Early 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 ...

located on the southwest border 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 10,854. 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 Blakely, where the

Early County Courthouse The Early County Courthouse (also known as the Grand Ole Lady)Tina Owen & Early County Museum, ''Early County'', Arcadia: 2011, p. 7, 18, 57, 78, 80. is the historic county courthouse of Early County, Georgia, located on Courthouse Square in Blake ...

is located. Created on December 15, 1818, it was named for

Peter Early Peter Early (June 20, 1773 – August 15, 1817) was an American lawyer, jurist and politician who served as governor of Georgia and as a two-term U.S. congressman during the early 19th century. Early life He was born near Madison in the C ...

, 28th Governor of Georgia. The county is bordered on the west by the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It ...

, forming the border with Alabama.

History

Prehistoric and nineteenth-century history has been preserved in some of Early County's attractions. It is the site of the

Kolomoki Mounds The Kolomoki Mounds is one of the largest and earliest Woodland period earthwork mound complexes in the Southeastern United States and is the largest in Georgia. Constructed from 350 to 600, the mound complex is located in southwest Georgia, i ...

, a park preserving major earthworks built by

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

of the

Woodland culture In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BC to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some archa ...

more than 1700 years ago, from 350 CE to 600 CE. This is one of the largest mound complexes in the United States and the largest in Georgia; it includes burial and ceremonial mounds. The siting of the mounds expresses the ancient people's

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...

, as mounds are aligned with the sun at the spring equinox and summer solstice. The county area was long territory of the historic

Creek Indian The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsIndian Removal in the 1830s. The Muscogee were forced to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. This area was developed by European-American settlers and their African-American enslaved workers for cotton plantations. Agriculture was critical to the economy into the 20th century. The Cohelee Creek Bridge in the county is the southernmost

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

still standing. One of the last wooden flagpoles from 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 ...

era is located at the historic courthouse in downtown Blakely. According to the

Equal Justice Initiative The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is a non-profit organization, based in Montgomery, Alabama, that provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and ot ...

, in the period from 1877 to 1950, Early County had 24 documented lynchings of African Americans, the second-highest total in the state after the more densely populated Fulton County.''Lynching in America'', 2nd edition
, Supplement by County: "Georgia, Early County", p. 3 Most were committed around the turn of the 20th century, in the period of

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...

conditions and suppression of black voting. This was still a largely agricultural area, and some disputes arose from confrontations between black sharecroppers or tenant farmers and white landowners, particularly at times to settle accounts. Another, Sidney Grist, was lynched on December 31, 1896, for "political activity". Among these cases were five African-American men lynched by whites in less than a month in the summer of 1899: three on July 23, one on July 25 (all reportedly for rape and robbery), and one on August 3 for attempted rape. Black men were frequently identified as suspects in such cases and lynched before any trial took place; further investigations have sometimes revealed consensual sex or other persons having committed the crime. A mass lynching took place in the county on December 30, 1915, when seven black men were lynched, allegedly as suspects in a murder."Known Georgia Lynching Victims"
, Mary Turner Project, 2014; based on F.W. Brundage (1993) and R. Ginzburg (1988)

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 (0.7%) is water. The northeastern and eastern portions of Early County, east of Blakely, and extending south to a line east of Jakin, are located in the

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...

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). The western portion of the county is located in the Lower

sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.

Major highways

U.S. Route 27 U.S. Route 27 or U.S. Highway 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Southern and Midwestern U.S. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I ...

U.S. Route 27 Business * US 84

U.S. Route 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–westUS 84 was signed north-south in parts of Colorado and New Mexico. United States Numbered Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it h ...

State Route 1 * Georgia 1 Business

State Route 1 Business * Georgia 39

State Route 39 * Georgia 45

State Route 45 * Georgia 62

State Route 62 * Georgia 62 Bypass

State Route 62 Bypass * Georgia 200

State Route 200 * Georgia 216

State Route 216 * Georgia 273

State Route 273 * Georgia 273 Spur

State Route 273 Spur * Georgia 370

State Route 370

Adjacent counties

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

(north) * Calhoun County (northeast) * Baker County (east) * Miller County (southeast) * Seminole County (south or east) * Houston County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

(southwest/CST Border) * Henry County,

(west/CST Border)

Communities

Cities

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

(shared with Calhoun County) * Blakely *

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

* Jakin

Census designated places

* Cedar Springs

Unincorporated communities

* Colomokee *

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

* Hentown * Hilton *

Jones Crossroads Jones or Joneses may refer to: People and fictional characters *Jones (surname), a common Welsh and English surname * List of people with surname Jones, including fictional characters **Justice Jones (disambiguation) ** Judge Jones (disambiguatio ...

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

* Lucile *

New Hope New Hope may refer to: Places United States * New Hope, Alabama * New Hope, Arkansas (disambiguation) * New Hope, Florida * New Hope, Early County, Georgia * New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia * New Hope, Illinois * New Hope, Indiana * New Hope ...

* Nicholasville *

Old Damascus The old city of Damascus () is the historic city centre of Damascus, Syria. The old city, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, contains numerous archaeological sites, including some historical churches and mosq ...

* Rock Hill * Rowena * Saffold * Urquhart

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 10,854 people, 4,074 households, and 2,659 families residing in the county.

Education

The

Early County School District The Early County School District is a public school district in Early County, Georgia, Early County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, based in Blakely, Georgia, Blakely. It serves the communities of Arlington, Georgia, Arlington, ...

holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 156 full-time teachers and over 2,764 students.School Stats
Retrieved June 8, 2010. * Early County Elementary School * Early County Middle School *

Early County High School The Early County School District is a public school district in Early County, Georgia, United States, based in Blakely. It serves the communities of Arlington, Blakely, Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest citie ...

Politics

Despite being a majority-black county, Early County leans Republican. As recently as 2012, the county voted Democratic for president, backing

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

over

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

. However, Early County voted for GOP nominee

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

thrice consecutively since then, including even as

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

defeated Trump statewide in 2020. In the 2022 midterms, Governor

Brian Kemp Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Kemp served as the state's 27th Georgia Secretary of Sta ...

carried it by 19.5 points, while Secretary of State

Brad Raffensperger Bradford Jay Raffensperger (born May 18, 1955) is an American businessman, civil engineer, and politician serving as the Georgia Secretary of State, secretary of state of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

carried it by over 21%, and in 2024, Trump won the county by double-digits over

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

References

External links

Early County Official Website
- The official website of Early County * - a non-profit corporation established by native son Charles Barton Rice and Catherine B. Rice to support the revitalization, economic development and preservation of Blakely and Early County, Georgia.
Blakely - Early County Chamber of Commerce
- Chamber of Commerce for Blakely and surrounding communities of Jakin, Arlington and Damascus.
Southwest Georgia Academy
SGA)-a private school is located in Damascus and its adjoining Counties by Georgia Independent School Association (GISA)
''Early County News''
a local newspaper founded by the Fleming Family in 1859
Early County
historical marker