Jones County, Georgia

Last updated

Jones County
Jones County Courthouse, Gray, GA, US (08).jpg
Map of Georgia highlighting Jones County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia in United States.svg
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°02′N83°34′W / 33.03°N 83.57°W / 33.03; -83.57
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg  Georgia
FoundedDecember 10, 1807;216 years ago (1807-12-10)
Named for James Jones
Seat Gray
Largest cityGray
Area
  Total395 sq mi (1,020 km2)
  Land394 sq mi (1,020 km2)
  Water1.5 sq mi (4 km2)  0.4%
Population
 (2020)
  Total28,347
  Density72/sq mi (28/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
  Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 8th
Website www.jonescountyga.org

Jones County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,347. [1] The county seat is Gray. [2] The county was created on December 10, 1807, and named after U.S. Representative James Jones. [3]

Contents

History

Jones County, along with Morgan County, Putnam County, and Old Randolph, were established by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 10, 1807, from land that had originally been part Baldwin County in 1803 and, earlier, part of the Creek Nation. Jones County was originally bounded by a line running north 56° east to Commissioners Creek, then north 15° west to Cedar Creek, then up the creek to corner Randolph County and Putnam County, then along a line to Ocmulgee River, then down the river to where the old county line between Wilkinson County and Baldwin County was. [4] It excluded parts of what is now Bibb County east of the Ocmulgee River, including the location of Fort Benjamin Hawkins, as they were part of a reserve guaranteed to the Creek Nation. Those areas were later added to Jones County after the Treaty of Indian Springs. [5]

During the initial months of the county's existence, a town known as Albany served as the county seat. [6] The town was renamed Clinton [7] and was established as the county seat by the Georgia General Assembly on December 22, 1808. [8] Clinton was incorporated as in 1816. [9] During the 1800s Clinton grew as a center of commerce and the cotton trade. [6] Clinton remained one of the most populous cities in Georgia in the mid-1800s. [7] [10]

In December 1810 Jones County gained a portion of Putnam County between Cedar Creek and their original border. [11] In December 1822 Bibb County was established and Jones County lost some of its land to that county.

During the early 19th century, Jones County had a rapid population increase. The peak came around 1835, when the county ranked third or fourth among all of the state's counties in agricultural wealth. After 1835, soil erosion and lack of funds to develop property drove many farmers to newly opened land elsewhere in Georgia. [12]

Before the American Civil War, a few factories sprang up in the county, including a cotton gin factory at Griswoldville in the southern portion of the county and a woolen factory at Wallace. Griswoldville was founded by Samuel Griswold in the 1850s. During the Civil War, the cotton gin factory was reformatted so it could produce pistols and other weapons for the Confederate Army. Griswoldville was located on the railway linking Macon to Savannah, and became a prime target in 1864 as the Union Army moved through Georgia. On November 20, 1864, the town and the factories in it were burned as part of Sherman's March to the Sea. Days later the Battle of Griswoldville took place in the area. The town of Griswoldville was not rebuilt.

Many other areas in Jones County were damaged by the Union Army during that time period. The Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site in Jones County showcases one of the few and well-preserved antebellum plantations in Georgia.

In the 1890s a railroad line owned by the Central of Georgia Railway named the Macon & Northern Railroad was built through the county and bypassed Clinton by a mile after citizens wanted the line to not pass through the town. By the early 1900s the population had shifted northeastward and the city of Gray was established. On June 27, 1905, the citizens of Jones County voted on the issues of moving the county seat from Clinton to Gray. The results were 1,289 votes in favor of moving the county seat to Gray and 51 votes for keeping the county seat at Clinton. On August 9, 1905, Gray became the new county seat of Jones County. [13]

Father and son Alonzo and James D. Green were innocent African-Americans lynched near Round Oak and Wayside, Jones County in retaliation for the murder of popular white farmer Silas Hardin Turner on July 4, 1915. A third man, William Bostick, was also lynched on this day. None of those killed received a trial. [14]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 395 square miles (1,020 km2), of which 394 square miles (1,020 km2) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) (0.4%) is water. [15]

The western half of Jones County, west of Gray, is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The northeastern quarter of the county, north of Gray, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin, while the southeastern corner of Jones County is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the larger Altamaha River basin. [16]

Major highways

Rivers

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Communities

City

Unincorporated communities

Extinct town

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1810 8,597
1820 16,57092.7%
1830 13,345−19.5%
1840 10,065−24.6%
1850 10,2241.6%
1860 9,107−10.9%
1870 9,4363.6%
1880 11,61323.1%
1890 12,7099.4%
1900 13,3585.1%
1910 13,103−1.9%
1920 13,2691.3%
1930 8,992−32.2%
1940 8,331−7.4%
1950 7,538−9.5%
1960 8,46812.3%
1970 12,21844.3%
1980 16,57935.7%
1990 20,73925.1%
2000 23,63914.0%
2010 28,66921.3%
2020 28,347−1.1%
2023 (est.)28,969 [17] 2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [18]
1790-1880 [19] 1890-1910 [20]
1920-1930 [21] 1930-1940 [22]
1940-1950 [23] 1960-1980 [24]
1980-2000 [25] 2010 [26]
Jones County racial composition as of 2020 [27]
RaceNum.Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)20,07470.82%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)6,73923.77%
Native American 460.16%
Asian 1380.49%
Pacific Islander 70.02%
Other/mixed 8673.06%
Hispanic or Latino 4761.68%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 28,347 people, 10,701 households, and 7,670 families residing in the county.

Education

Politics

United States presidential election results for Jones County, Georgia [28]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.%No.%No.%
2020 9,94066.53%4,88232.68%1180.79%
2016 8,30565.98%3,96131.47%3212.55%
2012 7,74463.90%4,27435.27%1010.83%
2008 7,78262.46%4,57236.69%1060.85%
2004 6,93963.91%3,85535.50%640.59%
2000 4,85060.11%3,10238.45%1161.44%
1996 3,27246.80%3,19545.70%5257.51%
1992 2,77038.05%3,33845.86%1,17116.09%
1988 3,61857.41%2,66242.24%220.35%
1984 3,40155.01%2,78144.99%00.00%
1980 1,82835.02%3,23962.05%1532.93%
1976 1,31727.51%3,47172.49%00.00%
1972 2,48374.25%86125.75%00.00%
1968 69319.42%1,10530.97%1,77049.61%
1964 1,80556.67%1,38043.33%00.00%
1960 48925.68%1,41574.32%00.00%
1956 38224.03%1,20875.97%00.00%
1952 27816.30%1,42783.70%00.00%
1948 1039.25%58852.78%42337.97%
1944 19622.82%66176.95%20.23%
1940 10114.13%61385.73%10.14%
1936 234.33%50895.67%00.00%
1932 00.00%55399.46%30.54%
1928 10019.46%41480.54%00.00%
1924 265.87%41493.45%30.68%
1920 3126.27%8773.73%00.00%
1916 61.39%39892.34%276.26%
1912 30.66%42693.42%275.92%

Notable people

See also

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References

  1. "Census - Geography Profile: Jones County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 170.
  4. Acts of the State of Georgia Passed in 1807 (1, An Act To lay out and identify, six new counties out of the counties of Baldwin and Wilkinson.). December 10, 1807.
  5. Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia: Passed at Milledgville, At an Extra Session, In April and May, 1821 (1, An Act To dispose of and distribute the lands lately acquired by the United States for the use of Georgia, of the Creek Nation of Indians, by a treaty made and concluded at the Indian Spring, on the eighth day of January, eighteen hundred and twenty-one; and to add the Reserve at Fort Hawkins to the county of Jones.). May 15, 1821.
  6. 1 2 "Jones County, Georgia." Advisory Council on Historic Preservation website. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Kenneth K. Krakow. "Clinton" entry in Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins. 3rd ed. Winship Press, 1999. p. 46. ISBN   0-915430-00-2
  8. Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia: Passed at Milledgville, At An Annual Session, In November and December, 1808 (To establish the site of public buildings in the county of JONES, and to appropriate the money arising from the sale of lots.). December 22, 1808. ...the site of public buildings in and for the county of Jones shall be in the town called and known by the name of Clinton in said county...
  9. Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia: Passed at Milledgville, At An Annual Session, In November and December, 1816 (45, To Incorporate the town of Clinton, in the county of Jones, and for the appointment of Commissioners for the better regulation and government of said town.). December 4, 1816.
  10. William Bragg. "Jones County." New Georgia Encyclopedia. October 31, 2018.
  11. Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia: Passed at Milledgville in November and December 1810 (29, To add a part of Putnam county to Jones county.). December 15, 1810.
  12. David D. Long; et al. (1914). "Soil Survey of Jones County, Georgia" (PDF). Nrcs.usda.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  13. Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia 1905 (64, Jones County, County Site Changed from Clinton to Gray.). August 9, 1905.
  14. Rogers 2019.
  15. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  16. "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  17. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  18. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
  19. "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
  20. "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
  21. "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
  22. "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
  23. "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
  24. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
  25. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
  26. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  27. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  28. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  29. "Otis Redding's legacy will be remembered with permanent road marker in Jones County". Music.blog.ajc.com. Retrieved July 11, 2018.

33°02′N83°34′W / 33.03°N 83.57°W / 33.03; -83.57