Butts 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 of

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 25,434,US 2020 Census Bureau report, Butts County, Georgia up from 23,655 in 2010. 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 Jackson. The county was created on December 24, 1825. Butts County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell MSA. In 2010, the

center of population In Demography, demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to dif ...

of Georgia was located in the northeastern portion of the county.

History

Butts County was formed on December 24, 1825, as the sixty-fourth county in Georgia from portions of Henry County and Monroe County. It was named by the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

in honor of Samuel Butts, an officer who was killed in the Creek War in 1814.New Georgia Encyclopedia entry for Butts County, Georgia
/ref> A year later, Jackson was created as the first city in the new county and became the county seat. Other towns followed, including Indian Springs (1837); Flovilla (1883); Jenkinsburg (1889); and Pepperton (1897). Indian Springs later disincorporated and Pepperton was merged with Jackson in 1966, leaving just three incorporated cities in Butts County. In recent years, Indian Springs has again become a tourist destination including many historic sites, shops, eating establishment and the famous Indian Springs Hotel as its centerpiece. Much of Butts County and its cities were destroyed by the army of General William T. Sherman in its March to the Sea during 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 ...

. Butts County struggled for decades afterwards to become economically stable again. The arrival of the first railroad train on May 5, 1882, started the resurgence and growth followed. In 1898, caught up in the post-reconstruction fervor that had infected most Georgia counties, Butts County erected a monumental courthouse designed by Bruce & Morgan. This building was used as a courthouse until 2019; following renovations, it is now a museum and visitor center. The construction of the Lloyd Shoals dam in 1910 created Jackson Lake, a recreational lake located primarily in Butts County. Progress milestones in Butts County include the first telephones in 1884; first waterworks in 1905; electric lights on February 19, 1907; and traffic lights in 1926. In 2007, Butts County, along with the city of Flovilla, were both designated as Georgia Signature Communities by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. This prestigious designation was given to a total of 12 communities in Georgia that year.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water. The entirety of Butts County is 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 basin.

Major highways

Interstate 75 * US 23

U.S. Route 23 * Georgia 16

State Route 16 * Georgia 36

State Route 36 * Georgia 42

State Route 42 * Georgia 87

State Route 87 * Georgia 401

State Route 401 (unsigned designation for I-75)

Adjacent counties

* Newton County (north) * Jasper County (east) * Monroe County (south) * Lamar County (southwest) * Spalding County (west) * Henry County (northwest)

Communities

Cities

* Flovilla * Jackson * Jenkinsburg

Unincorporated communities

* Stark * Worthville

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 25,434 people, 8,279 households, and 5,823 families residing in the county.

Media

Butts County has one radio station: WJGA FM 92.1 and one local newspaper, the ''Jackson Progress-Argus''. The county has gained attention in recent years as being a frequent backdrop for a number of movies and television shows. Most recently, the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...

'' made the Butts County city of Jackson, Georgia the backdrop of the show's fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, turning the downtown area into a 1980s Indiana small town. In addition to the many buildings of the downtown that are visible in various scenes, the exterior of the Butts County Courthouse is featured, standing in for the Hawkins library. The fact that Butts County serves as the filming location for key events in the show has already led fans there after just two seasons. Other shows which have filmed in the area include ''The Originals'', a television show, and a recent remake of ''Endless Love'' by

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

. Beginning October 18, 2024, Butts County Sheriff's Office began being featured in the Reelz live television program "On Patrol: Live."

Government and infrastructure

County government

Butts County is governed by a Board of Commissioners composed of one commissioner from each of the county's five electoral districts. The commission members serve four year, staggered terms. The Board is presided over by the chairman, elected annually from the members of the commission to chair the meetings of the Board. The Board employs a County Administrator, Deputy County Administrator, County Clerk and nine department managers to oversee the daily affairs of the government. There are four Constitutional Officers and three Elected Officials who are elected at-large by the voters of the county. The Constitutional Officers include the Sheriff; Tax Commissioner; Probate Judge and Clerk of the Superior Court. Elected officials include the Magistrate Judge; Coroner and County Surveyor. Other services are provided by departments headed by appointees of the Board of Commissioners. In 2008, a movement began to create an elected, at-large chairman position to serve as presiding officer over the Board of Commissioners. This movement lost ground in 2009 and has not been revisited.

State representation

The

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison Opened in 1969, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison (GDCP) is a Georgia Department of Corrections prison for men in unincorporated Butts County, Georgia, near Jackson. The prison holds the state execution chamber. The execution equip ...

of the Georgia Department of Corrections is a maximum security prison in unincorporated Butts County. It is home to Georgia's death row for men and Georgia's execution facility. The prison is also home to maximum security general population (non-death row).

Politics

Education

All parts of the county are in the Butts County School District.
Text list
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References

External links

Butts County Board of Commissioners Official Site

Butts County Historical Society

Butts County
historical marker {{Coord, 33.29, -83.96, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990 1825 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1825 Georgia (U.S. state) counties Butts