Emanuel 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 in the eastern portion, or "Classic South" 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 22,768. 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 Swainsboro.

History

The county was created on December 10, 1812, by an act of 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 ...

from land originally in parts of Bulloch and Montgomery counties. Emanuel County is named in honor of former

Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

David Emanuel. Portions of

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

(1858), Jenkins (1905), Toombs (1905), Candler (1914), and Treutlen (1918) counties were taken from Emanuel's original borders.

Courthouses

Emanuel County has had seven courthouses in its over 200 years of existence. In the county's early years, the court met at Steven Rich's home. Emanuel County's first courthouse was erected in 1814 and burned in 1841. It wasn't until 1854, the same time that the city of Swainsboro was formally incorporated, that the county was allowed to build a replacement. In a string of bad luck, this new courthouse burned in 1855 and was replaced by another courthouse, which burned in 1857. Emanuel County's fourth courthouse burned in 1919 and was replaced by a three-story brick structure which, characteristically, burned in 1938. The next courthouse, a two-story marble structure, was built in 1940 and was the first courthouse in Emanuel County's history not to be destroyed by fire. However, by the 1990s, the courthouse's cramped and deteriorating condition caused several county offices to vacate the courthouse and move into vacant office space surrounding the courthouse square. The courthouse was demolished in the spring of 2000, leaving only the sheriff's office annex. In the late 1990s, the Emanuel County commissioners purchased the former U.S. Post Office building, which was built in 1936, to serve as an interim courthouse. In 2000, the county commission acquired land adjacent to the old Post Office to build a new courthouse and sheriff's office. Emanuel County's current courthouse, a large, single-story brick structure incorporating the old Post Office building, was completed in 2002, and a city square was built on the former courthouse site with the old sheriff's office renovated to serve as the city's visitors' center as well as the office for Swainsboro-Emanuel County Chamber of Commerce.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water. The northern portion of Emanuel County, centered on Summertown and defined by a southern border heading from Garfield east-northeast and running north of Modoc, is located in the Upper

Ogeechee River The Ogeechee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 26, 2011 blackwater river in the U.S. state of Georgia. It heads at the confluence of its North and Sout ...

sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin. The eastern portion of the county, east of Swainsboro, is located in the Canoochee River sub-basin of the same Ogeechee River basin. The western and southern portions of Emanuel County are located in the Ohoopee River sub-basin of the

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

* * ** * * * * * * * * * * * *

Adjacent counties

* Jefferson County - north * Jenkins County - northeast * Burke County - northeast * Candler County - east * Tattnall County - southeast * Bulloch County - southeast * Toombs County - south * Johnson County - west * Treutlen County - west

Communities

Cities

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ma ...

* Garfield * Nunez * Oak Park * Stillmore * Summertown * Swainsboro * Twin City

Census-designated places

* Canoochee * Norristown

Unincorporated communities

* Five Points, Georgia * Stevens Crossing, Georgia

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,768 people, 8,387 households, and 5,683 families residing in the county.

Politics

Since 1964, the only times the county has failed to back a Republican candidate in a presidential election were when

southern Democrats Southern Democrats are members of the U.S. Democratic Party who reside in the Southern United States. Before the American Civil War, Southern Democrats mostly believed in Jacksonian democracy. In the 19th century, they defended slavery in the ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

were on the ballot.

References

External links

''The New Georgia Encyclopedia'' entry for Emanuel County

Emanuel County
historical marker
Summerville
historical marker {{Coord, 32.59, -82.30, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990 1812 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1812 Georgia (U.S. state) counties