Editing Wilkes County, Georgia

{{Short description|County in Georgia, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Wilkes County
 | state                = Georgia
 | seal                 = 
 | founded year         = {{start date and age|1777}}
 | founded date         = February 5
 | seat wl              = Washington
 | largest city wl      = Washington
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 474
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 469
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 4.6
 | area percentage      = 1.0%
 | census yr            = 2020
 | pop                  = 9565
 | density_sq_mi        = 20
 | time zone            = Eastern
 | footnotes            = 
 | web                  = http://www.washingtonwilkes.org/
 | named for            = [[John Wilkes]]
 | ex image             = Wilkes County Courthouse, Washington, Georgia.jpg
 | ex image cap         = [[Wilkes County Courthouse (Georgia)|Wilkes County Courthouse]]
 | district             = 10th
 | district2            = 12th
}}

'''Wilkes County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the east central portion of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 9,565.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Wilkes County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Wilkes_County,_Georgia?g=0500000US13317|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=December 29, 2022}}</ref> The [[county seat]] is the city of [[Washington, Georgia|Washington]].<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>

Referred to as "Washington-Wilkes", the county seat and county are commonly treated as a single entity by locals, including the area's historical society<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyofwilkes.org/|title=The Washington-Wilkes Historical Foundation|last=Foundation|first=The Washington-Wilkes Historical|website=www.historyofwilkes.org|access-date=August 11, 2018}}</ref> and the Chamber of Commerce.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.washingtonwilkes.org/|title=Home - Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, GA|website=www.washingtonwilkes.org|language=en-US|access-date=August 11, 2018}}</ref> It is part of the [[Central Savannah River Area]] (CSRA).

==History==
Wilkes County, named for British politician and supporter of American independence, [[John Wilkes]], is considered Georgia's first county established by European Americans; it was the first of eight original counties created in the first state constitution on February 5, 1777. The other seven counties were organized from existing colonial parishes.

Wilkes was unique in being made up of land ceded in 1773 by the indigenous [[Muscogee (Creek)|Creek]] and [[Cherokee]] Native American nations in their respective Treaties of Augusta.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/counties/wilkes|title=County of Wilkes - GeorgiaInfo|website=georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu|language=en|access-date=August 11, 2018}}</ref> Its location was unique due to its close proximity to the [[Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line|Atlantic seaboard fall line]].

Between 1790 and 1854, Wilkes County's area was reduced as it was divided to organize new counties following the growth of population in the area. The Georgia legislature formed the counties of [[Elbert County, Georgia|Elbert]], [[Oglethorpe County, Georgia|Oglethorpe]], and [[Lincoln County, Georgia|Lincoln]] entirely from portions of Wilkes County. Wilkes also contributed part of the lands used in the creation of [[Madison County, Georgia|Madison]], [[Warren County, Georgia|Warren]], [[Taliaferro County, Georgia|Taliaferro]], [[Hart County, Georgia|Hart]], [[McDuffie County, Georgia|McDuffie]], and [[Greene County, Georgia|Greene]] Counties.<ref>[http://www.kudcom.com/www/hpage6.html  "A Brief History, 1790: A booming area of the state"], Washington, Georgia Virtual Tourist, accessed January 13, 2010</ref>

Wilkes County was the site of one of the most important battles of the [[American Revolutionary War]] to be fought in Georgia. During the [[Battle of Kettle Creek]] in 1779, the American [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] forces were victorious over [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|British Loyalists]].<ref>[http://www.kudcom.com/www/hpage5.html "A Brief History, 1779: The Decisive Revolutionary War Battle of Kettle Creek"], Washington, Georgia Virtual Tourist, accessed January 13, 2010</ref>

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, colonists depended on enslaved African-American workers and whites to clear land, develop [[plantations in the American South|plantations]], and cultivate and process cotton in this area. Long-staple cotton would not grow in this upland areas and short-staple cotton was originally too labor-intensive to be profitable.

In 1793, American [[Eli Whitney]] perfected his revolutionary invention of the [[cotton gin]] at Mount Pleasant, a cotton plantation east of Washington. It allowed mechanization of the processing of short-staple cotton, making its cultivation profitable in the upland areas. As a result, there was a dramatic increase in the development of new cotton plantations throughout the [[Deep South]] to cultivate short-staple cotton.

Settlers increased pressure on the federal government to remove Native Americans from the region, including the [[Five Civilized Tribes]] from the Southeast. In 1794, Revolutionary War veteran [[Elijah Clarke]], led a group of men from Wilkes County into traditionally Creek lands and established a town and several forts and called it the [[Trans-Oconee Republic]].<ref>Crompton, S. Clarke, Elijah (1742?–January 15, 1799), Georgia patriot. American National Biography. Retrieved March 10, 2022, from https://www-anb-org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-0200068.</ref> While short lived, the incursion was part of a broader movement of incursion into traditionally native lands. Congress passed the [[Indian Removal Act]] in 1830 and the government forcibly removed most of the members of these tribes to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River.

Production of short-staple cotton in the Deep South soon superseded that of long-staple cotton, grown primarily on the [[Sea Islands]] and in the [[Lowland|Low Country]].<ref>[http://www.washingtonwilkes.org/history/overview Willingham, Robert. "AN OVERVIEW OF LOCAL HISTORY"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205010809/http://www.washingtonwilkes.org/history/overview |date=February 5, 2010 }}, Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce, accessed January 13, 2010</ref> Such expansion dramatically increased the demand for slave labor in the Deep South, resulting in a longstanding domestic slave trade that transported more than a million slaves in forced migrations from the Upper South. [[King Cotton]] brought great wealth to many planters in the decades before the Civil War.

None of the battles of the [[American Civil War]] was fought in or near Wilkes County. But here [[President of the Confederate States of America|President]] [[Jefferson Davis]] met for the final time with the Confederate Cabinet, and they officially dissolved the government of the [[Confederate States of America]].<ref>[http://www.kudcom.com/www/hpage9.html "A Brief History, 1865: Last Meeting of the Confederate Cabinet"], Washington, Georgia Virtual Tourist, accessed January 13, 2010</ref>  Wilkes County was the last-known location of the [[Confederate gold|gold]] rumored to have been lost from the Confederate Treasury.<ref>[http://www.kudcom.com/www/gold.html "Legend of the Lost Gold of the Confederacy"], Washington, Georgia Virtual Tourist, accessed January 13, 2010</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Davis|first1=Robert Scott|title=The Georgia Odyssey of the Confederate Gold|journal=Georgia Historical Quarterly|date=2002|volume=86|issue=4|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9425698&site=eds-live|access-date=October 13, 2016}}</ref> The present-day [[Wilkes County Courthouse (Washington, Georgia)|Wilkes County Courthouse]] was built in [[Washington, Georgia|Washington]] at the site of the cabinet meeting.

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|474|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|469|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|4.6|sqmi}} (1.0%) 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 located in the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] region above the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|fall line]].

The northern quarter of Wilkes County, in a curved line from [[Rayle, Georgia|Rayle]] through [[Tignall, Georgia|Tignall]] to the northeastern corner of the county, is located in the [[Broad River (Georgia)|Broad River]] sub-basin of the [[Savannah River]] basin. The eastern portion of the county, from [[Washington, Georgia|Washington]] east, and bordered to the north and west by the Broad River sub-basin, is located in the Upper Savannah River sub-basin of the larger Savannah River basin. The rest of the county, south of Washington, is located in the [[Little River (Columbia County, Georgia)|Little River]] sub-basin of the Savannah 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>

===Major highways===
{{div col}}
* [[File:US 78.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 78 in Georgia|U.S. Route 78]]
* [[File:Business plate.svg|20px]]<br />[[File:US 78.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Route 78 Business (Washington, Georgia)|U.S. Route 78 Business]]
* [[File:US 378.svg|23px]] [[U.S. Route 378 in Georgia|U.S. Route 378]]
* [[File:Georgia 10.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 10|State Route 10]]
* [[File:Georgia 10 Business.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 10 Business (Washington)|State Route 10 Business]]
* [[File:Georgia 17.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 17|State Route 17]]
* [[File:Georgia 44.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 44|State Route 44]]
* [[File:Georgia 47.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 47|State Route 47]]
* [[File:Georgia 80.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 80|State Route 80]]
{{div col end}}

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Elbert County, Georgia|Elbert County]] (north)
* [[Lincoln County, Georgia|Lincoln County]] (east)
* [[McDuffie County, Georgia|McDuffie County]] (southeast)
* [[Warren County, Georgia|Warren County]] (south)
* [[Taliaferro County, Georgia|Taliaferro County]] (southwest)
* [[Oglethorpe County, Georgia|Oglethorpe County]] (west)

==Communities==

===City===
* [[Washington, Georgia|Washington]] (county seat)

===Towns===
* [[Rayle, Georgia|Rayle]]
* [[Tignall, Georgia|Tignall]]

==Demographics==
Changes in agriculture through mechanization, the [[Great Depression]], and a mass [[Great Migration (African American)|migration of African Americans]] from the area in the mid-20th century have resulted in a decline of population in the rural county since 1930.

{{US Census population
|1790= 31500
|1800= 13103
|1810= 14887
|1820= 17607
|1830= 14237
|1840= 10148
|1850= 12107
|1860= 11420
|1870= 11796
|1880= 15985
|1890= 18081
|1900= 20866
|1910= 23441
|1920= 24210
|1930= 15944
|1940= 15084
|1950= 12388
|1960= 10961
|1970= 10184
|1980= 10951
|1990= 10597
|2000= 10687
|2010= 10593
|2020= 9565
|estyear=2023
|estimate=9518
|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 Decade|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/13/13301.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>
}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+Wilkes County racial composition 2020<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US13317&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 8, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]]
|4,952
|51.77%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]]
|3,838
|40.13%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|22
|0.23%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|59
|0.62%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|295
|3.08%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|399
|4.17%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 9,565 people, 3,979 households, and 2,421 families residing in the county.

==Politics==
{{PresHead|place=Wilkes 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|2,971|2,112|15|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|2,823|2,160|48|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|2,572|1,848|66|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|2,635|2,087|43|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|2,705|2,315|40|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|2,490|2,028|30|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|2,044|1,940|42|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|1,417|1,971|198|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|1,535|1,955|472|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|1,810|1,549|11|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|1,837|1,586|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|1,212|2,350|61|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|1,067|2,461|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|2,195|646|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|873|953|1,709|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|1,652|1,437|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|395|1,786|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|304|1,714|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|286|1,500|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|95|771|346|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|159|946|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|123|1,022|7|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|78|1,031|13|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|42|1,172|10|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|798|747|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|44|836|195|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|12|876|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|52|785|17|Georgia}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|66|657|3|Georgia}}

==Notable people==
* [[Edward Porter Alexander]]
* [[Eliza Frances Andrews]]
* [[Benjamin F. Bryant]], captain in the [[Battle of San Jacinto]], founder of the [[Bryant Station, Texas|Bryant Station]] frontier fort and [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Ranger]]
* [[John Clark (Georgia governor)|John Clark]], Georgia governor
* [[Elijah Clarke]]
* [[Peter Early]]
* [[Frank Edwards (blues musician)|Frank Edwards]], blues musician
* [[Stephen Heard]]
* [[Hosea Hudson]] (1898–1988) Black communist labor organizer and author of Black Worker in the Deep South
* [[George Mathews (Georgia)|George Mathews]], [[Continental Army]] officer, [[Governor of Georgia]], and [[US Congressman]]; member of the [[Mathews (Augusta)|Mathews family]]
* [[Jesse Mercer]]
* [[David Meriwether (Georgia politician)|David Meriwether]], [[Continental Army]] officer, member [[United States Congress]], [[Georgia House of Representatives|Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives]], [[Georgia Militia|Major General - Georgia Militia]]
* [[Paul Jones Semmes]]
* [[Alexander H. Stephens]]
* [[Matthew Talbot]]
* [[Benjamin Taliaferro]]
* [[Robert Toombs]]
* [[George W. Towns]]

==See also==
{{Portal|State of Georgia}}
* [[Wilkes County Courthouse (Washington, Georgia)|Wilkes County Courthouse]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilkes County, Georgia]]
* [[Central Savannah River Area]]
*[[List of counties in Georgia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130920011037/http://www.giddeon.com/wilkes/index2.shtml Wilkes County, Georgia genealogy and history]
* [http://www.kudcom.com/www/markmenu.html Georgia Historical Markers in Wilkes County]
* [http://www.kudcom.com/www/hpage1.html History of Wilkes County]
* [http://www.washingtonwilkes.org/ Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce]

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Wilkes County, Georgia
|North     = [[Elbert County, Georgia|Elbert County]]
|Northeast =
|East      = [[Lincoln County, Georgia|Lincoln County]]
|Southeast = [[McDuffie County, Georgia|McDuffie County]]
|South     = [[Warren County, Georgia|Warren County]]
|Southwest = [[Taliaferro County, Georgia|Taliaferro County]]
|West      = [[Oglethorpe County, Georgia|Oglethorpe County]]
|Northwest =
}}

{{Wilkes County, Georgia}}
{{Central Savannah River Area}}
{{Georgia (U.S. state)}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|33.79|-82.74|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Wilkes County, Georgia| ]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) counties]]
[[Category:1777 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1777]]