Ware County, Georgia

Last updated

Ware County, Georgia
County
Ware County Courthouse, Waycross, GA, US.jpg
Ware County Courthouse in Waycross
WareCountyGAseal.png
Seal
Map of Georgia highlighting Ware County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Coordinates: 31°03′N82°25′W / 31.05°N 82.42°W / 31.05; -82.42
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg Georgia
FoundedDecember 15, 1824;201 years ago (1824-12-15)
Named after Nicholas Ware
Seat Waycross
Largest cityWaycross
Area
 • Total
908 sq mi (2,350 km2)
 • Land892 sq mi (2,310 km2)
 • Water16 sq mi (41 km2)  1.7%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
36,251
 • Density41/sq mi (16/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 1st
Website warecountyga.gov
Laura S. Walker State Park Laura S Walker State Park.jpg
Laura S. Walker State Park

Ware County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,251. [1] The county seat and only incorporated place is Waycross. [2] Ware County is part of the Waycross, Georgia micropolitan statistical area.

Contents

History

Ware County, Georgia's 60th county, was created on December 15, 1824, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly from land that was originally part of Appling County.

The county is named for Nicholas Ware, the mayor of Augusta, Georgia from (1819–1821) and United States Senator who represented Georgia from 1821 until his death in 1824.

Several counties were later created from parts of the original Ware County borders:

Ware County was home to Laura S. Walker (1861–1955) a noted author and conservationist. Walker promoted a comprehensive program of forestry activity, including the establishment of forest parks. She erected markers and monuments along old trails and at historic sites, in Waycross and Ware County so that local history would not be forgotten. Walker wrote three books about the land and history of her home. They are: History of Ware County, Georgia [3] About "Old Okefenåok" [4] and Doctors of Primitive Times and Horse and Buggy Days of Ware County. [5]

An effort to recognize her work culminated in President Franklin D. Roosevelt issuing a proclamation to establish the Laura S. Walker National Park, located in Ware County, in her honor. She was the only living person for whom a state or national park was named. [6] In 1937, the federal government purchased distressed farmland for the park. [7] [8] Work on the park was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1941, the national park was deeded over to Georgia, becoming the State's 13th state park. [8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 908 square miles (2,350 km2), of which 892 square miles (2,310 km2) is land and 16 square miles (41 km2) (1.7%) is water. [9] It is the largest county in Georgia by area. A large portion of the county lies within the Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected areas.

More than half of Ware County, made up by the western half of the southern portion of the county, the land bridge to the northern portion of the county, and the southern and western portion of the northern section of the county, is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The eastern half of the southern portion of Ware County is located in the St. Marys River sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla River basin. The rest of the county, from just southeast to north and west of Waycross, is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the same St. Marys-Satilla River basin. [10]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Communities

City

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1830 1,205—
1840 2,32392.8%
1850 3,88867.4%
1860 2,200−43.4%
1870 2,2863.9%
1880 4,15981.9%
1890 8,811111.9%
1900 13,76156.2%
1910 22,95766.8%
1920 28,36123.5%
1930 26,558−6.4%
1940 27,9295.2%
1950 30,2898.4%
1960 34,21913.0%
1970 33,525−2.0%
1980 37,18010.9%
1990 35,471−4.6%
2000 35,4830.0%
2010 36,3122.3%
2020 36,251−0.2%
2024 (est.)36,222 [11] −0.1%
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]
Ware County racial composition (2020) [21]
RaceNum.Perc.
White 22,27561.45%
Black or African American 10,70329.52%
Native American 770.21%
Asian 3330.92%
Pacific Islander 180.05%
Other/Mixed 1,2333.4%
Hispanic or Latino 1,6124.45%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 36,251 and 8,909 families residing in the county. The median age was 39.8 years. 23.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.5 males age 18 and over. 67.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 32.1% lived in rural areas. [22] [23] [24]

The racial makeup of the county was 62.4% White, 29.7% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.4% from some other race, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.4% of the population. [24]

There were 13,651 households in the county, of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 33.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. [23]

There were 15,858 housing units, of which 13.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 62.2% were owner-occupied and 37.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.7%. [23]

Education

High schools

Middle schools

Elementary schools

Preschools

Private schools

Higher education

Politics

As of the 2020s, Ware County is a Republican stronghold, voting 71% for Donald Trump in 2024. Ware County has favored the Republican Party in recent presidential elections, although it was a strongly Democratic Solid South county until the 1980s. In the 1992 election, Ware County gave Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican George H. W. Bush an exact tie, the most recent time in American history a county was tied between the two major party presidential candidates.

For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Ware County is part of Georgia's 1st congressional district, currently represented by Buddy Carter. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Ware County is part of districts 3 and 8. [25] For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Ware County is part of districts 174 and 176. [26]

United States presidential election results for Ware County, Georgia [27]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
№ %№ %№ %
1880 20136.28%35363.72%00.00%
1884 17932.90%36567.10%00.00%
1888 18632.52%36964.51%172.97%
1892 26223.06%77568.22%998.71%
1896 33036.11%54559.63%394.27%
1900 10715.11%60184.89%00.00%
1904 15819.46%63578.20%192.34%
1908 19018.85%77176.49%474.66%
1912 393.66%97291.27%545.07%
1916 594.69%1,06684.74%13310.57%
1920 21519.27%90180.73%00.00%
1924 21610.82%1,49775.00%28314.18%
1928 1,33948.60%1,41651.40%00.00%
1932 2057.53%2,50491.96%140.51%
1936 2569.06%2,56690.77%50.18%
1940 30810.31%2,67289.48%60.20%
1944 45916.59%2,30683.34%20.07%
1948 65514.09%2,61156.15%1,38429.76%
1952 2,41830.06%5,62769.94%00.00%
1956 2,27627.88%5,88872.12%00.00%
1960 2,23530.47%5,09969.53%00.00%
1964 4,94848.81%5,18951.19%00.00%
1968 2,04720.07%2,25522.11%5,89557.81%
1972 6,57879.23%1,72420.77%00.00%
1976 2,66125.64%7,71974.36%00.00%
1980 3,71536.65%6,30762.22%1151.13%
1984 5,54755.57%4,43544.43%00.00%
1988 4,81952.59%4,29246.84%520.57%
1992 4,57343.87%4,57343.87%1,27812.26%
1996 4,74649.55%4,17143.54%6626.91%
2000 6,09963.35%3,48036.14%490.51%
2004 7,79068.99%3,44930.55%520.46%
2008 8,31166.83%4,03432.44%910.73%
2012 7,94166.44%3,90032.63%1120.94%
2016 8,51369.87%3,44028.23%2311.90%
2020 9,90369.79%4,16929.38%1170.82%
2024 10,27971.03%4,06828.11%1250.86%

[28]

United States Senate election results for Ware County, Georgia3
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
№ %№ %№ %
2022 7,00571.00%2,86129.00%00.00%

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Census - Geography Profile: Ware County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ Laura Singleton Walker (1990). History of Ware County, Georgia. Southern Historical Press. ISBN   978-0-89308-106-5.
  4. ↑ Laura Singleton Walker; Sara Singleton King (1947). About "Old Okefenåok".
  5. ↑ Laura Singleton Walker (1940). Doctors of Primitive Times and Horse and Buggy Days of Ware County.
  6. ↑ "Laura S. Walker: The Woman Behind the Park". Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  7. ↑ Thomas J. Straka; S. Knight Cox; Heather T. Irwin. "Current Use of Federal Land Utilization Projects Granted to State and Local Agencies" (PDF). Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Clemson University. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Laura S. Walker State Park Established 1941" (PDF). Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  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. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  11. ↑ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  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. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2024.
  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 August 3, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  22. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  23. 1 2 3 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  24. 1 2 "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  25. ↑ "Georgia General Assembly". www.legis.ga.gov. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  26. ↑ "Georgia General Assembly". www.legis.ga.gov. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  27. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  28. ↑ "2022 Senate Election (Official Returns)". Commonwealth of Georgia by county. November 5, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

31°03′N82°25′W / 31.05°N 82.42°W / 31.05; -82.42

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