Taliaferro 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 East central Piedmont region 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 1,559, down from the 2010 census when the population was 1,717, making it the least populous county in Georgia and the second least populous county east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

(after

Issaquena County, Mississippi Issaquena County (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ISS-ə-KWEEN-ə'') is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, its population was 1,338, making it the ...

). 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 Crawfordville.

History

Taliaferro County was formed by an act of the Georgia Legislature meeting in Milledgeville on December 24, 182

It was formed by taking portions of five other counties: Wilkes County, Georgia, Wilkes, Greene, Hancock, Oglethorpe, and Warren Counties. The county was named for

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Benjamin Taliaferro of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, who was an officer in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. The county is most famous for containing the birthplace and home of

Alexander H. Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883) was an American politician who served as the first and only Vice President of the Confederate States of America, vice president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and l ...

, who served as a U.S. congressman from Georgia in the antebellum South, as vice president of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

during the Civil War, and as governor of Georgia after the war (dying in office). A. H. Stephens State Park in Crawfordville is named after him.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water. It is drained by tributaries of the Ogeechee and Little rivers. The northern half of Taliaferro County, north of Crawfordville, is located in the Little 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. The southern half 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

* * * * *

Adjacent counties

* Wilkes County - Northeast * Oglethorpe County - northwest * Warren County - southeast * Hancock County - south * Greene County - west

Communities

Cities

* Crawfordville (county seat) *

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,559 people, 593 households, and 399 families residing in the county.

Economy

Taliaferro county's main employer is the government, primarily the Taliaferro County Sheriffs Department, which patrols I-20 and issues many traffic tickets per capita compared to other counties in the state. For instance, Fulton County, the largest county by population in Georgia, gains $16.98 per capita in traffic ticket revenue. By comparison, Taliaferro county gains $1,614.33 per capita, which is around a hundred times more.

In popular culture

Several

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

films have been shot in Taliaferro County. '' Paris Trout'' (1991), starring Dennis Hopper and based on the novel by the same name by

Pete Dexter Pete Dexter (born July 22, 1943) is an American novelist. He won the U.S. National Book Award in 1988 for his novel '' Paris Trout''. Early life and education Dexter was born in Pontiac, Michigan. His father died when Dexter was four and he ...

, was primarily filmed in the county. '' Sweet Home Alabama'' (2002), starring

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

, was filmed in the county seat of Crawfordville.

Politics

Taliaferro County is one of the most reliably Democratic counties in Georgia, despite being mostly rural in nature, due to being majority African American. It has supported the Democratic candidate in every presidential election by wide margins except in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, when

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

won by a landslide. In

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Trump became the first Republican since Nixon to get at least 40% of the vote.

Notable people

* Romulus Moore * Maude Andrews Ohl (1862–1943), journalist, poet, novelist *

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 33.57, -82.88, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990 Georgia (U.S. state) counties 1825 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1825 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties in Georgia