Lanier 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 south central portion 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 ...

. At the 2020 census, the population was 9,877. 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 Lakeland. It is named after Georgia poet Sidney Lanier. Lanier County is part of the Valdosta metropolitan area and shares Moody Air Force Base with Lowndes County on its western boundary.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (7.3%) is water. The vast majority of Lanier County is in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the

Suwannee River The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River or Swanee River) is a river that runs through south Georgia southward into Florida in the Southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrog ...

basin. Just a narrow section of the western border of the county, northeast and southeast of Ray City, is in the Withlacoochee River sub-basin of the same Suwannee River basin, and a very narrow section of the eastern border of Lanier County is in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the same Suwannee River basin.

Major highways

U.S. Route 84 * US 129

U.S. Route 129 * US 221

U.S. Route 221 * Georgia 11

State Route 11 * Georgia 11 Bypass

State Route 11 Bypass * Georgia 31

State Route 31 * Georgia 31 Connector

State Route 31 Connector * Georgia 37

State Route 37 * Georgia 38

State Route 38 * Georgia 64

State Route 64 * Georgia 122

State Route 122 * Georgia 122 Connector

State Route 122 Connector * Georgia 125

State Route 125 * Georgia 135

State Route 135 * Georgia 135 Bypass

State Route 135 Bypass * Georgia 168

State Route 168

Major waterways

* Alapaha River * Banks Lake

Railways

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

Defunct

* Atlantic and Gulf Railroad *

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

* Lakeland Railroad (Defunct, it was used from 1929 to 1957. It ran along the same path as the Milltown Air Line Railroad) * Milltown Air Line Railroad (Defunct, it was used from 1904 to 1928. It ran from Lakeland to Naylor, Georgia) *

Plant System The Plant System, named after its owner, Henry B. Plant, was a system of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. South, taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system was the Savannah, Florida and Western ...

* Waycross and Western Railroad (Defunct, it was used from 1912 to 1925 from

Waycross, Georgia Waycross is the county seat of and only incorporated city in Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 13,942 in the 2020 census. Waycross gets its name from the city's location at key railroad junctions; lines from six di ...

to Lakeland, Georgia. It roughly followed current Georgia State Route 122)

Adjacent counties

* Berrien County - northwest * Atkinson County - north * Clinch County - east *

Echols County Echols County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,697. The county seat is Statenville. Since 2008, Statenville is a disincorporated municipality. Echols a ...

- south * Lowndes County - southwest

National protected area

Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge Sign

The Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1985, hosts approximately 20,000 visitors annually. It provides hiking, fishing, and boating opportunities on more than of water, Banks Lake marsh, and swamp. The Robert Simpson III Nature Trail, dedicated in August 2001, is in the Lakeland, Georgia city limits on of pine and hardwood forests. The county is known for its excellent fishing in the Alapaha River, Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge as well as in its many small lakes.

Communities

Cities

* Lakeland * Ray City

Census-designated place

* Stockton

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,877 people, 3,714 households, and 2,536 families residing in the county.

Economy

The county's economy has remained rural in nature, but the educational, health and social service sector was the largest employment category in 2006. Factors contributing to this economy include the presence of Moody Air Force Base (shared by adjoining Lowndes County), the several lakes and nature reserve, the hospital, and a large state correctional facility. The top ten employers in Lanier County are: * Moody Air Force Base * Farmers & Merchants Bank * Louis Smith Hospital * Patten Probation Detention Center * Georgia Department of Corrections * Patten Seed Company * City of Lakeland, Georgia * Wausau Homes, Inc * J.H. Harvey Co, LLC (parent company of

Harveys Supermarkets Established more than a century ago by Iris and J.M. Harvey, Harveys Supermarket, is an American supermarket chain with stores in Georgia and Florida. Harveys Supermarket is a subsidiary of Southeastern Grocers, LLC (SEG), an omnichannel retail ...

)

Media

* ''Lanier County News'' - Legal organ and hometown newspaper since 1913. The paper was originally named ''The Milltown Advocate'', but changed its name after Lanier County was formed in 1920. * ''Lanier County Advocate'' (newspaper) - Legal organ newspaper as of January 1, 2015.

Historic sites

Historic sites include

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Eurith D. Rivers' home, which was moved from its original spot on Banks Lake to West Main Street in Lakeland in the early 1980s; Union Baptist Church, located near Georgia Highway 135; and Fender Cemetery, located east of Lakeland at the junction of U.S. 221 and Georgia Highway 37 on land that once belonged to David Fender. The site of the cemetery, in which many of the area's first settlers are buried, was chosen so that mourners would not have to ferry their dead across the river for burial. Also, the "Murals of Milltown," which depict community life in the 1920s, grace the exteriors of buildings in downtown Lakeland.

Education

The Lanier County School District, the only school district in the county,
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/ref> operates four schools: Lanier County Primary School, Lanier County Elementary School, Lanier County Middle School, and Lanier County High School.

Politics

Notes

References

GeorgiaInfo.com Lanier County Courthouse History

Lanier County School System

Lanier County History

External links

* {{Authority control 1920 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) counties Populated places established in 1920 Valdosta metropolitan area counties