Pickens County is a county in the Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,216.[1] The county seat is Jasper.[2] Pickens County is part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia metropolitan statistical area.
Pickens County | |
|---|---|
 Pickens County Courthouse, Jasper | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Georgia | |
 Georgia's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 34°28′N 84°28′W / 34.46°N 84.46°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Founded | December 5, 1853 |
| Named for | Andrew Pickens |
| Seat | Jasper |
| Largest city | Jasper |
| Area | |
• Total | 233 sq mi (600 km2) |
| • Land | 232 sq mi (600 km2) |
| • Water | 0.7 sq mi (2 km2) 0.3% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 33,216 |
| • Density | 143/sq mi (55/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional districts | 9th, 14th |
| Website | pickenscountyga |
History
editThe Georgia General Assembly passed an act on December 5, 1853, to create Pickens County from portions of Cherokee and Gilmer Counties.[3] Pickens received several more land additions from Cherokee (1869) and Gilmer Counties (1858 and 1863); however, several sections of Pickens County have also been transferred to other counties: Dawson County (1857), Gordon County (1860), and Cherokee County (1870).
Pickens County is named for American Revolutionary War General Andrew Pickens.[4]
During the Civil War, Company D of the 1st Georgia Infantry Battalion of the Union Army was raised in Pickens County.
Most of Pickens County's early industry revolved around marble. Georgia Marble Company is located in Marble Hill near Tate. The Tate elementary school is built out of marble. The marble was also used to make the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial. Most of the marble is white, but it is one of the few places in the world where pink marble is found. The marble is also used for tombstones for the United States military.
Pickens County has seen very rapid growth with the building of Georgia State Route 515, locally referred to as the "four-lane". Many new businesses and residents continue to move to Pickens County.[citation needed]
Pickens County is home the Georgia Marble Festival.
Geography
edit
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 233 square miles (600 km2), of which 232 square miles (600 km2) are land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) (0.3%) is covered by water.[5]
The county is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The highest point in Pickens County is the 3,288-ft summit of Mount Oglethorpe, the southernmost peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and for a number of years, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Other notable peaks in Pickens County include Sharp Top Mountain and Sharp Mountain. One of the best viewpoints of Sharp Top Mountain is from Grandview Lake Dam on Grandview Road.
The eastern half of Pickens County is located in the Etowah River subbasin of the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin). The western half of the county is located in the Coosawattee River sub-basin of the same larger ACT River Basin.[6]
Adjacent counties
edit- Gilmer County - north
- Dawson County - east
- Cherokee County - south
- Bartow County - southwest
- Gordon County - west
Communities
editCities
edit- Jasper
- Nelson (partially in Cherokee County)
Town
editUnincorporated communities
edit- Tate
- Marble Hill
- Blaine
- Hinton
Private communities
editA significant portion of the county population resides in gated master-planned communities that function similar to a municipality, with HOA fees to provide many municipal-type services independently from the county government.
- Bent Tree[7]
- Big Canoe (partially in Dawson County)
- The Preserve at Sharp Mountain
Demographics
edit| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 4,951 | — | |
| 1870 | 5,317 | 7.4% | |
| 1880 | 6,790 | 27.7% | |
| 1890 | 8,182 | 20.5% | |
| 1900 | 8,641 | 5.6% | |
| 1910 | 9,041 | 4.6% | |
| 1920 | 8,222 | −9.1% | |
| 1930 | 9,687 | 17.8% | |
| 1940 | 9,136 | −5.7% | |
| 1950 | 8,855 | −3.1% | |
| 1960 | 8,903 | 0.5% | |
| 1970 | 9,620 | 8.1% | |
| 1980 | 11,652 | 21.1% | |
| 1990 | 14,432 | 23.9% | |
| 2000 | 22,983 | 59.3% | |
| 2010 | 29,431 | 28.1% | |
| 2020 | 33,216 | 12.9% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 37,113 | [8] | 11.7% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1880[10] 1890-1910[11] 1920-1930[12] 1930-1940[13] 1940-1950[14] 1960-1980[15] 1980-2000[16] 2010[17] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 31,468 | 94.11% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 176 | 0.53% |
| Native American | 65 | 0.19% |
| Asian | 103 | 0.31% |
| Pacific Islander | 20 | 0.06% |
| Other/Mixed | 1,521 | 4.55% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,198 | 3.61% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 33,216 people, 11,868 households, and 8,539 families residing in the county.
Politics
editPolitically, Pickens County is an outlier in Georgia, one of the few ancestrally Republican counties of the state, due to Unionist sentiment in the county during the American Civil War.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 17,281 | 82.62% | 3,522 | 16.84% | 112 | 0.54% |
| 2020 | 14,110 | 82.17% | 2,824 | 16.45% | 238 | 1.39% |
| 2016 | 11,651 | 82.51% | 1,979 | 14.02% | 490 | 3.47% |
| 2012 | 10,547 | 83.03% | 1,975 | 15.55% | 180 | 1.42% |
| 2008 | 10,004 | 78.08% | 2,595 | 20.25% | 214 | 1.67% |
| 2004 | 8,115 | 76.28% | 2,444 | 22.97% | 80 | 0.75% |
| 2000 | 5,488 | 66.92% | 2,489 | 30.35% | 224 | 2.73% |
| 1996 | 3,041 | 46.31% | 2,693 | 41.01% | 832 | 12.67% |
| 1992 | 2,332 | 40.57% | 2,359 | 41.04% | 1,057 | 18.39% |
| 1988 | 3,021 | 67.52% | 1,430 | 31.96% | 23 | 0.51% |
| 1984 | 2,801 | 67.82% | 1,329 | 32.18% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 1,612 | 39.54% | 2,358 | 57.84% | 107 | 2.62% |
| 1976 | 973 | 27.45% | 2,571 | 72.55% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1972 | 2,101 | 80.16% | 520 | 19.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 1,659 | 44.50% | 677 | 18.16% | 1,392 | 37.34% |
| 1964 | 1,955 | 50.32% | 1,930 | 49.68% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 1,943 | 56.88% | 1,473 | 43.12% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 2,341 | 65.45% | 1,236 | 34.55% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 1,328 | 50.30% | 1,312 | 49.70% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 1,258 | 46.22% | 1,239 | 45.52% | 225 | 8.27% |
| 1944 | 795 | 50.48% | 780 | 49.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 884 | 43.76% | 1,124 | 55.64% | 12 | 0.59% |
| 1936 | 1,053 | 46.27% | 1,223 | 53.73% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 743 | 33.54% | 1,472 | 66.46% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1928 | 1,319 | 70.84% | 543 | 29.16% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 1,149 | 60.25% | 754 | 39.54% | 4 | 0.21% |
| 1920 | 830 | 65.51% | 437 | 34.49% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 344 | 27.28% | 497 | 39.41% | 420 | 33.31% |
| 1912 | 190 | 20.41% | 324 | 34.80% | 417 | 44.79% |
Transportation
editMajor highways
edit
Interstate 575
State Route 5
State Route 53
State Route 53 Business
State Route 108
State Route 136
State Route 136 Connector
State Route 372
State Route 417 (unsigned designation for I-575)
State Route 515
Education
editNotable residents
edit- Farish Carter Tate, U.S. congressman
- John Bozeman, frontiersman; co-founder of Bozeman, Montana
- Chandler Smith, professional racecar driver
See also
edit
References
edit- General
- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Pickens County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Pickens County". Retrieved June 28, 2014.
- ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 175. ISBN 0-915430-00-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 17, 2003.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ^ "Bent Tree | North Georgia Mountains Real Estate Properties | 18-Hole Golf Course, Year-Round Tennis, and 110-Acre Lake | Buildable Real Estate Lots for Sale in Bent Tree. | Bent Tree Community". www.benttree.com.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
- ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
- ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
- ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
- ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
- ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
- ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
- Specific
The weekly newspaper for Pickens County is the Pickens Progress, a family-owned newspaper published since 1887 in Jasper.
External links
edit
Media related to Pickens County, Georgia at Wikimedia Commons