Telfair County, Georgia
Telfair County | |
---|---|
UTC−4 (EDT) | |
Congressional district | 8th |
Website | telfaircounty |
Telfair County is a
In 2009, researchers from the
History
Archaeologists associated with Atlanta's Fernbank Museum of Natural History have excavated a 2,000-acre (8.1 km2) plot near
Additional research suggests that the site instead was one visited in 1541 by the de Soto Expedition. Researchers have recovered Murano glass beads, made in Venice, Italy, and brought by the Spanish for trading with Native Americans; pottery fragments, and iron weapons. Some of the beads bear a chevron pattern. Such beads have been identified as a hallmark of the de Soto expedition, due to the limited period of time in which they were produced. Excavations have also produced six metal objects, including three iron tools and a silver pendant.[6]
The site is further west than scholars had earlier believed that the de Soto expedition had traveled, based on documentation from his expedition. This was the first evidence found of his expedition between Tallahassee, Florida, where excavations have revealed artifacts of his expedition, and western North Carolina[4] where another site has been found.
What we have now is the best-documented collection of Spanish artifacts in Georgia; many are unique, and they are the only examples of certain artifacts ever found outside Florida.
— Archaeologist Dennis Blanton, 2009[6]
This site is believed to have been a Native American community, occupied from the end of the 15th century through the first decades of the 16th century. At that time, they had neither glass nor metal goods.[6] Blanton presented a paper on his findings on November 5, 2009, at the Southeastern Archaeological Conference in Mobile, Alabama.[4]
The historic
Many of the first European-American settlers were Scottish immigrants and Scots-Irish migrants who traveled down the backcountry from Pennsylvania and Virginia.[8]
Geography
According to the
The southern two-thirds of Telfair County, bordered by a line from Milan east to Lumber City, are located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The northern portion of the county is located in the Little Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin.[10]
Major highways
- U.S. Route 23
- U.S. Route 280
- U.S. Route 319
- U.S. Route 341
- U.S. Route 441
- State Route 19
- State Route 27
- State Route 30
- State Route 31
- State Route 117
- State Route 132
- State Route 149
- State Route 149 Connector
- State Route 165
Adjacent counties
- Wheeler County (northeast)
- Jeff Davis County (southeast)
- Coffee County (south)
- Ben Hill County (southwest)
- Wilcox County (west)
- Dodge County (northwest)
- Laurens County (north)
Communities
Cities
- McRae-Helena(county seat)
- Jacksonville
- Lumber City
- Milan
- Scotland
Unincorporated communities
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1810 | 744 | — | |
1820 | 2,104 | 182.8% | |
1830 | 2,136 | 1.5% | |
1840 | 2,763 | 29.4% | |
1850 | 3,026 | 9.5% | |
1860 | 2,713 | −10.3% | |
1870 | 3,245 | 19.6% | |
1880 | 4,828 | 48.8% | |
1890 | 5,477 | 13.4% | |
1900 | 10,083 | 84.1% | |
1910 | 13,288 | 31.8% | |
1920 | 15,291 | 15.1% | |
1930 | 14,997 | −1.9% | |
1940 | 15,145 | 1.0% | |
1950 | 13,221 | −12.7% | |
1960 | 11,715 | −11.4% | |
1970 | 11,381 | −2.9% | |
1980 | 11,445 | 0.6% | |
1990 | 11,000 | −3.9% | |
2000 | 11,794 | 7.2% | |
2010 | 16,500 | 39.9% | |
2020 | 12,477 | −24.4% | |
2023 (est.) | 10,920 | [11] | −12.5% |
U.S. Decennial Census[12] 1790-1880[13] 1890-1910[14] 1920-1930[15] 1930-1940[16] 1940-1950[17] 1960-1980[18] 1980-2000[19] 2010[20] |
Race | Num. | Perc. |
---|---|---|
White (non-Hispanic)
|
5,970 | 47.85% |
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
|
4,326 | 34.67% |
Native American
|
28 | 0.22% |
Asian
|
30 | 0.24% |
Other/mixed
|
195 | 1.56% |
Latino
|
1,928 | 15.45% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 12,477 people, 4,668 households, and 3,259 families residing in the county.
Politics
Telfair County had been a reliably Democratic county in its Solid South days, but later became a swing county for the rest of the 20th century. The last Democrat to win the county was Tennessean Al Gore in 2000, and the county has trended towards the GOP in more recent elections.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 2,825 | 65.17% | 1,488 | 34.33% | 22 | 0.51% |
2016 | 2,450 | 64.54% | 1,313 | 34.59% | 33 | 0.87% |
2012 | 2,480 | 57.17% | 1,805 | 41.61% | 53 | 1.22% |
2008 | 2,486 | 56.81% | 1,862 | 42.55% | 28 | 0.64% |
2004 | 2,171 | 57.49% | 1,590 | 42.11% | 15 | 0.40% |
2000 | 1,693 | 48.47% | 1,777 | 50.87% | 23 | 0.66% |
1996 | 1,143 | 34.30% | 1,856 | 55.70% | 333 | 9.99% |
1992 | 1,324 | 31.58% | 2,238 | 53.39% | 630 | 15.03% |
1988 | 1,805 | 50.21% | 1,765 | 49.10% | 25 | 0.70% |
1984 | 1,980 | 49.14% | 2,049 | 50.86% | 0 | 0.00% |
1980 | 1,173 | 29.76% | 2,700 | 68.51% | 68 | 1.73% |
1976 | 637 | 15.27% | 3,534 | 84.73% | 0 | 0.00% |
1972 | 2,245 | 76.57% | 687 | 23.43% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 720 | 16.90% | 1,038 | 24.37% | 2,502 | 58.73% |
1964 | 1,914 | 50.55% | 1,872 | 49.45% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 791 | 21.30% | 2,922 | 78.70% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 284 | 12.04% | 2,075 | 87.96% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 243 | 8.27% | 2,695 | 91.73% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 75 | 6.65% | 712 | 63.18% | 340 | 30.17% |
1944 | 174 | 12.78% | 1,187 | 87.22% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 104 | 6.90% | 1,391 | 92.24% | 13 | 0.86% |
1936 | 121 | 9.46% | 1,158 | 90.54% | 0 | 0.00% |
1932 | 45 | 5.65% | 746 | 93.60% | 6 | 0.75% |
1928 | 332 | 13.90% | 2,057 | 86.10% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 264 | 15.03% | 1,382 | 78.66% | 111 | 6.32% |
1920 | 37 | 3.35% | 1,069 | 96.65% | 0 | 0.00% |
1916 | 29 | 3.51% | 773 | 93.47% | 25 | 3.02% |
1912 | 19 | 2.59% | 694 | 94.68% | 20 | 2.73% |
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Telfair County, Georgia
- List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition
- List of counties in Georgia
References
- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Telfair County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- Hudson, Charles M. (1997). Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun. University of Georgia Press. pp. 157–162.
- ^ a b c "Archaeologists Track Infamous Conquistador Through Southeast". Science Daily. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
- ^ Davis, Mark, "What Lies Beneath," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 17, 2007, p. C1
- ^ a b c Pousner, Howard, "Fernbank archaeologist confident he has found de Soto site", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 6, 2009; updated February 2, 2010
- ISBN 0-915430-00-2. Archived(PDF) from the original on September 17, 2003.
- 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 27, 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 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 September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 22, 2018.