History
Taylor County was created on January 15, 1852, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly from portions of Macon, Marion and Talbot counties. The county is named for Zachary Taylor, twelfth President of the United States. [3]
Taylor County is also widely known for its history of racism and Jim Crow era subjugation of its African-American populace, which continued long into the 20th century. [4] [5] An especially egregious case is the 1946 lynching of Maceo Snipes, a World War II veteran and the first African-American to vote in Taylor County, for which he was murdered by the KKK on his doorstep in the hours following. Although not immediately succumbing to his wounds, Mr. Snipes death was eventually caused by the lack of availability of "black blood", or transfusions from a black person, at a Butler, Georgia hospital to which he was forced to walk three miles with gunshot wounds to his back. The murderers were never tried or otherwise held to account for their crimes, despite the involvement of the FBI. Mr. Snipes' murder was a motivating factor in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s first and only letter to the Atlanta Constitution at age 17, decrying the terrorism experienced by black citizens [6] in the state at that time, which occurred largely at the hands of or with the blessing of the local and state authorities. [7] [8]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 380 square miles (980 km2), of which 377 square miles (980 km2) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km2) (0.8%) is water. [9]
Taylor County is dissected by the Fall Line geological formation. The upper half of the county is located in the Piedmont region and consists of gently rolling hills and clay-based soils. The lower half of the county is located in the Upper Atlantic Coastal Plain and is markedly flatter and the soil more sandy. The Flint River marks the entirety of the county's northeastern border.
The county is driven by a largely agricultural economy. Peaches, strawberries, pecans, peanuts, watermelons, and cotton are the most commonly raised crops. Lumbering is also important to the local economy. The county is heavily forested in most areas due in part to the many large plantation pine farms. There are also many desirable hardwood forests, especially along the Flint River basin and tributary streams. The southwestern portion of the county is covered with large sandhills that have given rise to several stable sand mining operations.
The county supports a very healthy population of animals, including white-tailed deer, wild turkey, eastern cottontail, raccoon, coyote, bobcat, nine-banded armadillo, Virginia opossum, red-tailed hawk, and the federally endangered Florida gopher tortoise. Taylor County is home to five of North America's venomous snakes (eastern diamondback rattlesnake, timber rattlesnake, Carolina pygmy rattlesnake, eastern coral snake, water moccasin, and copperhead), representing every North American family of venomous snake.
The dominant tree species are southern red oak, post oak, longleaf pine, loblolly pine, sweetgum, and red maple. Taylor County contains the largest stands of Atlantic white cedar in the state of Georgia. These stands can be found along much of Whitewater and Little Whitewater creeks and are at the heart of a growing movement to conserve these unique plant communities for posterity.
The vast majority of Taylor County is located in the Upper Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin), with the exception of a tiny corner of the county just north of Georgia, which is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin. [10]
Demographics
Historical population| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|
| 1860 | 5,998 | | — |
|---|
| 1870 | 7,143 | | 19.1% |
|---|
| 1880 | 8,597 | | 20.4% |
|---|
| 1890 | 8,666 | | 0.8% |
|---|
| 1900 | 9,846 | | 13.6% |
|---|
| 1910 | 10,839 | | 10.1% |
|---|
| 1920 | 11,473 | | 5.8% |
|---|
| 1930 | 10,617 | | −7.5% |
|---|
| 1940 | 10,768 | | 1.4% |
|---|
| 1950 | 9,113 | | −15.4% |
|---|
| 1960 | 8,311 | | −8.8% |
|---|
| 1970 | 7,865 | | −5.4% |
|---|
| 1980 | 7,902 | | 0.5% |
|---|
| 1990 | 7,642 | | −3.3% |
|---|
| 2000 | 8,815 | | 15.3% |
|---|
| 2010 | 8,906 | | 1.0% |
|---|
| 2020 | 7,816 | | −12.2% |
|---|
| 2024 (est.) | 7,783 | [11] | −0.4% |
|---|
|
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 7,816 people and 2,208 families residing in the county. [22]
The median age was 45.3 years. 21.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.6 males age 18 and over. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas. [23]
There were 3,249 households in the county, of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 34.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. [22]
There were 3,894 housing units, of which 16.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 68.8% were owner-occupied and 31.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.0%. [22]
The racial makeup of the county was 59.4% White, 36.2% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.8% from some other race, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.1% of the population. [24]
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