Editing Ware County, Georgia

{{Short description|County in Georgia, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Ware County 
 | state                = Georgia 
 | seal                 = WareCountyGAseal.png
 | seal size            = 90px
 | founded              = {{start date and age|1824|12|15}} 
 | seat wl              = Waycross 
 | largest city wl      = Waycross
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 908 
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 892 
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 16 
 | area percentage      = 1.7% 
 | census yr            = 2020 
 | pop                  = 36251 
 | density_sq_mi        = 41 
 | district             = 1st 
 | website              = {{URL|https://www.warecountyga.gov/|warecountyga.gov}}
 | ex image             = Ware County Courthouse, Waycross, GA, US.jpg
 | ex image cap         = [[Ware County]] Courthouse in Waycross
 | time zone            = Eastern
 | named for            = [[Nicholas Ware]]
}}
[[File:Laura S Walker State Park.jpg|thumb|Laura S. Walker State Park]]
'''Ware County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the [[Southeast Georgia|southeastern]] part of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 36,251.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Ware County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Ware_County,_Georgia?g=0500000US13299|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=December 29, 2022}}</ref> The [[county seat]] and only incorporated place is [[Waycross, Georgia|Waycross]].<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> Ware County is part of the Waycross, Georgia [[Waycross micropolitan area|micropolitan statistical area]].

==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, Georgia|Appling County]].

The county is named for [[Nicholas Ware]], the [[mayor]] of [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|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:
* [[Bacon County, Georgia|Bacon County]] (from portions of Appling, Pierce, and Ware counties in 1917)
* [[Charlton County, Georgia|Charlton County]] (from portions of [[Camden County, Georgia|Camden]] and Ware county in 1854)
* [[Clinch County, Georgia|Clinch County]] (from portions of [[Lowndes County, Georgia|Lowndes]] and Ware counties in 1850)
* [[Coffee County, Georgia|Coffee County]] (from portions of Clinch, [[Irwin County, Georgia|Irwin]], [[Telfair County, Georgia|Telfair]], and Ware counties in 1854)
* [[Pierce County, Georgia|Pierce County]] (from portions of Appling and Ware counties in 1857)

Ware County was home to [[Laura S. Walker]] (1861–1955) a noted author and [[conservation movement|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''<ref name="Walker1990">{{cite book|author=Laura Singleton Walker|title=History of Ware County, Georgia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbVQPwAACAAJ|year=1990|publisher=Southern Historical Press|isbn=978-0-89308-106-5}}</ref> ''About "Old Okefenåok"''<ref name="WalkerKing1947">{{cite book|author1=Laura Singleton Walker|author2=Sara Singleton King|title=About "Old Okefenåok"|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_pj3swEACAAJ|year=1947}}</ref> and ''Doctors of Primitive Times and Horse and Buggy Days of Ware County''.<ref name="Walker1940">{{cite book|author=Laura Singleton Walker|title=Doctors of Primitive Times and Horse and Buggy Days of Ware County|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bo_3GgAACAAJ|year=1940}}</ref>

An effort to recognize her work culminated in President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] issuing a proclamation to establish the [[Laura S. Walker State Park|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.<ref name="Name">{{cite web|title=Laura S. Walker: The Woman Behind the Park|publisher=Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites|url=https://friendsofgastateparks.org/node/866|access-date=April 13, 2018}}</ref> In 1937, the federal government purchased distressed farmland for the park.<ref>{{cite web|title=Current Use of Federal Land Utilization Projects Granted to State and Local Agencies|publisher=Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Clemson University|author1=Thomas J. Straka|author2=S. Knight Cox|author3=Heather T. Irwin|url=https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/bib96089/65.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414091735/https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/bib96089/65.pdf |archive-date=April 14, 2018 |url-status=live|access-date=April 13, 2018}}</ref><ref name="DNR" /> 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.<ref name="DNR">{{cite web|title=Laura S. Walker State Park Established 1941|publisher=Georgia Department of Natural Resources|url=http://gastateparks.org/sites/default/files/parks/pdf/lauraswalker/LauraSWalker_History.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107201733/http://gastateparks.org/sites/default/files/parks/pdf/lauraswalker/LauraSWalker_History.pdf |archive-date=January 7, 2018 |url-status=live|access-date=April 13, 2018}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|908|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|892|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|16|sqmi}} (1.7%) 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> It is the largest county in Georgia by area. A large portion of the county lies within the [[Okefenokee Swamp]] and its [[Protected areas of the United States|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 (Florida–Georgia)|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, Georgia|Waycross]], is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the same St. Marys-Satilla 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 27, 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 1.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 1 in Georgia|U.S. Route 1]]
* [[File:Business plate.svg|20px]]<br />[[File:US 1.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 1 Business (Waycross, Georgia)|U.S. Route 1 Business]]
* [[File:US 23.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 23 in Georgia|U.S. Route 23]]
* [[File:Business plate.svg|20px]]<br />[[File:US 23.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 23 Business (Waycross, Georgia)|U.S. Route 23 Business]]
* [[File:US 82.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 82 in Georgia|U.S. Route 82]]
* [[File:US 84.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 84 in Georgia|U.S. Route 84]]
* [[File:Georgia 4.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 4|State Route 4]]
* [[File:Georgia 4 Business.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 4 Business (Waycross)|State Route 4 Business]]
* [[File:Georgia 38.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 38|State Route 38]]
* [[File:Georgia 122.svg|23px]] [[Georgia State Route 122|State Route 122]]
* [[File:Georgia 158.svg|23px]] [[Georgia State Route 158|State Route 158]]
* [[File:Georgia 177.svg|23px]] [[Georgia State Route 177|State Route 177]]
* [[File:Georgia 520.svg|23px]] [[Georgia State Route 520|State Route 520]]
{{div col end}}

===Adjacent counties===
{{div col}}
* [[Bacon County, Georgia|Bacon County]] - north
* [[Pierce County, Georgia|Pierce County]] - east
* [[Brantley County, Georgia|Brantley County]] - east
* [[Charlton County, Georgia|Charlton County]] - southeast
* [[Baker County, Florida|Baker County]], [[Florida]] - south
* [[Clinch County, Georgia|Clinch County]] - west
* [[Atkinson County, Georgia|Atkinson County]] - west
* [[Coffee County, Georgia|Coffee County]] - northwest
{{div col end}}

===National protected area===
* [[Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge]] (part)

==Communities==
===City===
* [[Waycross, Georgia|Waycross]]

===Census-designated places===
* [[Deenwood, Georgia|Deenwood]]
* [[Sunnyside, Georgia|Sunnyside]]
* [[Waresboro, Georgia|Waresboro]]
* [[Millwood, Georgia|Millwood]]
* [[Manor, Georgia|Manor]]
* [[Dixie Union, Georgia|Dixie Union]]

===Unincorporated communities===
* [[Bickley, Georgia|Bickley]]
* [[Ruskin, Georgia|Ruskin]]
* [[Jamestown, Georgia|Jamestown]]
* Telmore

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
| 1830 = 1205
| 1840 = 2323
| 1850 = 3888
| 1860 = 2200
| 1870 = 2286
| 1880 = 4159
| 1890 = 8811
| 1900 = 13761
| 1910 = 22957
| 1920 = 28361
| 1930 = 26558
| 1940 = 27929
| 1950 = 30289
| 1960 = 34219
| 1970 = 33525
| 1980 = 37180
| 1990 = 35471
| 2000 = 35483
| 2010 = 36312
| 2020 = 36251
|estyear=2023
|estimate=36243
|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/13/13299.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=June 27, 2014|archive-date=August 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110803134101/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13299.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Ware County racial composition (2020)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US13299&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 9, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]]
|22,275
|61.45%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]]
|10,703
|29.52%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|77
|0.21%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|333
|0.92%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
|18
|0.05%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|1,233
|3.4%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|1,612
|4.45%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 36,251 people, 13,823 households, and 8,909 families residing in the county.

==Education==

===High schools===
* [[Ware County High School]], Waycross

===Middle schools===
* Ware County Middle School, Waycross
* Waycross Middle School, Waycross

===Elementary schools===
* Wacona Elementary School, Waycross
* Center Elementary School, Waycross
* Williams Heights Elementary School, Waycross
* Memorial Drive Elementary School, Waycross
* Ruskin Elementary School, Waycross
* Waresboro Elementary School, Waycross

===Preschools===
* DAFFODIL Preschool, Waycross

===Private schools===
* Southside Christian School

===Higher education===
* [[South Georgia State College]], Waycross
* [[Coastal Pines Technical College]], Waycross

==Politics==

Ware County has favored the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in recent presidential elections, although it was a strongly Democratic [[Solid South]] county until the 1980s. In the [[1992 United States presidential election in Georgia|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.
{{PresHead|place=Ware 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 24, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|10,279|4,068|125|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|9,903|4,169|117|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|8,513|3,440|231|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|7,941|3,900|112|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|8,311|4,034|91|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|7,790|3,449|52|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|6,099|3,480|49|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|4,746|4,171|662|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1992|Tie|4,573|4,573|1,278|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|4,819|4,292|52|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|5,547|4,435|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|3,715|6,307|115|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|2,661|7,719|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|6,578|1,724|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|2,047|2,255|5,895|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|4,948|5,189|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|2,235|5,099|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|2,276|5,888|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|2,418|5,627|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|655|2,611|1,384|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|459|2,306|2|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|308|2,672|6|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|256|2,566|5|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|205|2,504|14|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|1,339|1,416|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|216|1,497|283|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|215|901|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|59|1,066|133|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|39|972|54|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|190|771|47|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|158|635|19|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|107|601|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|330|545|39|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|262|775|99|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1888|Democratic|186|369|17|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1884|Democratic|179|365|0|Georgia}}
{{PresFoot|1880|Democratic|201|353|0|Georgia}}

==See also==
{{Portal|State of Georgia}}
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Ware County, Georgia]]
* [[Obediah Barber Homestead]]
* [[Laura S. Walker State Park]]
*[[List of counties in Georgia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ware County, Georgia}}
* [http://www.warecounty.com/ Official Ware County website]
* [https://archive.today/20130209103527/http://www.warecountylocal.com/ Ware County Community Website & Community Calendar]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=CbVQPwAACAAJ/ History of Ware County, Georgia] - [[Laura S. Walker]]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=bo_3GgAACAAJ/ Doctors of Primitive Times and Horse and Buggy Days of Ware County] - [[Laura S. Walker]]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~gaware/ Georgia GenWeb Ware County site]
* [http://www.okeswamp.com/ Okefenokee Swamp Park homepage]
* [http://www.fws.gov/okefenokee/ Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge] [[U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]]

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Ware County, Georgia
|North     = [[Bacon County, Georgia|Bacon County]]
|Northeast =
|East      = [[Pierce County, Georgia|Pierce County]] and [[Brantley County, Georgia|Brantley County]]
|Southeast = [[Charlton County, Georgia|Charlton County]]
|South     = [[Baker County, Florida]]
|Southwest =
|West      = [[Atkinson County, Georgia|Atkinson County]] and [[Clinch County, Georgia|Clinch County]]
|Northwest = [[Coffee County, Georgia|Coffee County]]
}}
{{Ware County, Georgia}}
{{Georgia (U.S. state)}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|31.05|-82.42|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Ware County, Georgia| ]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) counties]]
[[Category:1824 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1824]]
[[Category:Waycross, Georgia micropolitan area]]