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Wilkes County, Georgia | |
|---|---|
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 Location within the U.S. state ofGeorgia | |
| Coordinates:33°47′N82°44′W / 33.79°N 82.74°W /33.79; -82.74 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Founded | February 5, 1777; 249 years ago (1777) |
| Named after | John Wilkes |
| Seat | Washington |
| Largest city | Washington |
| Area | |
• Total | 474 sq mi (1,230 km2) |
| • Land | 469 sq mi (1,210 km2) |
| • Water | 4.6 sq mi (12 km2) 1.0% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 9,565 |
| • Density | 20/sq mi (7.7/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional districts | 10th,12th |
| Website | www |
Wilkes County is acounty located in the east central portion of theU.S. state ofGeorgia. As of the2020 census, the population was 9,565.[1] Thecounty seat is the city ofWashington.[2]
Referred to as "Washington-Wilkes", the county seat and county are commonly treated as a single entity by locals, including the area's historical society[3] and the Chamber of Commerce.[4] It is part of theCentral Savannah River Area (CSRA).
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Wilkes County, named for British politician and supporter of American independence,John Wilkes, is considered Georgia's first county established by European Americans; it was the first of eight original counties created in the first state constitution on February 5, 1777. The other seven counties were organized from existing colonial parishes.
Wilkes was unique in being made up of land ceded in 1773 by the indigenousCreek andCherokee Native American nations in their respective Treaties of Augusta.[5] Its location was unique due to its close proximity to theAtlantic seaboard fall line.
Between 1790 and 1854, Wilkes County's area was reduced as it was divided to organize new counties following the growth of population in the area. The Georgia legislature formed the counties ofElbert,Oglethorpe, andLincoln entirely from portions of Wilkes County. Wilkes also contributed part of the lands used in the creation ofMadison,Warren,Taliaferro,Hart,McDuffie, andGreene Counties.[6]
Wilkes County was the site of one of the most important battles of theAmerican Revolutionary War to be fought in Georgia. During theBattle of Kettle Creek in 1779, the AmericanPatriot forces were victorious overBritish Loyalists.[7]
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, colonists depended on enslaved African-American workers and whites to clear land, developplantations, and cultivate and process cotton in this area. Long-staple cotton would not grow in this upland areas and short-staple cotton was originally too labor-intensive to be profitable.
In 1793, AmericanEli Whitney perfected his revolutionary invention of thecotton gin at Mount Pleasant, a cotton plantation east of Washington. It allowed mechanization of the processing of short-staple cotton, making its cultivation profitable in the upland areas. As a result, there was a dramatic increase in the development of new cotton plantations throughout theDeep South to cultivate short-staple cotton.
Settlers increased pressure on the federal government to remove Native Americans from the region, including theFive Civilized Tribes from the Southeast. In 1794, Revolutionary War veteranElijah Clarke, led a group of men from Wilkes County into traditionally Creek lands and established a town and several forts and called it theTrans-Oconee Republic.[8] While short lived, the incursion was part of a broader movement of incursion into traditionally native lands. Congress passed theIndian Removal Act in 1830 and the government forcibly removed most of the members of these tribes to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.
Production of short-staple cotton in the Deep South soon superseded that of long-staple cotton, grown primarily on theSea Islands and in theLow Country.[9] Such expansion dramatically increased the demand for slave labor in the Deep South, resulting in a longstanding domestic slave trade that transported more than a million slaves in forced migrations from the Upper South.King Cotton brought great wealth to many planters in the decades before the Civil War.
None of the battles of theAmerican Civil War was fought in or near Wilkes County. But herePresidentJefferson Davis met for the final time with the Confederate Cabinet, and they officially dissolved the government of theConfederate States of America.[10] Wilkes County was the last-known location of thegold rumored to have been lost from the Confederate Treasury.[11][12] The present-dayWilkes County Courthouse was built inWashington at the site of the cabinet meeting.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 474 square miles (1,230 km2), of which 469 square miles (1,210 km2) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km2) (1.0%) is water.[13] It is located in thePiedmont region above thefall line.
The northern quarter of Wilkes County, in a curved line fromRayle throughTignall to the northeastern corner of the county, is located in theBroad River sub-basin of theSavannah River basin. The eastern portion of the county, fromWashington east, and bordered to the north and west by the Broad River sub-basin, is located in the Upper Savannah River sub-basin of the larger Savannah River basin. The rest of the county, south of Washington, is located in theLittle River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin.[14]
US 78 /SR 10
US 78 Bus. /SR 10 Bus. (Washington)
US 378
SR 17
SR 17 Bus. (Washington)
SR 47
SR 80Changes in agriculture through mechanization, theGreat Depression, and a massmigration of African Americans from the area in the mid-20th century have resulted in a decline of population in the rural county since 1930.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 31,500 | — | |
| 1800 | 13,103 | −58.4% | |
| 1810 | 14,887 | 13.6% | |
| 1820 | 17,607 | 18.3% | |
| 1830 | 14,237 | −19.1% | |
| 1840 | 10,148 | −28.7% | |
| 1850 | 12,107 | 19.3% | |
| 1860 | 11,420 | −5.7% | |
| 1870 | 11,796 | 3.3% | |
| 1880 | 15,985 | 35.5% | |
| 1890 | 18,081 | 13.1% | |
| 1900 | 20,866 | 15.4% | |
| 1910 | 23,441 | 12.3% | |
| 1920 | 24,210 | 3.3% | |
| 1930 | 15,944 | −34.1% | |
| 1940 | 15,084 | −5.4% | |
| 1950 | 12,388 | −17.9% | |
| 1960 | 10,961 | −11.5% | |
| 1970 | 10,184 | −7.1% | |
| 1980 | 10,951 | 7.5% | |
| 1990 | 10,597 | −3.2% | |
| 2000 | 10,687 | 0.8% | |
| 2010 | 10,593 | −0.9% | |
| 2020 | 9,565 | −9.7% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 9,567 | [15] | 0.0% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[16] 1790-1880[17] 1890-1910[18] 1920-1930[19] 1930-1940[20] 1940-1950[21] 1960-1980[22] 1980-2000[23] 2010[24] | |||
As of the2020 census, there were 9,565 people, 4,098 households, and 2,421 families residing in the county. The median age was 47.9 years. 20.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 24.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 88.8 males age 18 and over. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[25][26]
The racial makeup of the county was 52.8% White, 40.2%Black or African American, 0.4%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Asian, 0.0%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 1.9% from some other race, and 4.1% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.2% of the population.[27]
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 4,952 | 51.77% |
| Black or African American | 3,838 | 40.13% |
| Native American | 22 | 0.23% |
| Asian | 59 | 0.62% |
| Other/Mixed | 295 | 3.08% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 399 | 4.17% |
Of those households, 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 33.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[26]
There were 5,165 housing units, of which 20.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 69.0% were owner-occupied and 31.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.7%.[26]
As of the 2020s, Wilkes County is a strongly Republican voting county, voting 58% forDonald Trump in2024. For elections to theUnited States House of Representatives, Wilkes County is part ofGeorgia's 12th congressional district, currently represented byRick Allen. For elections to theGeorgia State Senate, Wilkes County is part ofDistrict 24.[29] For elections to theGeorgia House of Representatives, Wilkes County is part of districtDistrict 123.[30]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1912 | 66 | 9.09% | 657 | 90.50% | 3 | 0.41% |
| 1916 | 52 | 6.09% | 785 | 91.92% | 17 | 1.99% |
| 1920 | 12 | 1.35% | 876 | 98.65% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 44 | 4.09% | 836 | 77.77% | 195 | 18.14% |
| 1928 | 798 | 51.65% | 747 | 48.35% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 42 | 3.43% | 1,172 | 95.75% | 10 | 0.82% |
| 1936 | 78 | 6.95% | 1,031 | 91.89% | 13 | 1.16% |
| 1940 | 123 | 10.68% | 1,022 | 88.72% | 7 | 0.61% |
| 1944 | 159 | 14.39% | 946 | 85.61% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 95 | 7.84% | 771 | 63.61% | 346 | 28.55% |
| 1952 | 286 | 16.01% | 1,500 | 83.99% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 304 | 15.06% | 1,714 | 84.94% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 395 | 18.11% | 1,786 | 81.89% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 1,652 | 53.48% | 1,437 | 46.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 873 | 24.70% | 953 | 26.96% | 1,709 | 48.35% |
| 1972 | 2,195 | 77.26% | 646 | 22.74% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1976 | 1,067 | 30.24% | 2,461 | 69.76% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 1,212 | 33.45% | 2,350 | 64.86% | 61 | 1.68% |
| 1984 | 1,837 | 53.67% | 1,586 | 46.33% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1988 | 1,810 | 53.71% | 1,549 | 45.96% | 11 | 0.33% |
| 1992 | 1,535 | 38.74% | 1,955 | 49.34% | 472 | 11.91% |
| 1996 | 1,417 | 39.51% | 1,971 | 54.96% | 198 | 5.52% |
| 2000 | 2,044 | 50.77% | 1,940 | 48.19% | 42 | 1.04% |
| 2004 | 2,490 | 54.75% | 2,028 | 44.59% | 30 | 0.66% |
| 2008 | 2,705 | 53.46% | 2,315 | 45.75% | 40 | 0.79% |
| 2012 | 2,635 | 55.30% | 2,087 | 43.80% | 43 | 0.90% |
| 2016 | 2,572 | 57.33% | 1,848 | 41.19% | 66 | 1.47% |
| 2020 | 2,823 | 56.11% | 2,160 | 42.93% | 48 | 0.95% |
| 2024 | 2,971 | 58.28% | 2,112 | 41.43% | 15 | 0.29% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 2,810 | 56.83% | 2,057 | 41.60% | 78 | 1.58% |
| 2020 | 2,580 | 56.97% | 1,949 | 43.03% | 0 | 0.00% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 1,493 | 30.40% | 1,257 | 25.60% | 2,161 | 44.00% |
| 2020 | 2,823 | 56.65% | 2,160 | 43.35% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 2022 | 2,402 | 58.19% | 1,680 | 40.70% | 46 | 1.11% |
| 2022 | 2,228 | 58.07% | 1,609 | 41.93% | 0 | 0.00% |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2022 | 2,545 | 61.50% | 1,583 | 38.26% | 10 | 0.24% |
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Places adjacent to Wilkes County, Georgia | |
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Municipalities and communities ofWilkes County, Georgia,United States | ||
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| City |  | |
| Towns | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
