Hartwell is a city in Hart County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States. The population was 4,469 at the 2010 census.
The city is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Hart County.

History

Hartwell was founded in 1854 as seat of the newly formed Hart County. It was incorporated as a town in 1856 and as a city in 1904. The town was named for Revolutionary War figure Nancy Morgan Hart.

Geography

Hartwell is located in central Hart County at (34.352738, -82.931161). It sits southwest of Lake Hartwell, which acquired its name from the city. Hartwell is in the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

region of Georgia, or the

Upland South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, economics, demographics, a ...

, and lies southeast of the foothills of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

at Toccoa.

U.S. Route 29 U.S. Route 29 or U.S. Highway 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida, to Ellicott City, Maryland, just west of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, in the Eastern United Stat ...

passes through the center of Hartwell, leading east to the

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

border at Hartwell Dam on the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

, and southwest to Royston.

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th-most populous city in South Carolina. It is one of the principal cities in the Gree ...

, is to the northeast via US 29, and

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

, is to the southwest. Georgia State Route 51 also passes through Hartwell, leading north to Reed Creek and west to Bowersville. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Hartwell has a total area of , of which , or 0.32%, are water.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,470 people, 1,592 households, and 1,013 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 4,469 people. There were 2,266 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 61.33%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 34.53%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.33% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.07% of the population. The median income for a household in the city was $29,128 and the median income for a family was $45,909. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $18,937. About 15.4% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 20.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Hart County School District

The Hart County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, a high school, and an academy school. The district has 230 full-time teachers and over 3,564 students. *Hartwell Elementary School *North Hart Elementary School *South Hart Elementary School *Hart County Middle School * Hart County High School *Hart County Academy

Hart County Public Library

The Hart County Public Library was begun in 1938 with rooms over Homer Herndon's drug store, then moved to the County Courthouse in 1941 until 1968 when the courthouse burned down. It was then located in the County School Board building until funds were raised for a permanent building in 1975.

Controversy

The Hartwell Police Department was mentioned during an August 2024 podcast interview by YouTuber DG Hamblin with a former Hartwell Police Officer who discussed supervisors' contact with the controversial

Poulan Poulan is a brand name of the Sweden, Swedish manufacturer Husqvarna AB. History Poulan was founded as Poulan Saw Co. in 1946 by chainsaw pioneer Claude Poulan in Shreveport, Louisiana. Purchased in late 1950s or early '60 by the Beaird Company, ...

Police Department Police Chief, as well as supervisors' apparent lack of knowledge of lawful policing procedures, to include several falsehoods in police documentation that was showcased in a redacted documents release. DG Hamblin posted both the interview and the redacted documents on his YouTube Channel
The DG Hamblin Show

Notable people

* Blind Simmie Dooley (1881–1967),

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

singer. * Donald Burdick, retired

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

major general and director of the

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...

. * Mike Hubbard, Former Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives and convicted felon. * Kaimon Rucker -

Linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Hart County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) 1854 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)