On December 13, 1858, the Georgia General Assembly passed a bill establishing Echols County from a south-eastern section ofLowndes County and a south-western sectionClinch County. The original borders of the county were a line from the mouth of the Suwanoochee Creek directly south to the state line, then along the state line, then north to the junction of Grand Bay Creek and Mud Swamp, then up the course of Grand Bay Creek to Carter's Ford, then a direct line to where Cow's Creek enters theAlapaha River, then up the creek to Griffins' Mill, then a direct line to Jack's Fort on Suwanoochee Creek, and then down Suwanoochee Creek to its mouth. With the exception of some minor adjustments of the border Echols shares with Lowndes and the loss of a thin strip to Florida followingFlorida v. Georgia, the borders of Echols County has changed little since its establishment. Statenville was declared the county seat in 1859.
Echols County became notable as it has served as a place ofbanishment for many of Georgia's criminals. As theGeorgia State Constitution forbids banishment beyond the borders of the state, officials instead ban the offender from 158 of Georgia's 159 counties, with Echols remaining as their only option.[5] Few criminals have been documented as actually moving to Echols.[6] This is because almost all banished criminals choose to leave the state instead of moving to Echols County.[7]
Banishment, including 158-county banishment, has repeatedly been upheld by Georgia courts. The first case when banishment was upheld was in the 1974 caseState v Collett, when theGeorgia Supreme Court upheld the banishment of a drug dealer from seven counties.[8] The most recent time banishment was upheld, in 2011, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled it was constitutional to banish David Nathan Thompson (a mentally ill man who was convicted of firing a gun into a home, although no one was injured) from all but one county in Georgia.[9]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 421 square miles (1,090 km2), of which 415 square miles (1,070 km2) is land and 5.8 square miles (15 km2) (1.4%) is water.[10] The county contains a notable swamp,Whitehead Bay.[11]
The western half of Echols County is located in theAlapaha River sub-basin of theSuwannee River basin. The eastern half of the county, from well east ofStatenville to just west ofFargo, is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the same Suwannee River basin.[12]
Echols 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.
^Yung, Corey Rayburn (January 2007)."Banishment by a Thousand Laws: Residency Restrictions on Sex Offenders".Washington Law Review.85 (1).The majority opinion in Collett did not address the fact that any of the defendants sentenced to 158-county banishment would likely choose to live in Ware or Echols County. The result of the 158-county banishment sentences, while not technically ordering the defendants to leave the state, has been to cause such an exodus to occur.
