Walton County | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 33°47′N83°44′W / 33.78°N 83.74°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Georgia |
Founded | December 22, 1818 |
Named for | George Walton |
Seat | Monroe |
Largest city | Monroe |
Area | |
• Total | 330 sq mi (900 km2) |
• Land | 326 sq mi (840 km2) |
• Water | 4.3 sq mi (11 km2) 1.3% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 96,673 |
• Density | 297/sq mi (115/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
Congressional district | 10th |
Website | waltoncountyga.gov |
Walton County is a county located in the Middle Georgia portion of the U.S. - State of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 96,673. [1] It is located about 30 miles east of the state capital, the city of Atlanta. Monroe is the county seat; Loganville is another major city. [2]
Walton County is part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
This section may lend undue weight to lynchings in the county at the expense of all other history. Please help to create a more balanced presentation. Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message. (March 2021) |
Walton County was created on December 15, 1818. It is named for George Walton, one of the three men from Georgia who signed the United States Declaration of Independence. [3] The other two were Button Gwinnett and Lyman Hall.
A Supreme Court ruling in April 1946 had ruled that white primaries were unconstitutional, enabling some black citizens in Georgia to cast ballots for the first time during the primary race later that summer. [4] This increased social tensions in many areas, as whites continued to oppose voting by blacks. In addition, many whites resisted black veterans' efforts to gain expanded freedoms following their service during World War II.
In July 1946, the county was the site of one of the last mass lynchings of the pre-Civil Rights Era, when four African Americans, two young married couples, were murdered here. African American Roger Malcom had had an argument with a local white farmer, "ostensibly over a woman". [4] He and his pregnant wife, and her cousin and her husband, were beaten and lynched on July 25.
A historical highway marker erected by the state in the 21st century reads:
2.4 miles east, at Moore’s Ford Bridge on the Apalachee River, four African-Americans - George and Mae Murray Dorsey and Roger and Dorothy Dorsey Malcom (reportedly 7 months pregnant) - were brutally beaten and shot by an unmasked mob on the afternoon of July 25, 1946. The lynching followed an argument between Roger Malcom and a local white farmer. These unsolved murders played a crucial role in both President Truman’s commitment to civil rights legislation and the ensuing modern civil rights movement.
The sign is at 33° 51.417′ N, 83° 36.733′ W. Marker is near Monroe, Georgia, in Walton County. This is at the intersection of U.S. 78 and Locklin Road, on the right when traveling east on U.S. 78. [5] [6]
In 1998, local people arranged a biracial memorial service honoring the victims, which was held at Moore's Ford Bridge. [7] [8] Since then a local interracial committee organized to rekindle attention to the case, in hopes of bringing justice to the victims. They also gained state support to erect the historical highway marker noted above to mark the unsolved murders and commemorate the victims. [4]
In the 21st century, commemoration has included an on-site reenactment, held annually since 2005 as part of the education effort. [4] [9]
Fire in a Canebrake: The Last Mass Lynching in America (2003), by author Laura Wexler, is among the books to explore the case and social context, and related evidence, including reference to contemporary FBI reports in the investigation ordered under President Truman. [4] [10] [11]
In the early 21st century, the US Department of Justice reopened an investigation into the cold case, but they were unable to gain sufficient evidence to prosecute any survivors among the more than 50 suspects that FBI files from 1946 had suggested had been involved in the lynching. [4] [12] A local multi-ethnic committee continues to press for the case to be reviewed again in hopes of bringing justice to the victims. In February 2014 they presented a video to the Walton Board of Commissioners about the case. [13]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 330 square miles (850 km2), of which 326 square miles (840 km2) is land and 4.3 square miles (11 km2) (1.3%) is water. [14] The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state.
The western half of Walton County, in a half circle from Social Circle through Monroe to northeast of Loganville, is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The eastern part of the county, east of that curve, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin. [15]
There was a noted decline in the African American population from 1900 to 1960 as thousands left rural areas in the South during the Great Migration to the North, Midwest and West Coast to escape social oppression and to gain better jobs and opportunities.
With dramatic new growth related to the rise of Atlanta as a corporate city, the demographics have changed and the county is majority white in the 21st century. The area has been developed for suburban housing and retail.
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1810 | 1,026 | — | |
1820 | 4,192 | 308.6% | |
1830 | 10,929 | 160.7% | |
1840 | 10,209 | −6.6% | |
1850 | 10,821 | 6.0% | |
1860 | 11,074 | 2.3% | |
1870 | 11,038 | −0.3% | |
1880 | 15,622 | 41.5% | |
1890 | 17,467 | 11.8% | |
1900 | 20,942 | 19.9% | |
1910 | 25,393 | 21.3% | |
1920 | 24,216 | −4.6% | |
1930 | 21,118 | −12.8% | |
1940 | 20,777 | −1.6% | |
1950 | 20,230 | −2.6% | |
1960 | 20,481 | 1.2% | |
1970 | 23,404 | 14.3% | |
1980 | 31,211 | 33.4% | |
1990 | 38,586 | 23.6% | |
2000 | 60,687 | 57.3% | |
2010 | 83,768 | 38.0% | |
2020 | 96,673 | 15.4% | |
2023 (est.) | 106,702 | [16] | 10.4% |
U.S. Decennial Census [17] 1790-1880 [18] 1890-1910 [19] 1920-1930 [20] 1930-1940 [21] 1940-1950 [22] 1960-1980 [23] 1980-2000 [24] 2010 [25] 2020 [26] |
Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2000 [27] | Pop 2010 [25] | Pop 2020 [26] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White alone (NH) | 49,731 | 65,677 | 68,499 | 81.95% | 78.40% | 70.86% |
Black or African American alone (NH) | 8,703 | 12,993 | 17,136 | 14.34% | 15.51% | 17.73% |
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 145 | 194 | 188 | 0.24% | 0.23% | 0.19% |
Asian alone (NH) | 410 | 947 | 1,409 | 0.68% | 1.13% | 1.46% |
Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 10 | 38 | 44 | 0.02% | 0.05% | 0.05% |
Other race alone (NH) | 25 | 159 | 552 | 0.04% | 0.19% | 0.57% |
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 500 | 1,077 | 3,617 | 0.82% | 1.29% | 3.74% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1,163 | 2,683 | 5,228 | 1.92% | 3.20% | 5.41% |
Total | 60,687 | 83,768 | 96,673 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 96,673 people, 33,350 households, and 25,736 families residing in the county.
Walton County has a six-member commission elected from single-member districts. This legislative body can pass laws for the county and tax bills. The county chairman is elected at-large to serve as the leader. If a seat becomes vacant during the term, the governor can appoint someone to fill the seat, based on recommendations. In 2015, two of the six positions were filled by appointees.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 37,839 | 74.05% | 12,683 | 24.82% | 576 | 1.13% |
2016 | 31,125 | 76.18% | 8,292 | 20.29% | 1,441 | 3.53% |
2012 | 29,036 | 77.07% | 8,148 | 21.63% | 493 | 1.31% |
2008 | 27,253 | 75.54% | 8,469 | 23.47% | 357 | 0.99% |
2004 | 21,594 | 78.11% | 5,887 | 21.29% | 166 | 0.60% |
2000 | 12,966 | 67.95% | 5,484 | 28.74% | 633 | 3.32% |
1996 | 7,934 | 52.82% | 5,618 | 37.40% | 1,468 | 9.77% |
1992 | 5,619 | 45.35% | 4,821 | 38.91% | 1,951 | 15.75% |
1988 | 5,974 | 65.56% | 3,091 | 33.92% | 47 | 0.52% |
1984 | 4,995 | 66.81% | 2,481 | 33.19% | 0 | 0.00% |
1980 | 2,618 | 35.85% | 4,525 | 61.96% | 160 | 2.19% |
1976 | 1,687 | 23.80% | 5,402 | 76.20% | 0 | 0.00% |
1972 | 3,994 | 77.80% | 1,140 | 22.20% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 1,399 | 19.99% | 1,552 | 22.18% | 4,047 | 57.83% |
1964 | 2,874 | 54.99% | 2,350 | 44.97% | 2 | 0.04% |
1960 | 403 | 11.52% | 3,095 | 88.48% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 470 | 12.56% | 3,271 | 87.44% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 324 | 8.11% | 3,672 | 91.89% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 164 | 5.71% | 2,440 | 84.99% | 267 | 9.30% |
1944 | 172 | 7.75% | 2,046 | 92.25% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 104 | 4.55% | 2,179 | 95.24% | 5 | 0.22% |
1936 | 132 | 6.33% | 1,952 | 93.58% | 2 | 0.10% |
1932 | 36 | 1.66% | 2,136 | 98.34% | 0 | 0.00% |
1928 | 424 | 27.20% | 1,135 | 72.80% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 90 | 8.78% | 873 | 85.17% | 62 | 6.05% |
1920 | 123 | 9.38% | 1,189 | 90.63% | 0 | 0.00% |
1916 | 83 | 5.61% | 1,305 | 88.24% | 91 | 6.15% |
1912 | 40 | 3.35% | 885 | 74.06% | 270 | 22.59% |
Walton County School District is the local school district for all sections except those in Social Circle. Areas in Social Circle are in the Social Circle City School District. [29]
Walton County doesn't have any pedestrian trails. However, there are trails in neighboring Gwinnett and Rockdale county such as the Arabia Mountain Path, Conyers Trail and Cedar Creek Trail Loop.
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Between is a town in Walton County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town had a population of 402.
Jersey is a town in Walton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 146 at the 2020 census.
Monroe is a city and the county seat of Walton County, Georgia, United States. It is located both one hour east of Atlanta via US 78 and GA 138 to I-20 and east of Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport and is one of the exurban cities in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The population was 14,928 at the 2020 U.S. census.
The Moore's Ford lynchings, also known as the 1946 Georgia lynching, refers to the July 25, 1946, murders of four young African Americans by a mob of white men. Tradition says that the murders were committed on Moore's Ford Bridge in Walton and Oconee counties between Monroe and Watkinsville, but the four victims, two married couples, were shot and killed on a nearby dirt road.
The Walton County School District is a public school district in Walton County, Georgia, United States, based in Monroe.