History
Jenkins County was created on August 17, 1905, from portions of Bulloch, Burke, Emanuel and Screven counties, and named after the 44th Governor of Georgia, Charles Jones Jenkins. [3] The effort was spearheaded by Robert Gray Daniel (d. May 14, 1934), a director of the local Millen Bank, a 40-year member of the board of education and scion of the county's Daniel family who had large mercantile and farming enterprises. [4] The effect was to place the county seat of Millen in a position where the town could become a safe place for economic growth. But the first decade after formation was difficult due to lack of realistic economic planning and implementation. Local people were leaving for jobs in larger cities, and there were few new business start-ups.
During the Red Summer of 1919, there was a race riot on April 13, 1919 in Jenkins County, in which white mobs attacked the black community. Prosperous and respected local farmer Joe Ruffin, whose family had historically been slaves working the plantations of the Daniel family, was almost impoverished by the costs of his legal defense and vindication. [5]
Businesses in the county attract their workforce from throughout the area. Because the county population is relatively small, people notice that when jobs increase, the population increases. When an employer closes its business, the local population decreases as people seek opportunities elsewhere. For a number of years, the largest employer was Jockey International which employed manual and skilled laborers until reducing then closing operations in September 2007. [6] MI Windows and Doors had a long presence in the county at its manufacturing plant, closing in December 2007. [6]
Jenkins County owns the Millen Airport, which was established to increase local and regional transportation flexibility. Annual assessments show the airport has provided consistent benefit to the people and businesses in the county. [7]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 352 square miles (910 km2), of which 347 square miles (900 km2) is land and 5.2 square miles (13 km2) (1.5%) is water. [8]
Most of the southern portion of Jenkins County, from southwest of Millen to west of Hiltonia, is located in the Lower Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin, with the exception of very small parts of the southwestern corner of the county, north and east of Garfield, which are located in the Canoochee River sub-basin of the same Ogeechee River basin. The northwestern portion of Jenkins County is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin, with just the northeastern corner of the county located in the Brier Creek sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. [9]
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