Oglethorpe 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 northeastern part 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 14,825. 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 Lexington. Oglethorpe County is included in the Athens-Clarke County, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

-Athens-Clarke County- Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area. It is the largest county in Northeast Georgia.

History

Oglethorpe County was originally part of a large tract of land surrendered by Creek and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

Native Americans to the Colony of Georgia in the treaty of 1773. The county itself was founded on December 19, 1793, and is named for Georgia's founder, General

James Oglethorpe Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social refo ...

. On September 10, 1919, Obe Cox was accused of murdering a White farmer's wife. He was seized by a White mob taken to the scene of the crime, his body riddled with bullets and burned at the stake. Several thousand persons witnessed the scene. The lynching was controversial as the local black community "thanked" the mob for just killing Cox and not attacking their community. After an investigation the black media of the time reported that the blacks who wrote the letter thanking the lynching "do not stand for much in the town and are excused for their utter ignorance in condoning ynching"

Controversy

In June 2018, Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office came under protest after a controversial hire was made of former Athens-Clarke County Police Officer Tyler Saulters. Saulters, who was fired from ACCPD, was involved in a controversial use of deadly force with his vehicle, striking a fleeing misdemeanor suspect while attempting to apprehend him in Athens, GA. Protestors were upset that Oglethorpe County Sheriff, David Gabriel, defended the hire and the use of force by the former ACCPD officer. In April 2021, Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Davis was arrested and charged by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for two counts of aggravated assault. The arrest stemmed from an on-duty use-of-force, in Clarke County. Davis struck a vehicle he had already performed a traffic stop on. After striking the vehicle, Davis discharged his duty weapon at the vehicle. When the vehicle fled from the unprovoked and unjustified shooting by the Deputy, the deputy pursued and involved officers from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. ACCPD requested an investigation by the GBI, which is standard in most officer involved shootings in Georgia. In August 2024, YouTuber DG Hamblin, produced interviews with a former Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Deputy about his experiences as a police officer. During the interviews excessive use of force by a Sheriff's commander and failure to report that use of force was discussed as well as Sheriff's commanders' interactions with the controversial

Poulan Poulan is a brand name of the Sweden, Swedish manufacturer Husqvarna AB. History Poulan was founded as Poulan Saw Co. in 1946 by chainsaw pioneer Claude Poulan in Shreveport, Louisiana. Purchased in late 1950s or early '60 by the Beaird Company, ...

Police Department. On August 29, 2024, Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Deputies engaged in a pursuit with a motorcycle for a minor traffic violation (missing registration plate) inside Oglethorpe County. During the pursuit, speeds reached 100 mph (160 km/h). According to the Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office, the Deputy pursuing the motorcycle called the chase off inside Clarke County but continued to follow the motorcycle. The motorcyclist was involved in a collision with another vehicle at the intersection of Lexington Road and Woodgrove Road in Clarke County. The motorcyclist died on scene, according to the Georgia State Patrol, who investigated the collision and pursuit that led up to the fatal collision.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. The county is located in the

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

region of the state. The majority of Oglethorpe County is located in the Broad River 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. A narrow western portion of the county, in a line from just north of Woodville, through Crawford, to just south of Winterville, is located in the Upper

Oconee River The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it join ...

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. A small part of the southern portion of the county, from Maxeys east, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the

basin.

River

* Broad River

Adjacent counties

* Elbert County (northeast) * Wilkes County (east) * Taliaferro County (southeast) * Greene County (south) * Oconee County (west) * Clarke County (west) * Madison County (north)

National protected area

* Oconee National Forest (part) * Watson Mill Bridge State Park (part)

Communities

Cities

* Arnoldsville * Crawford * Lexington

Towns

* Maxeys

Unincorporated communities

Philomath A philomath () is a lover of learning and studying. The term is from Greek (; "beloved", "loving", as in philosophy or philanthropy) and , (, ; "to learn", as in polymath). Philomathy is similar to, but distinguished from, philosophy in that ...

* Point Peter * Sandy Cross * Stephens * Vesta

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,825 people, 5,651 households, and 3,711 families residing in the county.

Education

Recreation

* White Water Rafting on the Broad and South Fork Broad Rivers * ATV and Motor Bike Park * Sportsman Hunting: Seasonal Whitetail Deer, Turkey and Rabbit Historic Districts and Heritage Research, Antique Stores in Historic Lexington, Agriculture and Agritourism as well as Oglethorpe Fresh Produce In 2016, the Oglethorpe County Recreation Department was named both the District 7 and State Agency of the Year for populations under 20,000 through the Georgia Recreation and Park Association.

Transportation

Major highways

U.S. Route 78 * Georgia 10

State Route 10 * Georgia 22

State Route 22 * Georgia 77

State Route 77

Pedestrians and cycling

The county has limited

walkability In urban planning, walkability is the accessibility of amenities within a reasonable walking distance. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport corridors designed for maximum vehicle throughput. Instead, it s ...

options available.

Politics

Notable people

* Nathan Crawford Barnett, member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

and Georgia Secretary of State for more than 30 years. Raised in Lexington, and educated at the Lexington Academy *

William H. Crawford William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He later ran for U.S. president in the 1824 United States presidential electi ...

(1772–1834) - U.S. Minister to France, U.S. Secretary of War, and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury * George R. Gilmer (1790–1859) - Twice Governor *

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

(1774–1809) - leader of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

* Wilson Lumpkin (1783–1870) - Governor * Joseph H. Lumpkin (1799–1867) First Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and co-founder of the Lumpkin Law School * George Mathews (1739–1812) - Revolutionary hero and twice Governor *

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

- Country music performer

Bibliography

External links

Oglethorpe County
official website
Watson Mill Covered Bridge State Park
{{Coord, 33.88, -83.08, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990 Georgia (U.S. state) counties Athens – Clarke County metropolitan area 1795 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1795