History
Oglethorpe County was originally part of a large tract of land surrendered by Creek and Cherokee Native Americans to the Colony of Georgia in the treaty of 1773. The county itself was founded on December 19, 1793, and is named for Georgia's founder, General James Oglethorpe.
On September 10, 1919, Obe Cox was accused of murdering a White farmer's wife. He was seized by a White mob taken to the scene of the crime, his body riddled with bullets and burned at the stake. Several thousand persons witnessed the scene. The lynching was controversial as the local black community "thanked" the mob for just killing Cox and not attacking their community. After an investigation the black media of the time reported that the blacks who wrote the letter thanking the lynching "do not stand for much in the town and are excused for their utter ignorance in condoning [lynching]."
See reference "The Lynching Project:Oglethorpe County" [4]
Controversy
In June of 2018, Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office came under protest after a controversial hire was made of former Athens-Clarke County Police Officer Tyler Saulters. [5] Saulters, who was fired from ACCPD, was involved in a controversial use of deadly force with his vehicle, striking a fleeing misdemeanor suspect [6] while attempting to apprehend him in Athens, GA. Protestors were upset that Oglethorpe County Sheriff, David Gabriel, defended the hire and the use of force by the former ACCPD officer. [7]
In April of 2021, Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Davis was arrested and charged by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for two counts of aggravated assault. [8] The arrest stemmed from an on-duty use-of-force, in Clarke County. [9] Davis struck a vehicle he had already performed a traffic stop on. [10] After striking the vehicle, Davis discharged his duty weapon at the vehicle. [11] When the vehicle fled from the unprovoked and unjustified shooting by the Deputy, the deputy pursued and involved officers from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. [12] ACCPD requested an investigation by the GBI, which is standard in most officer involved shootings in Georgia. [13]
In August of 2024, YouTuber DG Hamblin, produced interviews with a former Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Deputy about his experiences as a police officer. [14] [15] During the interviews excessive use of force by a Sheriff's commander and failure to report that use of force was discussed as well as Sheriff's commanders' interactions with the controversial Poulan Police Department. [16]
On August 29, 2024, Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Deputies engaged in a pursuit with a motorcycle for a minor traffic violation (missing registration plate) inside Oglethorpe County. [17] [18] [19] [20] During the pursuit, speeds reached 100 mph (160 km/h). [21] [22] According to the Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office, the Deputy pursuing the motorcycle called the chase off inside Clarke County but continued to follow the motorcycle. [23] [24] The motorcyclist was involved in a collision with another vehicle at the intersection of Lexington Road and Woodgrove Road [25] [26] in Clarke County. The motorcyclist died on scene, according to the Georgia State Patrol, who investigated the collision and pursuit that led up to the fatal collision. [27] [28] [29] [30]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 442 square miles (1,140 km2), of which 439 square miles (1,140 km2) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km2) (0.7%) is water. [31] The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state.
The majority of Oglethorpe County is located in the Broad River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. A narrow western portion of the county, in a line from just north of Woodville, through Crawford, to just south of Winterville, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. A small part of the southern portion of the county, from Maxeys east, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. [32]
Recreation
- White Water Rafting on the Broad and South Fork Broad Rivers
- ATV and Motor Bike Park
- Sportsman Hunting: Seasonal Whitetail Deer, Turkey and Rabbit
Historic Districts and Heritage Research, Antique Stores in Historic Lexington, Agriculture and Agritourism as well as Oglethorpe Fresh Produce
In 2016, the Oglethorpe County Recreation Department was named both the District 7 and State Agency of the Year for populations under 20,000 through the Georgia Recreation and Park Association.
Oconee County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,799. The county seat is Watkinsville.
Madison County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,120. The county seat is Danielsville. The county was created on December 5, 1811. The county's largest city is Comer with a population of 1,200. Madison County was included in the Athens–Clarke County metropolitan area, which is included in the Atlanta–Athens–Clarke County–Sandy Springs CSA.
DeKalb County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Decatur.
Clarke County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 128,671. Its county seat is Athens, with which it is a consolidated city-county. Clarke County is included in the Athens-Clarke County, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area.
Hartwell is a city in Hart County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,469 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Hart County.
Danielsville is a city in Madison County, Georgia, United States. The population was 654 at the 2020 census, up from 560 in 2010. The city is the county seat of Madison County.
Poulan is a city in Worth County, Georgia, United States. The population was 780 in 2020. Poulan is part of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area.
Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about 70 miles (110 km) northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an R1 research institution, is in Athens and contributed to its initial growth. In 1991, after a vote the preceding year, the original City of Athens abandoned its charter to form a unified government with Clarke County, referred to jointly as Athens–Clarke County where it is the county seat.
The Athens-Clarke County Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties - Clarke, Madison, Oconee, and Oglethorpe - in northeastern Georgia, anchored by the city of Athens. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 215,479.
Cartersville is a city in and the county seat of Bartow County, Georgia, United States; it is located within the northwest edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 23,187.
Jalen Da'Quan Carter is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was a unanimous All-American in 2022 and a two-time CFP national champion before being selected by the Eagles ninth overall in the 2023 NFL draft.
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
United States
Georgia 
