Taliaferro County
County
Taliaferro County Courthouse (built 1902),[1] Crawfordville
Taliaferro County Courthouse (built 1902),[1] Crawfordville
Map of Georgia highlighting Taliaferro County
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Map of the United States highlighting Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°34′N 82°53′W / 33.57°N 82.88°W / 33.57; -82.88
Country United States
State Georgia
FoundedDecember 24, 1825; 199 years ago (1825)
Named forBenjamin Taliaferro
SeatCrawfordville
Largest cityCrawfordville
Area
 • Total195 sq mi (510 km2)
 • Land195 sq mi (510 km2)
 • Water0.7 sq mi (2 km2)  0.4%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total1,559
 • Density8.0/sq mi (3.1/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district10th
Websitetaliaferrocountyga.org

Taliaferro County (/ˈtɒlɪvər/ TOL-iv-ər) is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,559,[2] down from the 2010 census when the population was 1,717,[3] making it the least populous county in Georgia and the second-least populous county east of the Mississippi River (after Issaquena County, Mississippi). The county seat is Crawfordville.[4]

History

Taliaferro County was formed by an act of the Georgia Legislature meeting in Milledgeville on December 24, 1825. It was formed by taking portions of five other counties: Wilkes, Greene, Hancock, Oglethorpe, and Warren Counties.[5]

The county was named for Colonel Benjamin Taliaferro of Virginia, who was an officer in the American Revolution.

The county is most famous for containing the birthplace and home of Alexander H. Stephens, who served as a U.S. congressman from Georgia in the antebellum South, as vice president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, and as governor of Georgia after the war (dying in office). A state park near his home in Crawfordville bears his name.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 195 square miles (510 km2), of which 195 square miles (510 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) (0.4%) is water.[6] It is drained by tributaries of the Ogeechee and Little rivers.[7]

The northern half of Taliaferro County, north of Crawfordville, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. The southern half of the county is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin.[8]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18304,934—
18405,1905.2%
18505,146−0.8%
18604,583−10.9%
18704,7964.6%
18807,03446.7%
18907,2913.7%
19007,9128.5%
19108,76610.8%
19208,8410.9%
19306,172−30.2%
19406,2781.7%
19504,515−28.1%
19603,370−25.4%
19702,423−28.1%
19802,032−16.1%
19901,915−5.8%
20002,0778.5%
20101,717−17.3%
20201,559−9.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
1790-1880[10] 1890-1910[11]
1920-1930[12] 1930-1940[13]
1940-1950[14] 1960-1980[15]
1980-2000[16] 2010[17] 2020[18]
Taliaferro County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2000[19] Pop 2010[17] Pop 2020[18] % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 787 625 591 37.89% 36.40% 37.91%
Black or African American alone (NH) 1,251 1,024 833 60.23% 59.64% 53.43%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 1 2 4 0.05% 0.12% 0.26%
Asian alone (NH) 1 8 6 0.05% 0.47% 0.38%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 0 0 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Other race alone (NH) 6 0 2 0.29% 0.00% 0.13%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) 12 23 54 0.58% 1.34% 3.46%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 19 35 69 0.91% 2.04% 4.43%
Total 2,077 1,717 1,559 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,559 people, 593 households, and 399 families residing in the county.

Economy

Taliaferro county's main employer is the government,[20] primarily the Taliaferro County Sheriffs Department, which patrols I-20 and issues many traffic tickets per capita compared to other counties in the state. For instance, Fulton County, the largest county by population in Georgia, gains $16.98 per capita in traffic ticket revenue. By comparison, Taliaferro county gains $1,614.33 per capita, which is around a hundred times more.[21]

In popular culture

Several Hollywood films have been shot in Taliaferro County. Paris Trout (1991), starring Dennis Hopper and based on the novel by the same name by Pete Dexter, was primarily filmed in the county. Sweet Home Alabama (2002), starring Reese Witherspoon, was filmed in the county seat of Crawfordville.

Politics

Taliaferro County is one of the most reliably Democratic counties in Georgia, despite being mostly rural in nature. It has supported the Democrat candidate in every presidential election by wide margins except in 1972, when Richard Nixon won by a landslide.

Notable people

United States presidential election results for Taliaferro County, Georgia[22]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 360 38.79% 561 60.45% 7 0.75%
2016 349 38.91% 545 60.76% 3 0.33%
2012 323 33.54% 636 66.04% 4 0.42%
2008 339 34.24% 643 64.95% 8 0.81%
2004 335 35.23% 612 64.35% 4 0.42%
2000 271 32.57% 556 66.83% 5 0.60%
1996 235 26.52% 615 69.41% 36 4.06%
1992 269 24.32% 755 68.26% 82 7.41%
1988 306 39.38% 469 60.36% 2 0.26%
1984 318 36.64% 550 63.36% 0 0.00%
1980 270 28.30% 670 70.23% 14 1.47%
1976 236 23.98% 748 76.02% 0 0.00%
1972 585 61.13% 372 38.87% 0 0.00%
1968 232 16.36% 678 47.81% 508 35.83%
1964 337 34.92% 628 65.08% 0 0.00%
1960 148 18.43% 655 81.57% 0 0.00%
1956 160 21.08% 599 78.92% 0 0.00%
1952 103 10.55% 873 89.45% 0 0.00%
1948 21 3.51% 504 84.14% 74 12.35%
1944 6 1.52% 389 98.48% 0 0.00%
1940 19 3.61% 507 96.39% 0 0.00%
1936 14 2.44% 552 96.34% 7 1.22%
1932 3 0.59% 503 99.41% 0 0.00%
1928 58 11.51% 446 88.49% 0 0.00%
1924 4 1.37% 228 77.82% 61 20.82%
1920 12 3.51% 330 96.49% 0 0.00%
1916 14 5.07% 255 92.39% 7 2.54%
1912 35 12.50% 225 80.36% 20 7.14%

See also

References

  1. ^ Caldwell, W. W.: "The Courthouse and the Depot", pages 33-34. Mercer University Press, 2001
  2. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  4. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 219. ISBN 0-915430-00-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 17, 2003.
  6. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  7. ^ Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "Taliaferro" . The American Cyclopædia.
  8. ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  9. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade". United States Census Bureau.
  10. ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
  11. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
  12. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
  13. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
  14. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
  15. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
  16. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
  17. ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Taliaferro County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
  18. ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Taliaferro County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
  19. ^ "P004 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Taliaferro County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
  20. ^ Boatright, Susan R. (November 2005). "Taliaferro County Community Profile" (PDF). uga.edu. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 9, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  21. ^ "Database: Georgia's biggest ticket traps". myajc. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  22. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 22, 2018.

External links

33°34′N 82°53′W / 33.57°N 82.88°W / 33.57; -82.88

Places adjacent to Taliaferro County, Georgia
Municipalities and communities of Taliaferro County, Georgia, United States
Central Savannah River Area (CSRA)
State of Georgia
Authority control databases
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