Sumter County, Georgia
Sumter County | |
---|---|
UTC−4 (EDT) | |
Congressional district | 2nd |
Website | www |
Sumter County is a
The county was created on December 26, 1831.Sumter County is part of the Americus micropolitan statistical area.
History
Foundation and antebellum years
Sumter County was established by an act of the
Shortly thereafter, a committee chose a central site for the county seat, and laid out what became the town of Americus. Many of the county's earliest white residents acquired their land through an 1827 state land lottery. Like many other white settlers, they quickly developed their property for cotton cultivation. Since the invention of the cotton gin at the end of the 18th century, short-staple cotton was the crop of choice throughout the Black Belt of the South.
The rich, black soil, combined with ready market access via the
Civil War years
During the American Civil War (1861–65), the small village named Andersonville, 9 mi (14 km) north of Americus on the county's northern edge, was selected by Confederate authorities as the site for a
Into modernity
Other areas of the county have attracted national attention in the 20th century for very different reasons. In 1942, two
Sumter County counts a U.S. president among its native sons.
The headquarters of
Geography
According to the
Muckalee Creek flows through Sumter County, which also contains Lake Blackshear and Kinchafoonee Creek.
The western two-thirds of Sumter County, from northeast of Americus to southwest of
Major highways
Adjacent counties
- Macon County (northeast)
- Dooly County (east)
- Crisp County (southeast)
- Lee County (south)
- Terrell County (southwest)
- Webster County (west)
- Marion County (northwest)
- Schley County (north)
National protected areas
- Andersonville National Historic Site(part)
- Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
Communities
Cities
- Americus (county seat)
- Andersonville
- De Soto
- Leslie
- Plains
Unincorporated community
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1840 | 5,759 | — | |
1850 | 10,322 | 79.2% | |
1860 | 9,428 | −8.7% | |
1870 | 16,559 | 75.6% | |
1880 | 18,239 | 10.1% | |
1890 | 22,107 | 21.2% | |
1900 | 26,212 | 18.6% | |
1910 | 29,092 | 11.0% | |
1920 | 29,640 | 1.9% | |
1930 | 26,800 | −9.6% | |
1940 | 24,502 | −8.6% | |
1950 | 24,208 | −1.2% | |
1960 | 24,652 | 1.8% | |
1970 | 26,931 | 9.2% | |
1980 | 29,360 | 9.0% | |
1990 | 30,228 | 3.0% | |
2000 | 33,200 | 9.8% | |
2010 | 32,819 | −1.1% | |
2020 | 29,616 | −9.8% | |
2023 (est.) | 28,890 | [6] | −2.5% |
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790-1880[8] 1890-1910[9] 1920-1930[10] 1930-1940[11] 1940-1950[12] 1960-1980[13] 1980-2000[14] 2010[15] 2020[16] |
Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2000[17] | Pop 2010[15] | Pop 2020[16] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White alone (NH)
|
15,672 | 13,413 | 11,528 | 47.20% | 40.87% | 38.92% |
Black or African American alone (NH)
|
16,196 | 16,894 | 15,051 | 48.78% | 51.48% | 50.82% |
Alaska Native alone (NH)
|
73 | 95 | 40 | 0.22% | 0.29% | 0.14% |
Asian alone (NH) | 193 | 418 | 503 | 0.58% | 1.27% | 1.70% |
Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 6 | 9 | 4 | 0.02% | 0.03% | 0.01% |
Other race alone (NH) | 10 | 12 | 55 | 0.03% | 0.04% | 0.19% |
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 159 | 261 | 665 | 0.48% | 0.80% | 2.25% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 891 | 1,717 | 1,770 | 2.68% | 5.23% | 5.98% |
Total | 33,200 | 32,819 | 29,616 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 29,616 people, 11,510 households, and 7,256 families residing in the county.
Economy
Sumter remains largely a rural county. According to USDA/Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service 2001 figures, cotton remains its major crop, with up to 35,000 acres (140 km2) under cultivation, followed by wheat, peanuts, and corn, which when combined, roughly equal the county's acreage in cotton.
Its major employers include
Politics
Sumter County is a swing county in presidential elections. Since 1960, it has voted Democratic eight times, including in 1976, when Sumter County native Jimmy Carter was elected, Republican six times, and for a third-party candidate (George Wallace) once. The last candidate to carry the county by more than 10 points was Bill Clinton in 1996.
The county voted for the winner of the presidential election each year from 1984 to 2012, sticking with the Democrats (Carter's party) in 2016 when Hillary Clinton won a plurality of the vote.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 5,733 | 47.19% | 6,314 | 51.97% | 103 | 0.85% |
2016 | 5,276 | 47.76% | 5,520 | 49.97% | 251 | 2.27% |
2012 | 5,378 | 45.36% | 6,375 | 53.77% | 103 | 0.87% |
2008 | 5,717 | 46.65% | 6,454 | 52.66% | 84 | 0.69% |
2004 | 5,688 | 50.35% | 5,562 | 49.23% | 48 | 0.42% |
2000 | 4,847 | 49.98% | 4,748 | 48.96% | 102 | 1.05% |
1996 | 3,358 | 41.64% | 4,239 | 52.57% | 467 | 5.79% |
1992 | 3,616 | 39.44% | 4,489 | 48.96% | 1,063 | 11.59% |
1988 | 4,289 | 55.93% | 3,332 | 43.45% | 47 | 0.61% |
1984 | 4,607 | 55.29% | 3,725 | 44.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
1980 | 2,957 | 36.69% | 4,956 | 61.49% | 147 | 1.82% |
1976 | 2,053 | 27.81% | 5,328 | 72.19% | 0 | 0.00% |
1972 | 4,533 | 78.14% | 1,268 | 21.86% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 1,383 | 21.04% | 1,701 | 25.88% | 3,489 | 53.08% |
1964 | 3,774 | 68.61% | 1,727 | 31.39% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 962 | 29.73% | 2,274 | 70.27% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 730 | 25.36% | 2,149 | 74.64% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 1,068 | 30.32% | 2,455 | 69.68% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 256 | 11.94% | 1,018 | 47.48% | 870 | 40.58% |
1944 | 194 | 11.12% | 1,550 | 88.88% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 118 | 6.97% | 1,561 | 92.26% | 13 | 0.77% |
1936 | 58 | 3.00% | 1,870 | 96.69% | 6 | 0.31% |
1932 | 57 | 3.37% | 1,619 | 95.69% | 16 | 0.95% |
1928 | 294 | 19.20% | 1,237 | 80.80% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 124 | 8.48% | 1,225 | 83.79% | 113 | 7.73% |
1920 | 296 | 21.57% | 1,076 | 78.43% | 0 | 0.00% |
1916 | 40 | 3.50% | 1,065 | 93.18% | 38 | 3.32% |
1912 | 19 | 1.81% | 1,004 | 95.89% | 24 | 2.29% |
Education
Sumter County School District operates public schools.
Southland Academy is a private school in Americus.
See also
References
- This article incorporates material written by John C. Inscoe of the University of Georgia for the New Georgia Encyclopedia ("NGE"), posted or last updated January 2, 2008. All derived works must credit the NGE and the original author.
- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Sumter County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ISBN 978-1135948597. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ "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 24, 2015.
- ^ "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 Decade". 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.
- ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Sumter County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Sumter County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Jefferson County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ Sumter County at a Glance, The New Georgia Encyclopedia (citing the Georgia Department of Labor (2008)).
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
Further reading
- Jimmy Carter, An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001).
- Jack F. Cox, History of Sumter County, Georgia (Roswell, Ga.: W. H. Wolfe, 1983).
- Freedomways: A Newsletter of the Prison and Jail Project (Americus, Ga.: Koinonia Partners, 1995– ).
- William Marvel, Andersonville: The Last Depot (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994).