Hancock County, Georgia

Hancock County
County
Hancock County Courthouse and Confederate Monument in Sparta
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°16′N83°00′W / 33.27°N 83°W / 33.27; -83
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	December 17, 1793;230 years ago (1793-12-17)
Named for	John Hancock
Seat	Sparta
Largest city	Sparta
Area
• Total	479 sq mi (1,240 km2)
• Land	472 sq mi (1,220 km2)
• Water	6.8 sq mi (18 km2)  1.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	8,735
• Density	19/sq mi (7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	10th
Website	www.hancockcountyga.gov

Thomas Cheely House, ca. 1825

Hancock County is a county located in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,735. ^[1] The county seat is Sparta. ^[2] The county was created on December 17, 1793, and named for John Hancock, a Founding Father of the American Revolution. ^{[3] [4]}

History

Before the Civil War, Hancock County was developed for cotton plantations, as international demand was high for the commodity. The land was developed and the cotton cultivated and processed by thousands of enslaved African Americans. This area is classified as part of the Black Belt of the United States, primarily due to its fertile soil. It was later also associated with the slave society. Enslaved persons made up 61% of the total county population in the 1850 Census. ^[5] Unusually for such a plantation-dominated society, the county's representatives at the Georgia Secession Convention, who were overwhelmingly white and Democratic, voted against secession in 1861. ^[6]

But the secession conventions were dominated by men who voted for separation, and Georgia soon seceded and entered the war.

After the war, the freed black population predominated by number in the county for decades. After emancipation and granting of citizenship and the franchise, most freedmen joined the Republican Party, which they credited with gaining their freedom. Conservative white Democrats resisted political domination by blacks, although they were outnumbered. In the later years of Reconstruction, whites used violence, intimidation and fraud to suppress black voting. In 1908 the white-dominated legislature passed an amendment that effectively disenfranchised most black voters and many poor whites ones.

Contemporary voting issues

According to the 2010 census ^[7] estimate, the racial makeup of the county seat of Sparta was 84% African American, 15% White, 0.50% from two or more races, 0.30% Asian, and 0.10% Native American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.

Since the late 20th century, most African Americans support the Democratic Party and conservative whites support the Republican Party.

In August 2015, the majority-white Hancock County Board of Elections initiated an effort to purge voters from the rolls. They directed deputy sheriffs to the homes of more than 180 black people residing in Sparta (these constituted some 20% of the city's total registered voters) to inform them they would lose their voting rights unless they appeared in court to prove their residency. A total of 53 voters were removed the voting rolls, but a federal judge overturned the Board's actions. It was asserted that these actions were racially based. ^[8]

In 2021, the African-American elections superintendent for the City of Sparta was referred to the Georgia Secretary of State's Office for prosecution for allegedly imposing illegal requirements for candidates in the 2017 municipal election. ^[9]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 479 square miles (1,240 km²), of which 472 square miles (1,220 km²) is land and 6.8 square miles (18 km²) (1.4%) is water. ^[10]

The western portion of Hancock County, which is defined by a line running southeast from White Plains to the intersection of State Route 22 and Springfield Road, then running southwest along State Route 22, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The southern portion of the county, defined by a triangle made of State Route 22 and State Route 15, with Sparta at its apex, is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin. The northeastern portion of Hancock County is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin. ^[11]

Major highways

No Interstate Highway

• State Route 248
• State Route 15
• State Route 16
• State Route 22
• State Route 77

Adjacent counties

• Taliaferro County - north
• Warren County - northeast
• Glascock County - east
• Washington County - southeast
• Baldwin County - southwest
• Putnam County - west
• Greene County - northwest

Communities

City

• Sparta (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

• Culverton
• Devereux
• Mayfield

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1800	14,456		—
1810	13,330		−7.8%
1820	12,734		−4.5%
1830	11,820		−7.2%
1840	9,659		−18.3%
1850	11,578		19.9%
1860	12,044		4.0%
1870	11,317		−6.0%
1880	16,989		50.1%
1890	17,149		0.9%
1900	18,277		6.6%
1910	19,189		5.0%
1920	18,357		−4.3%
1930	13,070		−28.8%
1940	12,764		−2.3%
1950	11,052		−13.4%
1960	9,979		−9.7%
1970	9,019		−9.6%
1980	9,466		5.0%
1990	8,908		−5.9%
2000	10,076		13.1%
2010	9,429		−6.4%
2020	8,735		−7.4%
2023 (est.)	8,676	[12]	−0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [13] 1790-1880 [14] 1890-1910 [15] 1920-1930 [16] 1930-1940 [17] 1940-1950 [18] 1960-1980 [19] 1980-2000 [20] 2010 [21] 2020 [22]

Hancock County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000 [23]	Pop 2010 [21]	Pop 2020 [22]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	2,141	2,212	2,413	21.25%	23.46%	27.62%
Black or African American alone (NH)	7,820	6,959	6,025	77.61%	73.80%	68.98%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	16	21	23	0.16%	0.22%	0.26%
Asian alone (NH)	9	47	37	0.09%	0.50%	0.42%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	1	1	0.00%	0.01%	0.01%
Other race alone (NH)	2	0	10	0.02%	0.00%	0.11%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	34	50	163	0.34%	0.53%	1.87%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	54	139	63	0.54%	1.47%	0.72%
Total	10,076	9,429	8,735	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,735 people, 2,974 households, and 1,755 families residing in the county.

Politics

Hancock County has been one of the most consistently Democratic counties in the entire nation since the Civil War. But the composition of the party voters and policies they support have undergone major changes since the late twentieth century, switching from whites to African Americans.

The majority of county voters have voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1852 except that of 1972, when George McGovern lost every county in Georgia. McGovern did perform better here than elsewhere in the state, losing by only 93 votes. Apart from Richard Nixon in that election, Barry Goldwater in 1964 was the only Republican since at least 1912 to gain 30 percent of the county's vote. ^[24] That year, most of the county's African-American majority was still largely disenfranchised and could not vote at all. The conservative white minority favored Goldwater because its traditional Democratic loyalties had frayed.

In 1980 Hancock County gave "favorite son" candidate Jimmy Carter his second highest vote share in the nation. ^[25] In 1984 it supported Walter Mondale, who won more than 76.6 percent of Hancock County ballots, making it his fourth-best county outside the District of Columbia. He was otherwise within 3,819 votes of losing all fifty states. ^[26]

United States presidential election results for Hancock County, Georgia ^[27]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,154	27.79%	2,976	71.66%	23	0.55%
2016	843	23.49%	2,701	75.28%	44	1.23%
2012	769	18.80%	3,308	80.88%	13	0.32%
2008	795	18.28%	3,535	81.30%	18	0.41%
2004	822	23.12%	2,715	76.37%	18	0.51%
2000	662	21.45%	2,414	78.22%	10	0.32%
1996	438	16.55%	2,135	80.69%	73	2.76%
1992	506	16.03%	2,461	77.95%	190	6.02%
1988	621	23.99%	1,947	75.20%	21	0.81%
1984	644	23.39%	2,109	76.61%	0	0.00%
1980	573	20.40%	2,205	78.50%	31	1.10%
1976	651	23.52%	2,117	76.48%	0	0.00%
1972	1,595	51.50%	1,502	48.50%	0	0.00%
1968	381	10.44%	2,165	59.32%	1,104	30.25%
1964	925	46.27%	1,074	53.73%	0	0.00%
1960	286	26.83%	780	73.17%	0	0.00%
1956	354	29.16%	860	70.84%	0	0.00%
1952	267	17.66%	1,245	82.34%	0	0.00%
1948	111	14.38%	441	57.12%	220	28.50%
1944	109	22.29%	380	77.71%	0	0.00%
1940	153	23.36%	501	76.49%	1	0.15%
1936	57	10.00%	504	88.42%	9	1.58%
1932	18	3.27%	529	96.01%	4	0.73%
1928	118	17.61%	552	82.39%	0	0.00%
1924	22	7.14%	272	88.31%	14	4.55%
1920	53	9.62%	498	90.38%	0	0.00%
1916	30	4.89%	562	91.53%	22	3.58%
1912	13	2.16%	549	91.35%	39	6.49%

Notable people

• James Abercrombie, (1795–1861) was born in Hancock County.
• Amanda America Dickson was born in Hancock County.
• William Henry Harrison, state legislator from Hancock County.
• Harvey Grant, twin brother of Horace Grant.
• Horace Grant, twin brother of Harvey Grant.
• Thomas "Tommy" Jackson, "Hurricane" Jackson.
• Biddy Mason was born in Hancock county
• Hiram George Runnels wasborn in Hancock County.
• William Terrell, member of Georgia House of Representatives,representing Hancock County

See also

• State of Georgia portal

• Central Savannah River Area
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hancock County, Georgia
• Glen Mary Plantation
• List of counties in Georgia

References

1. "Census - Geography Profile: Hancock County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved December 27, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Hancock County". Georgia.gov. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  148.
5. "Census of 1850" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 24, 2005. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
6. Joslyn, Mauriel (2003). "Hancock County". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities Council.
7. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
8. "Critics See Efforts by Counties and Towns to Purge Minority Voters From Rolls". The New York Times. July 31, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
9. "Voting violations cases sent to prosecutors, including one in Hancock County", WRDW, February 19, 2021
10. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
11. "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.
12. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
13. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
14. "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
15. "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
16. "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
17. "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
18. "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
19. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
20. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
21. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Hancock County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
22. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Hancock County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
23. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Hancock County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
24. Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election statistics 1920-1964, pp. 97, 100, 103, 106, 109 ISBN   0405077114
25. Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1980 Presidential Election Statistics
26. Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1984 Presidential Election Statistics
27. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 20, 2018.

External links

Media related to Hancock County, Georgia at Wikimedia Commons

• New Georgia Encyclopedia. Hancock County
• Hancock County historical marker
• Powelton Baptist Church historical marker

33°16′N83°00′W / 33.27°N 83.00°W / 33.27; -83.00