Toombs 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 southern 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,030. 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 ...

Lyons Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and the largest city is Vidalia. The county was created on August 18, 1905. Toombs County is part of the Vidalia micropolitan statistical area.

History

Toombs County was founded as the 144th county in Georgia by the

State Legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

on August 18, 1905, and organized on October 9 of that year. The county was originally formed from portions of Tattnall and Montgomery Counties; a small piece of Emanuel County was added in 1907 to give Toombs County its present-day boundaries. The county is named for Robert Toombs,

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

. During the Civil War, Toombs also served in the Confederate Provisional Congress, as Secretary of State of the Confederate States, and a brigadier general in the Confederate Army.

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 (1.9%) is water. The southern half of Toombs County, from south of Vidalia southeast to State Route 147, is located in 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 ...

sub-basin of the larger river basin by the same name. The northern half of the county, centered on

, is located in the Ohoopee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.

Major highways

U.S. Route 1 * US 280

U.S. Route 280 * Georgia 4

State Route 4 * Georgia 15

State Route 15 * Georgia 29

State Route 29 * Georgia 30

State Route 30 * Georgia 56

State Route 56 * Georgia 86

State Route 86 * Georgia 130

State Route 130 * Georgia 147

State Route 147 * Georgia 152

State Route 152 * Georgia 178

State Route 178 * Georgia 292

State Route 292 * Georgia 297

State Route 297 * Georgia 298

State Route 298

Adjacent counties

* Emanuel County (north) * Tattnall County (east) * Appling County (south) * Jeff Davis County (southwest) * Montgomery County (west) * Treutlen County (northwest) * Candler County (northeast)

Communities

Cities

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

* Vidalia

Census-designated place

* Ohoopee

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 27,030 people, 10,030 households, and 6,537 families residing in the county.

Government

Toombs County is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners, headed by David Sikes, the chairman. It is also governed by Alvie Kight Jr., who has been Sheriff since 1997.

Politics

Notable people

Mel Blount Melvin Cornell Blount (born April 10, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons. A five-time Pro Bowler, he was inducted i ...

(football hall of famer and founder of Mel Blount Youth Home) *

Nick Eason Nicholas Eason (born May 29, 1980) is an American football coach and former defensive end who is currently the defensive tackles coach and run game coordinator at Clemson University. He previously served as an assistant coach for the Auburn ...

(former NFL player and current NFL assistant defensive line coach) * Craig Campbell (country music singer) * Fred Stokes (former pro football player) * Travares Tillman (professional football player) * Don Collins (former professional baseball player) * Paul Claxton (PGA tour professional golfer) * Wally Moses (former professional baseball player) *

Algur H. Meadows Algur Hurtle Meadows (April 24, 1899 – June 10, 1978) was an American oil tycoon, art collector, and benefactor of Southern Methodist University and other institutions. Life Meadows was born on April 20, 1899, in Vidalia, Georgia, Vidalia, Ge ...

(oilman, businessman) * Iris Blitch (politician) * Carl Simpson (former professional baseball player) * Don Harris (journalist killed during Jonestown Massacre) * Ben Utt (professional football player) * Paul Anderson (strongest man)

References

External links

*
Welcome to the Georgia General Assembly
. Home page. Retrieved June 10, 2013. *
Toombs County Sheriff's Office
{{Coord, 32.12, -82.34, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990 Georgia (U.S. state) counties Vidalia, Georgia, micropolitan area 1905 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1905