Washington County, Georgia

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,988.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Census 2020">U.S. 2020 Census Bureau report, Washington County, Georgia</ref> The county seat is Sandersville.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was established on February 25, 1784. It was named for Revolutionary War general and President of the United States George Washington.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.9%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

The western portion of Washington County, west of a north-to-south line running through Sandersville, is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The northeastern portion of the county, north of Riddleville, is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin, while the southeastern portion, centered on Harrison, is located in the Ohoopee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

• File:Georgia 15.svg State Route 15
• File:Georgia 24.svg State Route 24
• File:Georgia 24 Spur.svg State Route 24 Spur
• File:Georgia 57.svg State Route 57
• File:Georgia 68.svg State Route 68
• File:Georgia 88.svg State Route 88
• File:Georgia 102.svg State Route 102
• File:Georgia 231.svg State Route 231
• File:Georgia 242.svg State Route 242
• File:Georgia 272.svg State Route 272
• File:Georgia 540.svg State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)

Adjacent counties

• Glascock County (northeast)
• Jefferson County (east)
• Johnson County (south)
• Wilkinson County (southwest)
• Baldwin County (west)
• Hancock County (northwest)

Communities

Cities

• Davisboro
• Oconee
• Sandersville (county seat)
• Tennille

Towns

• Deepstep
• Harrison
• Riddleville

Census-designated places

• Warthen

Other unincorporated communities

• Ennis
• Goat Town
• Hamburg
• Irwins Crossroads
• Pringle
• Sun Hill
• Veal

Demographics

2020 Census

Washington County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition
Template:Nobold

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	9,620	9,339	8,412	45.43%	44.08%	42.09%
Black or African American alone (NH)	11,233	11,124	10,698	53.05%	52.50%	53.52%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	35	19	37	0.17%	0.09%	0.19%
Asian alone (NH)	55	104	76	0.26%	0.49%	0.38%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	2	1	0	0.01%	0.00%	0.00%
Other race alone (NH)	11	26	30	0.05%	0.12%	0.15%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	86	167	401	0.41%	0.79%	2.01%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	134	407	334	0.63%	1.92%	1.67%
Total	21,176	21,187	19,988	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,988 people, 7,503 households, and 5,315 families residing in the county.

File:Kaolin mines in Washington County, Georgia.jpg

Kaolin mines are a major industry in Washington County. Kaolin has had a particularly strong impact on the town of Sandersville which brands itself as the “kaolin capital of the world.” Each October, the town hosts a festival that includes a parade of heavy mining machinery, kaolin mine tours, and a beauty pageant that crowns Miss Kaolin.<ref>Kaolin mines in Washington County, Georgia</ref>

Education

The county is served by the Washington County School District, which includes:<ref name="District">Template:Cite web</ref>

• Ridge Road Elementary School
• T.J. Elder Middle School
• Washington County High School.

The county is also the location of one privately run school:

• Brentwood School

In popular culture

The 1933 short story "The People's Choice" by Erskine Caldwell is set in Washington County, where the story's protagonist is a popular local politician elected again and again as the county's tax assessor.

In 1992, the Pig Monument was erected in the county, near Oconee off of Georgia State Route 272. The monument commemorates a 1933 event where several residents of the county gathered together to help a local farmer rescue a pig that had fallen down a dry well.

The biography of one of the main characters (Grant Alexander) in the 2011 console game X-Men: Destiny states that they were born in Sandersville, Georgia.

Politics

Like most other majority-minority counties in the South, Washington County has primarily backed Democratic Party candidates for most of its history. Democratic margins of victory in presidential elections were far greater prior to 1964, but the county has only failed to back a Democratic presidential candidate five times in its history. However, no candidate of any party since Bill Clinton in 1996 has managed to win the county by a margin of 1,000 votes or greater. It was the most Black county in Georgia to vote for Donald Trump in 2024. Template:PresHead Template:PresRowTemplate:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

See also

• Central Savannah River Area
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Georgia
• List of counties in Georgia

Further reading

• Ella Mitchell, History of Washington County. Atlanta, GA: Byrd Printing Company, 1924. —Reissued 1973.

External links

• Official page of Washington County