Taylor County, Georgia

Taylor County
County
Taylor County Courthouse in Butler
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°33′N84°15′W / 32.55°N 84.25°W / 32.55; -84.25
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	January 15, 1852;172 years ago (1852-01-15)
Named for	Zachary Taylor
Seat	Butler
Largest city	Butler
Area
• Total	380 sq mi (1,000 km2)
• Land	377 sq mi (980 km2)
• Water	3.0 sq mi (8 km2)  0.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,816
• Estimate  (2023)	7,758
• Density	21/sq mi (7.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Taylor County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,816. ^[1] The county seat and largest city is Butler. ^[2]

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]

Major highways

• U.S. Route 19
• U.S. Route 80
• State Route 3
• State Route 22
• State Route 90
• State Route 96
• State Route 127
• State Route 128
• State Route 137
• State Route 208
• State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)

Adjacent counties

• Upson County (north)
• Crawford County (northeast)
• Peach County (east)
• Macon County (southeast)
• Schley County (south)
• Marion County (southwest)
• Talbot County (northwest)

Communities

City

• Butler

Town

• Reynolds

Census-designated place

• Howard

Unincorporated communities

• Mauk
• Rupert
• Charing

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%
2023 (est.)	7,758	[11]	−0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [12] 1790-1880 [13] 1890-1910 [14] 1920-1930 [15] 1930-1940 [16] 1940-1950 [17] 1960-1980 [18] 1980-2000 [19] 2010 [20]

Taylor County racial composition as of 2020 ^[21]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	4,584	58.65%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	2,807	35.91%
Native American	27	0.35%
Asian	29	0.37%
Pacific Islander	2	0.03%
Other/Mixed	199	2.55%
Hispanic or Latino	168	2.15%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,816 people, 3,473 households, and 2,208 families residing in the county.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Taylor County, Georgia ^[22]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,600	65.29%	1,366	34.30%	16	0.40%
2020	2,420	62.99%	1,388	36.13%	34	0.88%
2016	2,064	60.56%	1,296	38.03%	48	1.41%
2012	1,948	55.03%	1,572	44.41%	20	0.56%
2008	2,021	56.34%	1,536	42.82%	30	0.84%
2004	1,912	56.52%	1,458	43.10%	13	0.38%
2000	1,412	50.79%	1,340	48.20%	28	1.01%
1996	1,002	37.77%	1,450	54.66%	201	7.58%
1992	1,078	37.53%	1,508	52.51%	286	9.96%
1988	1,145	50.13%	1,134	49.65%	5	0.22%
1984	1,292	49.09%	1,340	50.91%	0	0.00%
1980	815	30.21%	1,845	68.38%	38	1.41%
1976	504	20.44%	1,962	79.56%	0	0.00%
1972	1,580	75.45%	514	24.55%	0	0.00%
1968	393	14.50%	691	25.50%	1,626	60.00%
1964	1,372	55.55%	1,097	44.41%	1	0.04%
1960	365	23.31%	1,201	76.69%	0	0.00%
1956	276	16.88%	1,359	83.12%	0	0.00%
1952	277	14.16%	1,679	85.84%	0	0.00%
1948	99	8.99%	638	57.95%	364	33.06%
1944	269	25.82%	773	74.18%	0	0.00%
1940	213	21.07%	796	78.73%	2	0.20%
1936	147	15.96%	771	83.71%	3	0.33%
1932	44	6.01%	685	93.58%	3	0.41%
1928	353	37.43%	590	62.57%	0	0.00%
1924	96	19.75%	370	76.13%	20	4.12%
1920	211	30.06%	491	69.94%	0	0.00%
1916	113	19.65%	405	70.43%	57	9.91%
1912	98	21.44%	342	74.84%	17	3.72%

See also

• State of Georgia portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Taylor County, Georgia
• List of counties in Georgia

References

1. "Census - Geography Profile: Taylor County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 222. ISBN   0-915430-00-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 17, 2003.
4. Klibanoff, Hank (October 13, 2010). "Maceo Snipes – The Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project" . Retrieved October 13, 2010.
5. Barry, Dan (October 13, 2020). "Killing and Segregated Plaque Divide Town". The New York Times .
6. "4359004-GBI-Moore-s-Ford-File". October 13, 2020.
7. Kaminsky, Mia (October 13, 2020). "Self-Defense Alibis and the Myth of Black Criminality" . Retrieved October 13, 2020.
8. "Black Veterans Killed in Fight for Democracy in U.S."
9. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
10. "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
11. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
12. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
13. "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
14. "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
15. "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
16. "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
17. "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
18. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
19. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
20. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
21. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
22. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org.

External links

• For One Night (2006) at IMDb
• Official Site: http://taylorcountyga.com

32°33′N84°15′W / 32.55°N 84.25°W / 32.55; -84.25