Editing Early County, Georgia

{{Short description|County in Georgia, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Early County
 | state                = Georgia
 | seal                 = 
 | founded              = {{start date and age|1818}}
 | seat wl              = Blakely
 | largest city wl      = Blakely
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 516
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 513
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 3.8
 | area percentage      = 0.7%
 | census yr            = 2020
 | pop                  = 10854
 | density_sq_mi        = 21
 | time zone            = Eastern
 | website              = {{URL|https://www.earlycountyga.org/|earlycountyga.org}}
 | ex image             = Early County Courthouse in Blakely Georgia.jpg
 | ex image cap         = [[Early County Courthouse]] in Blakely
 | district             = 2nd
 | named for            = [[Peter Early]]
}}

'''Early County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located on the southwest border of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 10,854.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Early County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Early_County,_Georgia?g=0500000US13099|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=December 27, 2022}}</ref> The [[county seat]] is [[Blakely, Georgia|Blakely]], where the [[Early County Courthouse]] is located.<ref name="GR6">{{cite web |url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712220218/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=July 12, 2012 }}</ref> Created on December 15, 1818, it was named for [[Peter Early]], 28th Governor of Georgia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://earlycounty.georgia.gov/|title=Early County|website=Georgia.gov|language=en|access-date=March 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807181039/http://earlycounty.georgia.gov/|archive-date=August 7, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> The county is bordered on the west by the [[Chattahoochee River]], forming the border with Alabama.

==History==
Prehistoric and nineteenth-century history has been preserved in some of Early County's attractions. It is the site of the [[Kolomoki Mounds]], a park preserving major [[earthworks (engineering)|earthworks]] built by [[indigenous peoples]] of the [[Woodland culture]] more than 1700 years ago, from 350 CE to 600 CE. This is one of the largest mound complexes in the United States and the largest in Georgia; it includes burial and ceremonial mounds. The siting of the mounds expresses the ancient people's [[cosmology]], as mounds are aligned with the sun at the spring equinox and summer solstice.

The county area was long territory of the historic [[Creek Indian]] peoples of the Southeast, particularly along the Chattahoochee River. Beginning in the early nineteenth century, European-American settlers began to encroach on this territory, pushing the Muscogee out during [[Indian Removal]] in the 1830s. The Muscogee were forced to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

This area was developed by European-American settlers and their African-American enslaved workers for cotton plantations. Agriculture was critical to the economy into the 20th century. The Cohelee Creek Bridge in the county is the southernmost [[covered bridge]] still standing. One of the last wooden flagpoles from the [[American Civil War]] era is located at the historic courthouse in downtown Blakely.

According to the [[Equal Justice Initiative]], in the period from 1877 to 1950, Early County had 24 documented [[Lynching in the United States|lynchings of African Americans]], the second-highest total in the state after the more densely populated Fulton County.<ref name="eji">[https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-second-edition-supplement-by-county.pdf ''Lynching in America'', 2nd edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627005306/https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-second-edition-supplement-by-county.pdf |date=June 27, 2018 }}, Supplement by County: "Georgia, Early County", p. 3</ref><ref name="UGA Lynching Project">{{cite web |title=THE LYNCHING PROJECT: EARLY COUNTY |url=https://digihum.libs.uga.edu/exhibits/show/the-lynching-project--murder-a/georgia-historic-overview/early-county |access-date=June 17, 2020 |archive-date=June 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618175439/https://digihum.libs.uga.edu/exhibits/show/the-lynching-project--murder-a/georgia-historic-overview/early-county |url-status=dead }}</ref> Most were committed around the turn of the 20th century, in the period of [[Jim Crow]] conditions and suppression of black voting. This was still a largely agricultural area, and some disputes arose from confrontations between black sharecroppers or tenant farmers and white landowners, particularly at times to settle accounts. Another, Sidney Grist, was lynched on December 31, 1896, for "political activity".<ref name="UGA Lynching Project" />

Among these cases were five African-American men lynched by whites in less than a month in the summer of 1899: three on July 23, one on July 25 (all reportedly for rape and robbery), and one on August 3 for attempted rape.<ref name="database"/> Black men were frequently identified as suspects in such cases and lynched before any trial took place; further investigations have sometimes revealed consensual sex or other persons having committed the crime. A mass lynching took place in the county on December 30, 1915, when seven black men were lynched, allegedly as suspects in a murder.<ref name="database">[http://www.maryturner.org/database.htm "Known Georgia Lynching Victims"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308220846/http://www.maryturner.org/database.htm |date=March 8, 2018 }}, Mary Turner Project, 2014; based on F.W. Brundage (1993) and R. Ginzburg (1988)</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|516|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|513|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|3.8|sqmi}} (0.7%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref>

The northeastern and eastern portions of Early County, east of [[Blakely, Georgia|Blakely]], and extending south to a line east of [[Jakin, Georgia|Jakin]], are located in the [[Spring Creek (Flint River)|Spring Creek]] sub-basin of the [[ACF River Basin]] (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The western portion of the county is located in the Lower [[Chattahoochee River]] sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gaswcc.org/maps/ |title=Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience |publisher=Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission |access-date=November 24, 2015 |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003004639/http://www.gaswcc.org/maps/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Major highways===
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[File:US 27.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 27 in Georgia|U.S. Route 27]]
* [[File:Business plate.svg|20px]]<br />[[File:US 27.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 27 Business (Blakely, Georgia)|U.S. Route 27 Business]]
* [[File:US 84.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 84 in Georgia|U.S. Route 84]]
* [[File:Georgia 1.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 1|State Route 1]]
* [[File:Georgia 1 Business.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 1 Business (Blakely)|State Route 1 Business]]
* [[File:Georgia 39.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 39|State Route 39]]
* [[File:Georgia 45.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 45|State Route 45]]
* [[File:Georgia 62.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 62|State Route 62]]
* [[File:Georgia 62 Bypass.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 62 Bypass (Blakely)|State Route 62 Bypass]]
* [[File:Georgia 200.svg|25px]] [[Georgia State Route 200|State Route 200]]
* [[File:Georgia 216.svg|25px]] [[Georgia State Route 216|State Route 216]]
* [[File:Georgia 273.svg|25px]] [[Georgia State Route 273|State Route 273]]
* [[File:Georgia 273 Spur.svg|25px]] [[Georgia State Route 273 Spur (Georgia Pacific)|State Route 273 Spur]]
* [[File:Georgia 370.svg|25px]] [[Georgia State Route 370|State Route 370]]
{{div col end}}

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Clay County, Georgia|Clay County]] (north)
* [[Calhoun County, Georgia|Calhoun County]] (northeast)
* [[Baker County, Georgia|Baker County]] (east)
* [[Miller County, Georgia|Miller County]] (southeast)
* [[Seminole County, Georgia|Seminole County]] (south or east)
* [[Houston County, Alabama|Houston County]], [[Alabama]] (southwest/CST Border)
* [[Henry County, Alabama|Henry County]], [[Alabama]] (west/CST Border)

==Communities==
===Cities===
* [[Arlington, Georgia|Arlington]] (shared with Calhoun County)
* [[Blakely, Georgia|Blakely]]
* [[Damascus, Georgia|Damascus]]
* [[Jakin, Georgia|Jakin]]

===Census designated places===
* [[Cedar Springs, Georgia|Cedar Springs]]

===Unincorporated communities===
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Colomokee, Georgia|Colomokee]]
* [[Cuba, Georgia|Cuba]]
* [[Freeman, Georgia|Freeman]]
* [[Hentown, Georgia|Hentown]]
* [[Hilton, Georgia|Hilton]]
* [[Jones Crossroads, Georgia|Jones Crossroads]]
* [[Killarney, Georgia|Killarney]]
* [[Lucile, Georgia|Lucile]]
* [[New Hope, Early County, Georgia|New Hope]]
* [[Nicholasville, Georgia|Nicholasville]]
* [[Old Damascus, Georgia|Old Damascus]]
* [[Rock Hill, Georgia|Rock Hill]]
* [[Rowena, Georgia|Rowena]]
* [[Saffold, Georgia|Saffold]]
* [[Urquhart, Georgia|Urquhart]]
{{div col end}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1820= 768
|1830= 2051
|1840= 5444
|1850= 7246
|1860= 6149
|1870= 6998
|1880= 7611
|1890= 9792
|1900= 14828
|1910= 18122
|1920= 18983
|1930= 18273
|1940= 18679
|1950= 17413
|1960= 13151
|1970= 12682
|1980= 13158
|1990= 11854
|2000= 12354
|2010= 11008
|2020= 10854
|estyear=2023
|estimate=10563
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 31, 2024}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=}}</ref><br>1790-1880<ref name=1880CensusGACty>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800 |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1880|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/vol-01-population/1880_v1-08.pdf|accessdate=|page=}}</ref> 1890-1910<ref name=1910CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1910 Census of Population - Georgia  |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1910|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/abstract/supplement-ga.pdf |accessdate=|page=}}</ref><br> 1920-1930<ref name=1930CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1930 Census of Population - Georgia  |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1930|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/03815512v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=|page=}}</ref> 1930-1940<ref name=1940CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1940 Census of Population - Georgia  |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1940|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-volume-1/33973538v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=}}</ref><br> 1940-1950<ref name=1950CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1950 Census of Population - Georgia - |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1950|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/population-volume-2/37779083v2p11ch2.pdf |accessdate=}}</ref> 1960-1980<ref name=1980CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia  |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1980|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_gaABC-01.pdf|accessdate=}}</ref><br> 1980-2000<ref name=2000CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia  |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 2000|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2003/dec/phc-3-12.pdf |accessdate=}}</ref> 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2/> 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2/>
}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Early County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Early County, Alabama|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p004&g=050XX00US13099&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Early County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US13099&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Early County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US13099&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|6,159
|5,250
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,813
|49.85%
|47.69%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |44.34%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|5,901
|5,441
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,534
|47.77%
|49.43%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |50.99%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|23
|34
|style='background: #ffffe6; |31
|0.19%
|0.34%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.29%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|23
|37
|style='background: #ffffe6; |47
|0.19%
|0.34%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.43%
|-
|[[Native Hawaiian]] or [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|7
|2
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.06%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Other race]] alone (NH)
|5
|5
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11
|0.04%
|0.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.10%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or Multiracial]] (NH)
|84
|68
|style='background: #ffffe6; |232
|0.68%
|0.62%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.14%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|152
|171
|style='background: #ffffe6; |186
|1.23%
|1.55%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.71%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''12,354'''
|'''11,008'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''10,854'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}

As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 10,854 people, 4,074 households, and 2,659 families residing in the county.

==Education==
The [[Early County School District]] holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school.<ref>[http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=111&PID=62&PTID=69&CountyId=649&T=0&FY=2009 Georgia Board of Education]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Retrieved June 8, 2010.</ref> The district has 156 full-time teachers and over 2,764 students.<ref>[http://www.school-stats.com/GA/EARLY/EARLY_COUNTY.html School Stats], Retrieved June 8, 2010.</ref>
* Early County Elementary School
* Early County Middle School
* [[Early County High School]]

==Politics==
Despite being a [[Majority minority in the United States|majority-black]] county, Early County leans [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]. As recently as 2012, the county voted Democratic for president, backing [[Barack Obama]] over [[Mitt Romney]]. However, Early County voted for GOP nominee [[Donald Trump]] thrice consecutively since then, including even as [[Joe Biden]] defeated Trump statewide in 2020. In the 2022 midterms, Governor [[Brian Kemp]] carried it by 19.5 points, while Secretary of State [[Brad Raffensperger]] carried it by over 21%, and in 2024, Trump won the county by double-digits over [[Kamala Harris]].

{{PresHead|place=Early County, Georgia|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|2,718|2,158|3|Georgia}}{{PresRow|2020|Republican|2,710|2,450|28|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|2,552|2,168|83|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|2,557|2,765|37|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|2,711|2,603|29|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|2,495|1,701|23|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|1,938|1,622|25|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|1,374|1,648|251|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|1,457|1,970|716|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|1,918|1,359|4|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|2,239|1,494|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|1,538|2,110|34|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|1,157|2,405|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|2,396|513|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|327|785|2,797|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|2,398|771|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|254|1,904|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|193|1,818|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|307|1,803|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|94|1,110|149|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|77|1,753|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|104|1,751|2|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|46|1,107|4|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|19|1,131|2|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|231|674|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|22|351|62|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|34|381|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|4|442|9|Georgia}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|7|501|27|Georgia}}

==See also==
{{Portal|State of Georgia}}
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Early County, Georgia]]
*[[List of counties in Georgia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.earlycountyga.org/ Early County Official Website] - The official website of Early County
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060823205213/http://www.earlycounty2055.com/ Early County 2055]}} - a non-profit corporation established by native son Charles Barton Rice and Catherine B. Rice to support the revitalization, economic development and preservation of Blakely and Early County, Georgia.
* [http://www.blakelyearlycountychamber.com/ Blakely - Early County Chamber of Commerce] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415080412/http://www.blakelyearlycountychamber.com/ |date=April 15, 2008 }} - Chamber of Commerce for Blakely and surrounding communities of Jakin, Arlington and Damascus.
* [http://www.sgawarriors.com Southwest Georgia Academy](SGA)-a private school is located in Damascus and its adjoining Counties by Georgia Independent School Association (GISA)
* [http://www.earlycountynews.com ''Early County News''], a local newspaper founded by the Fleming Family in 1859
* [http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/early/early-county Early County] historical marker

==Further reading==
* Jerald T. Milanich, ''The Archaeology of Precolumbian Florida'' (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1994).
* Jerald T. Milanich, et al., ''McKeithen Weeden Island: The Culture of Northern Florida, A.D. 200-900''  (New York: Academic Press, 1984).
* Thomas J. Pluckhahn, ''Kolomoki: Settlement, Ceremony, and Status in the Deep South, A.D. 350 to 750'' (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2003).
* William H. Sears, ''Excavations at Kolomoki: Final Report'' (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1956).
* Christopher Trowell, "A Kolomoki Chronicle: The History of a Plantation, a State Park, and the Archaeological Search for Kolomoki's Prehistory," ''Early Georgia'' 26, no. 1 (1998).
* Mark Williams and Daniel T. Elliott, eds., ''A World Engraved: Archaeology of the Swift Creek Culture'' (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998).

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Early County, Georgia
|North     = [[Clay County, Georgia|Clay County]]
|Northeast = [[Calhoun County, Georgia|Calhoun County]]
|East      = [[Baker County, Georgia|Baker County]]
|Southeast = [[Miller County, Georgia|Miller County]]
|South     = [[Seminole County, Georgia|Seminole County]]
|Southwest = [[Houston County, Alabama]]
|West      = [[Henry County, Alabama]]
|Northwest =
}}
{{Early County, Georgia}}
{{Georgia (U.S. state)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|31.33|-84.91|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Early County, Georgia| ]]
[[Category:1818 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1818]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) counties]]
[[Category:Black Belt (U.S. region)]]
[[Category:Majority-minority counties in Georgia]]