Editing Pickens County, Georgia

{{Short description|County in Georgia, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Pickens County
 | state                = Georgia
 | flag                 = Flag of Pickens County, Georgia.png
 | flag size            = 111px
 | seal                 = Seal of Pickens County, Georgia.png
 | seal size            = 86px
 | founded year         = {{start date and age|1853}}
 | founded date         = December 5
 | seat wl              = Jasper
 | largest city wl      = Jasper
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 233
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 232
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 0.7
 | area percentage      = 0.3%
 | census yr            = 2020
 | pop                  = 33216
 | density_sq_mi        = 143
 | time zone            = Eastern
 | footnotes            = 
 | web                  = http://pickenscountyga.gov/
 | named for            = [[Andrew Pickens (congressman)|Andrew Pickens]]
 | ex image             = Pickens County Courthouse, Georgia 2015.JPG
 | ex image cap         = Pickens County Courthouse, Jasper
 | district             = 9th
 | district2            = 14th
}}

'''Pickens County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] in the [[Northwest Georgia|Northwest]] region of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 33,216.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Pickens County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Pickens_County,_Georgia?g=0500000US13227|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=December 28, 2022}}</ref> The [[county seat]] is [[Jasper, Georgia|Jasper]].<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}}</ref> Pickens County is part of the [[Atlanta metropolitan area|Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia metropolitan statistical area]].

==History==
The [[Georgia General Assembly]] passed an act on December 5, 1853, to create Pickens County from portions of [[Cherokee County, Georgia|Cherokee]] and [[Gilmer County, Georgia|Gilmer]] Counties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://georgia.gov/cities-counties/pickens-county|title=Pickens County|access-date=June 28, 2014}}</ref> Pickens received several more land additions from Cherokee (1869) and Gilmer Counties (1858 and 1863); however, several sections of Pickens County have also been transferred to other counties: [[Dawson County, Georgia|Dawson County]] (1857), [[Gordon County, Georgia|Gordon County]] (1860), and Cherokee County (1870).

Pickens County is named for [[American Revolutionary War]] [[General]] [[Andrew Pickens (congressman)|Andrew Pickens]].<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/p.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030917122451/http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/p.pdf |archive-date=September 17, 2003 |url-status=live| title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=175 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}</ref>

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Company D of the [[1st Georgia Infantry Battalion (Union)|1st Georgia Infantry Battalion]] of the [[Union Army]] was raised in Pickens County.

Most of Pickens County's early industry revolved around marble. [[Georgia Marble Company]] is located in Marble Hill near [[Tate, Georgia|Tate]]. The Tate elementary school is built out of marble. The marble was also used to make the statue of [[Abraham Lincoln]] in the [[Lincoln Memorial]]. Most of the marble is white, but Pickens County is one of the few places in the world where pink marble is found. The marble is also used for tombstones for the United States military.

Pickens County has seen very rapid growth with the building of [[Georgia State Route 515]], locally referred to as the "four-lane". Many new businesses and residents continue to move to Pickens County.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Pickens County is home the [[Marble Festival|Georgia Marble Festival]].

==Geography==
[[File:Sharp Top Mountain, Pickens County, Georgia.JPG|thumb|Sharp Top Mountain, viewed from Grandview Lake Dam]]
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|233|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|232|sqmi}} are land and {{convert|0.7|sqmi}} (0.3%) is covered by 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 county is located in the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]]. The highest point in Pickens County is the 3,288-ft summit of [[Mount Oglethorpe]], the southernmost peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and for a number of years, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Other notable peaks in Pickens County include Sharp Top Mountain and Sharp Mountain. One of the best viewpoints of Sharp Top Mountain is from Grandview Lake Dam on Grandview Road.

The eastern half of Pickens County is located in the [[Etowah River]] subbasin of the [[ACT River Basin]] (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin). The western half of the county is located in the [[Coosawattee River]] sub-basin of the same larger ACT 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 19, 2015}}</ref>

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Gilmer County, Georgia|Gilmer County]] - north
* [[Dawson County, Georgia|Dawson County]] - east
* [[Cherokee County, Georgia|Cherokee County]] - south
* [[Bartow County, Georgia|Bartow County]] - southwest
* [[Gordon County, Georgia|Gordon County]] - west

== Communities ==
===Cities===
* [[Jasper, Georgia|Jasper]]
* [[Nelson, Georgia|Nelson]] (partially in [[Cherokee County, Georgia|Cherokee County]])

===Town===
* [[Talking Rock, Georgia|Talking Rock]]

===Unincorporated communities===
* [[Tate, Georgia|Tate]]
* [[Marble Hill, Georgia|Marble Hill]]
* [[Blaine, Georgia|Blaine]]

===Private communities===
A significant portion of the county population resides in gated [[master-planned]] communities that function similar to a municipality, with [[homeowner association|HOA]] fees to provide many municipal-type services independently from the county government.

* Bent Tree<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.benttree.com/Community/|title=Bent Tree &#124; North Georgia Mountains Real Estate Properties &#124; 18-Hole Golf Course, Year-Round Tennis, and 110-Acre Lake &#124; Buildable Real Estate Lots for Sale in Bent Tree. &#124; Bent Tree Community|website=www.benttree.com}}</ref>
* [[Big Canoe, Georgia|Big Canoe]] (partially in [[Dawson County, Georgia|Dawson County]])

== Demographics ==
{{US Census population
| 1860 = 4951
| 1870 = 5317
| 1880 = 6790
| 1890 = 8182
| 1900 = 8641
| 1910 = 9041
| 1920 = 8222
| 1930 = 9687
| 1940 = 9136
| 1950 = 8855
| 1960 = 8903
| 1970 = 9620
| 1980 = 11652
| 1990 = 14432
| 2000 = 22983
| 2010 = 29431
| 2020 = 33216
| estyear = 2024
| estimate = 37113
| 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=|archive-url=| archive-date=|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=|archive-url=| archive-date=|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=|archive-url=| archive-date=|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=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}</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=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}</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=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}</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=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}</ref> 2010<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13227.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=February 18, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607132215/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13227.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref>
}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Pickens County racial composition as of 2020<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US13227&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 14, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
|31,468
|94.11%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
|176
|0.53%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|65
|0.19%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|103
|0.31%
|-
|[[Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
|20
|0.06%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|1,521
|4.55%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|1,198
|3.61%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 33,216 people, 11,868 households, and 8,539 families residing in the county.

== Politics ==
Politically, Pickens County is an outlier in Georgia, one of the few ancestrally Republican counties of the state, due to [[Southern Unionist|Unionist]] sentiment in the county during the American Civil War.
{{PresHead|place=Pickens 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 22, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|17,281|3,522|112|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|14,110|2,824|238|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|11,651|1,979|490|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|10,547|1,975|180|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|10,004|2,595|214|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|8,115|2,444|80|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|5,488|2,489|224|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|3,041|2,693|832|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|2,332|2,359|1,057|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|3,021|1,430|23|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|2,801|1,329|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|1,612|2,358|107|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|973|2,571|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|2,101|520|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|1,659|677|1,392|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|1,955|1,930|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|1,943|1,473|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|2,341|1,236|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|1,328|1,312|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|1,258|1,239|225|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|795|780|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|884|1,124|12|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|1,053|1,223|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|743|1,472|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|1,319|543|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|1,149|754|4|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|830|437|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|344|497|420|Georgia}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Progressive|190|324|417|Georgia}}

==Transportation==

===Major highways===
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[File:I-575.svg|23px]] [[Interstate 575]]
* [[File:Georgia 5.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 5|State Route 5]]
* [[File:Georgia 53.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 53|State Route 53]]
* [[File:Georgia 53 Business.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 53#SR 53 Business in Jasper|State Route 53 Business]]
* [[File:Georgia 108.svg|23px]] [[Georgia State Route 108|State Route 108]]
* [[File:Georgia 136.svg|23px]] [[Georgia State Route 136|State Route 136]]
* [[File:Georgia 136 Connector.svg|23px]] [[Georgia State Route 136#Pickens County connector|State Route 136 Connector]]
* [[File:Georgia 372.svg|23px]] [[Georgia State Route 372|State Route 372]]
* [[File:Georgia 417.svg|23px]] [[Georgia State Route 417|State Route 417]] (unsigned designation for I-575)
* [[File:Georgia 515.svg|23px]] [[Georgia State Route 515|State Route 515]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- encyclopedic?  ===Other highways===
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* Burnt Mountain Road (Old Georgia State Route 108)
* Canton Highway (Old Georgia State Route 5)
* Church Street (Georgia State Route 53 Business)
* Cove Road
* Ellijay Road (Old Georgia State Route 5)
* Henderson Mountain Road (Old Georgia State Route 143/Georgia State Route 379)
* Jones Mountain Road
* Lumber Company Road
* Philadelphia Road
* Refuge Road (Old Georgia State Route 108)
* Steve Tate Highway
* Salem Church Road
* Sunrise Ridge Road (Old Georgia State Route 108)
* Talking Rock Road (Old Georgia State Route 5)
* Yellow Creek Road
* Whitestone Road
{{div col end}} -->

==Education==
{{main|Pickens County School District (Georgia)}}

==Notable residents==
* [[Farish Carter Tate]], U.S. congressman
* [[John Bozeman]], frontiersman; co-founder of [[Bozeman, Montana]]
* [[Chandler Smith]], professional racecar driver

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

==References==
;General
{{reflist}}

;Specific
The weekly newspaper for Pickens County is the [http://www.pickensprogress.com Pickens Progress], a family-owned newspaper published since 1887 in Jasper.
* [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/CitiesCounties/Counties&id=h-2377 Encyclopedia of Georgia Pickens County article]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060424065720/http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/courthouses/pickensCH.htm GeorgiaInfo Pickens County Courthouse info]

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/Counties/Pickens.html Documents from Pickens County in the Digital Library of Georgia]

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Pickens County, Georgia
|North     = [[Gilmer County, Georgia|Gilmer County]]
|Northeast =
|East      = [[Dawson County, Georgia|Dawson County]]
|Southeast =
|South     = [[Cherokee County, Georgia|Cherokee County]]
|Southwest = [[Bartow County, Georgia|Bartow County]]
|West      = [[Gordon County, Georgia|Gordon County]]
|Northwest =
}}
{{Pickens County, Georgia}}
{{Atlanta Metro}}
{{Georgia (U.S. state)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|34.46|-84.46|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Pickens County, Georgia| ]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) counties]]
[[Category:Counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area|Pickens]]
[[Category:Northeast Georgia]]
[[Category:1853 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1853]]