Jefferson 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
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 ...
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 15,709. 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 ...
and largest city is
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
.
The county was created on February 20, 1796, and named for
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
, the main author of the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
who became the third
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
.
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 (0.6%) is water.
The small northern portion of Jefferson County, defined by a line running from
Stapleton southeast and just south of
State Route 80, is located in the
Brier Creek sub-basin of 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, ...
basin. The entire rest of the county 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.
Major highways
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Adjacent counties
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McDuffie County - north
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Richmond County - northeast
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Burke County - east
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Emanuel County - south
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Johnson County - southwest
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Glascock County - northwest
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Washington County - west
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Warren County - northwest
Communities
Cities
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Avera
*
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
(county seat)
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Stapleton
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Wadley
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Wrens
Wrens are a family (biology), family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genus, genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely di ...
Towns
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Bartow
Census-designated place
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Matthews
Demographics
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 15,709 people, 5,664 households, and 3,598 families residing in the county.
Education
There is one school district in the county:
Jefferson County School District, which has its boundaries paralleling that of the county.
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Text list
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Politics
The county has been depopulating since 1980, and Democratic vote share has fluctuated since then.
Jefferson County leans Democratic in presidential elections; it voted for Democrats in every presidential election from 1992 to 2020. In 2024, 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 ...
became the first Republican since George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
in 1988 to carry the county. It is now a Democratic-leaning swing county.
See also
* Central Savannah River Area
The Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) is an unofficial trading and marketing region in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina, spanning thirteen counties in Georgia and seven in South Carolina. The term was coined in 1950 by C.C. McCol ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Georgia
*List of counties in Georgia
The U.S. state of Georgia is divided into 159 counties, the second-highest number after Texas, which has 254 counties. Under the Georgia State Constitution, all of its counties are granted home rule to deal with problems that are purely loca ...
References
External links
The Jefferson County Information Center Website
The Friends of Historic Downtown Louisville Website
The Fire House Gallery Website - Contemporary art in Jefferson County
Videos about life in Jefferson County by Fire Team Productions
''āBroken link, December 2015.''
* ttp://www.thenewsandfarmer.com/ ''The News and Farmer and Wadley Herald/ Jefferson Reporter'' the county's weekly newspaper and the oldest weekly in Georgia
The Official Jefferson County Economic Development Website
General Wood's Fort
historical marker
Old Savannah Road
historical marker
Old Town Plantation
historical marker
Rocky Comfort Creek
historical marker
Yazoo Fraud
historical marker
{{Coord, 33.05, -82.42, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990
Georgia (U.S. state) counties
1796 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Populated places established in 1796
Black Belt (U.S. region)
Majority-minority counties in Georgia