The citizens of the area of Lowndes County and Irwin County that would become Berrien County had to travel long distances to get the county courthouse at Franklinville, Georgia and laterTroupville, Georgia for those in Lowndes County, andIrwinville, Georgia for those in Irwin County. By at least June 1853, citizens had petitioned to form a new county.[4] The 1853 attempt of a new county failed. By 1856, a renewed attempt at the creation of a new county was successful.
Berrien County lost a disproportionate number of men inWorld War I in part because companies at that time were organized by militia districts at home. Eight weeks before the Armistice, 25 Berrien County men were among the 200 recently enlisted soldiers who perished at sea off the coast of Scotland.[5] Many of the bodies were returned to the soldiers' hometowns for burial, and the names of the dead were engraved on a memorial located on the courthouse grounds in Nashville. The memorial was the first in a series of pressed copper sculptures by artistE. M. Viquesney entitledThe Spirit of the American Doughboy.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 458 square miles (1,190 km2), of which 452 square miles (1,170 km2) is land and 6.0 square miles (16 km2) (1.3%) is water.[6]
The western portion of Berrien County, from just north ofU.S. Route 82 and roughly west ofU.S. Route 129 heading south, is located in theWithlacoochee River sub-basin of theSuwannee River basin. The eastern portion of the county is located in theAlapaha River sub-basin of the larger Suwannee River basin.[7]
At the2020 United States census, there were 18,160 people, 7,367 households, and 5,055 families residing in the county, down from 19,286 at the2010 census. Previously, the county had a historic-high population of 22,722 in 1910, although in 1860, Berrien County's population was 3,475.
According to theAmerican Community Survey in 2022, its median household income was $48,670 with a per capita income of $25,100.[19] Approximately 51% of its population made less than $50,000 a year; 30% from $50,000-100,000; 17% from $100,000-200,000; and 2% more than $200,000 annually. Of the county, 23.2% lived at or below the poverty line, and an estimated 30% of children under 18 years of age were at or below the poverty line. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $108,300.
