The lands ofLee,Muscogee,Troup,Coweta, and Carroll counties wereceded by theCreek people in theTreaty of Indian Springs (1825). This was a huge amount of land in Georgia and Alabama, the last remaining portion of the Creeks' territory, and it was ceded byWilliam McIntosh, the chief of the Lower Creek and a member of the National Council. This cession violated the Law, the Code of 1818 that protected communal tribal land. The Creek National Council ordered the execution of McIntosh and other signatories to the treaty for what it considered treason.
McIntosh was killed at his plantation home, at what has been preserved as theMcIntosh Reserve.Menawa and a force of 100-150 Law Defenders from Upper Town lands ceded in this treaty carried out the executions of two other men, including Samuel Hawkins, one of McIntosh's sons-in-law. Benjamin Hawkins Jr., another son-in-law, was also named for execution but he escaped, and soon moved to East Texas with his wife and family. Both of the Hawkins brothers were sons ofBenjamin Hawkins, the longstanding US Indian Supervisor of the Creek.
When the county was first organized, the legislature designated the county seat as Old Carrollton, Georgia, but in 1830 it was moved toCarrollton.[5]
This county originally extended from theChattahoochee River to the Alabama state line on the east and on the west, with its northern boundary at theCherokee Nation, just north of present-dayInterstate 20. As population increased, this land was divided into Carroll,Douglas, andHeard counties, and parts ofHaralson and Troup counties. The portion that became Douglas County was onceCampbell County which no longer exists (it was divided between Douglas andFulton counties).
Because the county had few slaves compared to counties developed for cotton plantations, it was called theFree State of Carroll during the 1850s. Even before the cession of territory by the Cherokee in the late 1830s, some white settlers lived in the northern part of the county in the area ofVilla Rica.
Carroll County was the site of Georgia's first Gold Rush.
For a time Carroll County was the home ofHorace King (architect). King helped build Moore's Bridge over theChattahoochee River at Whitesburg. Moores Bridge was burned by Union soldiers during the Civil War. During theAmerican Civil War, the county provided the Bowdon Volunteers and the Carroll Boys, which were a part ofCobb's Legion.
In February 2008 several tornadoes hit Carroll County, destroying several homes and damaging many more. OnMay 11, 2008 (Mother's Day) some of the same areas were hit by more tornadoes. The Mother's Day tornadoes destroyed and damaged many homes and businesses.
OnSeptember 21, 2009, portions of Carroll County were flooded after eight days of heavy rainfall, resulting in multiple deaths. The flooding initially closed more than 60highways and roads, and it destroyed a number of bridges. Early estimates of the damage totaled $22 million.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 504 square miles (1,310 km2), of which 499 square miles (1,290 km2) is land and 4.8 square miles (12 km2) (0.9%) is water.[6]
Carroll County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition 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.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 119,148, 42,859 households, and 30,346 families residing in the county.[20]
Of the residents, 23.6% were under the age of 18 and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 36.3 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.5 males.[20]
45.6% of residents lived in urban areas and 54.4% lived in rural areas.[21]
There were 42,859 households in the county, of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 27.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[20]
There were 46,239 housing units, of which 7.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 66.6% were owner-occupied and 33.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.6%.[20]
TheSouthern Railway ran several daily passenger trains, including theKansas City-Florida Special, theSunnyland and an Atlanta-Birmingham section of thePiedmont Limited, making full stops inBremen. These trains made flag or signal stops in Villa Rica as well.[23] The last trains made stops in 1967.[24]
