Stewart County, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Stewart County courthouse in Lumpkin | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofGeorgia | |
 Georgia's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:32°05′N84°50′W / 32.08°N 84.84°W /32.08; -84.84 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Founded | December 23, 1830; 195 years ago (1830) |
| Named after | Daniel Stewart |
| Seat | Lumpkin |
| Largest city | Richland |
| Area | |
• Total | 464 sq mi (1,200 km2) |
| • Land | 459 sq mi (1,190 km2) |
| • Water | 4.9 sq mi (13 km2) 1.1% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 5,314 |
• Estimate (2024) | 4,809 |
| • Density | 11.6/sq mi (4.47/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | www |
Stewart County is acounty located in the west central portion of the U.S. state ofGeorgia. As of the2020 census, the population was 5,314.[1] Thecounty seat isLumpkin.[2] The county was created on December 23, 1830.
The area was inhabited byNative Americans for thousands of years in thePre-Columbian period.Roods Landing site on theChattahoochee River is a significant archaeological site located south ofOmaha. Listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, it includes majorearthworkmounds built about 1100–1350CE by peoples of the sophisticatedMississippian culture. Another Mississippian site is the Singer Moye Mounds, located in the southern part of the county.
The first Europeans to encounter the Native Americans were Spanish explorers in the mid-16th century. At that time the historicalCreek tribe inhabited the southern two thirds of what is now defined as Georgia, west of the Low Country. they are believed to be the descendants of the Mississippian culture.
They maintained their territory until afterEuropean American settlers arrived in increasing number in the early decades of the 19th century. The ensuing conflicts ultimately resulted in most of the Creek people's being driven out of the region. In the 1830s underIndian removal, the US federal government forced most Creek to relocate west of theMississippi River, toIndian Territory in what became present-dayOklahoma.
Stewart County was created by an act[3] of theGeorgia General Assembly on December 23, 1830, from land that had been part ofRandolph County, Georgia.[4] The county is named forDaniel Stewart, aRevolutionary War veteran, and fighter againstAmerican Indians. He was one of the four great-grandfathers of U.S. presidentTheodore Roosevelt.[5]
Settlers developed the area as largecottonplantations, part of the "Black Belt" of Georgia and theDeep South. Before theAmerican Civil War, planters depended onenslaved labor of thousands ofAfrican Americans to cultivate and process the cotton for market. Mostly born in the United States, the slaves were transported from theUpper South, with many families broken up when some members were purchased through sales in the domesticslave trade.
In 1850, the county reached its peak in wealth as one of the largest cotton producers in the state. It had the tenth-largest population of any county in the state,[6] with 16,027 people.[7] African-American slaves numbered 7,373, or 46% of the population.[8]
By 1860, the county population was 13,422. The apparent drop was due to the counties of Kinchafoonee (laterWebster County) andQuitman being created from Stewart County territory in 1853 and 1858, respectively.[7] There were 5,534 slaves in the redefined Stewart County, constituting more than one-third of the population.[9]
After the war andemancipation, cotton continued as the major commodity crop and additional territory was developed by planters for cultivation. Manyfreedmen becamesharecroppers and tenant farmers in the area, which was agricultural for decades, but in decline. Stewart County lost its premier position when it was bypassed by developing railroads, which went to the north and south. It did not have railroad access until 1885.[5]
Inappropriate farming practices and over-cultivation of cotton from before the Civil War led to extensive landerosion by the early 20th century. Together with mechanization of agriculture and damage due to infestation by the boll weevil, there were losses in this part of the economy. Population declined. Up to the mid century, many blacks left the area in two waves of theGreat Migration, seeking escape fromJim Crow conditions, and jobs and better lives in northern and midwestern industrial cities. Farmers shifted to cultivatingpeanuts and laterpine trees to reclaim and restore the land. Population losses continued throughout the 20th century, as the forest and lumber industry did not require as many laborers.[5]
In 1965, some of the towns in the county began to redevelop their historic properties to attract tourists and expand the economy. Lumpkin,Omaha and Louvale all had relatively intact historic properties and commercial districts. Green Grove is an historic African-American community established by freedmen after the Civil War. Stewart was the first rural county in the state to usehistoric preservation and Main Street redevelopment to supportheritage tourism.[5]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 464 square miles (1,200 km2), of which 459 square miles (1,190 km2) is land and 4.9 square miles (13 km2) (1.1%) is water.[10] The county is mainly located in the upperGulf coastal plain region of the state, with a few hills due to its close proximity to thefall line.
The vast majority of Stewart County is located in the MiddleChattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake sub-basin of theACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). Just the very eastern edge of the county, bordered by a north-to-south line running throughRichland, is located in theKinchafoonee-Muckalee sub-basin of the same ACF Basin, with the very southeastern corner located in theIchawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the larger ACF River Basin.[11]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | 12,933 | — | |
| 1850 | 16,027 | 23.9% | |
| 1860 | 13,422 | −16.3% | |
| 1870 | 14,204 | 5.8% | |
| 1880 | 13,998 | −1.5% | |
| 1890 | 15,682 | 12.0% | |
| 1900 | 15,856 | 1.1% | |
| 1910 | 13,437 | −15.3% | |
| 1920 | 12,089 | −10.0% | |
| 1930 | 11,114 | −8.1% | |
| 1940 | 10,603 | −4.6% | |
| 1950 | 9,194 | −13.3% | |
| 1960 | 7,371 | −19.8% | |
| 1970 | 6,511 | −11.7% | |
| 1980 | 5,896 | −9.4% | |
| 1990 | 5,654 | −4.1% | |
| 2000 | 5,252 | −7.1% | |
| 2010 | 6,058 | 15.3% | |
| 2020 | 5,314 | −12.3% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 4,809 | [12] | −9.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[13] 1790-1880[14] 1890-1910[15] 1920-1930[16] 1930-1940[17] 1940-1950[18] 1960-1980[19] 1980-2000[20] 2010[21] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2010[22] | Pop 2020[23] | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 1,655 | 1,338 | 27.32% | 25.18% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 2,833 | 2,461 | 46.76% | 46.31% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 11 | 10 | 0.18% | 0.19% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 44 | 167 | 0.73% | 3.14% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | 1 | 5 | 0.02% | 0.09% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 9 | 8 | 0.15% | 0.15% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 51 | 108 | 0.84% | 2.03% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,454 | 1,217 | 24.00% | 22.90% |
| Total | 6,058 | 5,314 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 5,314 people, 1,816 households, and 1,138 families residing in the county.
Florence Marina State Park andProvidence Canyon State Park are located in Stewart County.
About 800 acres (3.2 km2) of theEufaula National Wildlife Refuge are located along theChattahoochee River's eastern shores in Stewart County. In addition, theHannahatchee Wildlife Management Area is a 5,600-acre (23 km2) hunting preserve.
Sheriff Larry Jones is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for this county.
Stewart County is reliably Democratic. In US presidential elections between 1880 and 2024 Stewart County has only voted Republican twice.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1912 | 7 | 1.47% | 452 | 94.96% | 17 | 3.57% |
| 1916 | 14 | 2.74% | 474 | 92.76% | 23 | 4.50% |
| 1920 | 31 | 8.27% | 344 | 91.73% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 24 | 5.16% | 408 | 87.74% | 33 | 7.10% |
| 1928 | 88 | 10.73% | 732 | 89.27% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 15 | 2.48% | 588 | 97.03% | 3 | 0.50% |
| 1936 | 49 | 7.20% | 628 | 92.22% | 4 | 0.59% |
| 1940 | 52 | 7.98% | 600 | 92.02% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1944 | 78 | 11.56% | 597 | 88.44% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 46 | 7.82% | 276 | 46.94% | 266 | 45.24% |
| 1952 | 311 | 27.60% | 816 | 72.40% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 235 | 25.35% | 692 | 74.65% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 302 | 31.86% | 646 | 68.14% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 1,037 | 73.39% | 373 | 26.40% | 3 | 0.21% |
| 1968 | 233 | 14.09% | 489 | 29.56% | 932 | 56.35% |
| 1972 | 1,020 | 74.29% | 353 | 25.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1976 | 433 | 20.97% | 1,632 | 79.03% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 611 | 29.28% | 1,440 | 69.00% | 36 | 1.72% |
| 1984 | 805 | 38.10% | 1,308 | 61.90% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1988 | 832 | 42.17% | 1,136 | 57.58% | 5 | 0.25% |
| 1992 | 1,186 | 40.77% | 1,540 | 52.94% | 183 | 6.29% |
| 1996 | 525 | 23.67% | 1,537 | 69.30% | 156 | 7.03% |
| 2000 | 675 | 34.54% | 1,267 | 64.84% | 12 | 0.61% |
| 2004 | 797 | 39.22% | 1,220 | 60.04% | 15 | 0.74% |
| 2008 | 783 | 37.13% | 1,305 | 61.88% | 21 | 1.00% |
| 2012 | 745 | 35.89% | 1,323 | 63.73% | 8 | 0.39% |
| 2016 | 805 | 39.12% | 1,222 | 59.38% | 31 | 1.51% |
| 2020 | 801 | 40.25% | 1,182 | 59.40% | 7 | 0.35% |
| 2024 | 847 | 41.77% | 1,177 | 58.04% | 4 | 0.20% |
Places adjacent to Stewart County, Georgia | |
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Municipalities and communities ofStewart County, Georgia,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
