale County Sheriff

The Sheriff's Office provides police patrol to the county areas other than in Conyers which has a municipal police department. The Sheriff also protects the court, maintains the county prison, and provides administration services.

Politics

The county has undergone a massive shift towards the Democratic Party in recent decades (due to growth of the African-American population), having shifted 36.2 points since 2000 as of 2020.

United States presidential election results for Rockdale County, Georgia

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	13,014	29.11%	31,237	69.88%	448	1.00%
2016	13,478	35.39%	23,255	61.06%	1,354	3.56%
2012	15,716	41.19%	22,023	57.72%	417	1.09%
2008	16,921	44.78%	20,526	54.32%	337	0.89%
2004	18,856	60.42%	12,136	38.89%	214	0.69%
2000	15,440	62.64%	8,295	33.65%	914	3.71%
1996	13,006	57.31%	7,656	33.73%	2,034	8.96%
1992	11,945	52.64%	7,003	30.86%	3,742	16.49%
1988	12,413	73.77%	4,330	25.73%	83	0.49%
1984	10,121	75.46%	3,291	24.54%	0	0.00%
1980	5,300	52.65%	4,395	43.66%	372	3.70%
1976	2,974	39.06%	4,640	60.94%	0	0.00%
1972	3,560	81.82%	791	18.18%	0	0.00%
1968	1,195	25.85%	1,213	26.24%	2,215	47.91%
1964	1,503	43.25%	1,972	56.75%	0	0.00%
1960	496	21.94%	1,765	78.06%	0	0.00%
1956	484	21.39%	1,779	78.61%	0	0.00%
1952	321	16.16%	1,665	83.84%	0	0.00%
1948	146	9.86%	1,209	81.63%	126	8.51%
1944	96	9.21%	946	90.79%	0	0.00%
1940	86	6.23%	1,291	93.55%	3	0.22%
1936	73	8.01%	837	91.88%	1	0.11%
1932	18	3.73%	461	95.45%	4	0.83%
1928	156	24.84%	472	75.16%	0	0.00%
1924	24	5.53%	382	88.02%	28	6.45%
1920	201	29.17%	488	70.83%	0	0.00%
1916	56	9.05%	490	79.16%	73	11.79%
1912	51	10.32%	432	87.45%	11	2.23%
1908	172	28.10%	352	57.52%	88	14.38%
1904	133	19.19%	434	62.63%	126	18.18%
1900	184	29.16%	393	62.28%	54	8.56%
1896	483	50.00%	473	48.96%	10	1.04%
1892	390	34.73%	532	47.37%	201	17.90%
1888	280	32.79%	568	66.51%	6	0.70%
1884	225	30.70%	508	69.30%	0	0.00%
1880	243	34.37%	464	65.63%	0	0.00%

Notable people

• Jill Arrington, ESPN college football reporter
• Billy Buckner, former Major League Baseball player
• Cartel's Will Pugh, Joseph Pepper, Jeff Lett, Nic Hudson, & Kevin Sanders
• David Elder, former Major League Baseball player
• Dakota Fanning, actress
• Elle Fanning, actress
• Holly Hunter, actress
• John Mark Karr, JonBenét Ramsey's falsely claimed murderer
• Clint Mathis, World Cup soccer player
• Jack McBrayer, actor
• Kevin Ware, current college basketball player
• E.R. Shipp - Pulitzer Prize recipient

Attractions

• Georgia International Horse Park [1]
• Black Shoals Lake and Covered Bridge
• Old Towne Conyers Historic District
• Monastery of the Holy Spirit [2]
• Salem Campground [3]
• Smyrna Campground
• Milstead Historic Mill Village
• Panola Mountain State Park
• Rockdale Baptist Church
• Georgia Revolution FC [4]

Communities

• Conyers
• Lakeview Estates

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockdale County, Georgia

Sources

• Margaret G. Barksdale, E. L. Cowan, Francis A. King, eds. A History of Rockdale County (Conyers, Ga., 1978).
• The Heritage of Rockdale County, Georgia (Waynesville, N.C., 1998).

External links

• Rockdale County Historic Maps [5]
• Rockdale County Courthouse [6]
• The Rockdale Citizen [7]
• The Rockdale News [8]
• Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce [9]
• Conyers Convention and Visitor's Bureau [10]
• The Lost Children of Rockdale County [11]