Upson County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the West Central region of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,700. 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 ...

is Thomaston. The county was created on December 15, 1824. Upson County comprises the Thomaston, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

- Athens-Clarke County- Sandy Springs CSA.

History

Upson County was formed in 1824 and named after Stephen Upson, a state legislator.

Emancipation Day

On May 29, 1865, following the conclusion of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, enslaved

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

in the county were notified in Thomaston that they had been emancipated. By the following year, celebrations were held on that date, which continue to this day. It is considered one of the largest

Emancipation Day Emancipation Day is observed in many former European colonies in the West Indies and parts of the United States on various dates to commemorate the emancipation of African slave trade#Abolition, slaves of African descent. In much of the British ...

celebrations in Georgia and one of the oldest continuously celebrated ones in the United States.

Geography

According to the

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

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. Upson County boasts the lowest average summer humidity in the state. The vast majority of Upson County is located in the Upper Flint River sub-basin of the

ACF River Basin The Apalachicola–Chattahoochee–Flint River Basin (the ACF River Basin) is the drainage basin, or watershed, of the Apalachicola River, Chattahoochee River, and Flint River, in the Southeastern United States. This area is alternatively know ...

(Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin), with just a tiny northeastern corner of the county, north of Yatesville, located in the Upper

Ocmulgee River The Ocmulgee River () is a western tributary of the Altamaha River, approximately 255 mi (410 km) long, in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the westernmost major tributary of the Altamaha.Altamaha River The Altamaha River is a major river in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It flows generally eastward for from its Source (river or stream), origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Oce ...

basin.

Major highways

U.S. Route 19 * US 80

U.S. Route 80 * Georgia 3

State Route 3 * Georgia 22

State Route 22 * Georgia 36

State Route 36 * Georgia 74

State Route 74 * Georgia 74 Alternate

State Route 74 Alternate

Adjacent counties

* Lamar County - north * Pike County - north * Monroe County - east * Crawford County - southeast * Taylor County - south * Talbot County - southwest * Meriwether County - northwest

Communities

City

* Thomaston

Town

* Yatesville

Census-designated places

* Hannahs Mill *

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

* The Rock * Salem * Sunset Village