Greene County, Georgia

County in Georgia, United States

Not to be confused with Greenville, Georgia.

County in Georgia

Greene County

County

Greene County courthouse in Greensboro

Location within the U.S. state of Georgia

Georgia's location within the U.S.

Coordinates: 33°35′N 83°10′W﻿ / ﻿33.58°N 83.17°W﻿ / 33.58; -83.17
Country|  United States
State|  Georgia
Founded| 1786; 239 years ago (1786)
Named after| Nathanael Greene
Seat| Greensboro
Largest city| Greensboro
Area

• Total

| 406 sq mi (1,050 km2)
• Land| 387 sq mi (1,000 km2)
• Water| 19 sq mi (50 km2)  4.6%
Population

(2020)

• Total

| 18,915[1]
• Density| 49/sq mi (19/km2)
Time zone| UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district| 10th
Website| www.greenecountyga.gov
Unidentified building near White Plains, Georgia, ca. 1941

Greene County is a county located in the east central portion & the Lake country region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,915.[2] The county seat is Greensboro.[3] The county was created on February 3, 1786, and is named for Nathanael Greene, an American Revolutionary War major general.

## History

[edit]

Greene County was formed on February 3, 1786, from land given by Washington County.[4] It was named in honor of General Nathanael Greene, a hero of the American Revolutionary War.[5]

## Geography

[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 406 square miles (1,050 km2), of which 387 square miles (1,000 km2) is land and 19 square miles (49 km2) (4.6%) is water.[6]

The majority of Greene County, west of a line between Woodville, Union Point, and White Plains, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The northern half of the remainder of the county is located in the Little River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin, while the southern half is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin.[7]

### Major highways

[edit]

* I-20 (Interstate 20)
* US 278
* SR 12
* SR 15
* SR 44
* SR 77
* SR 402 (unsigned designation for I-20)

### Adjacent counties

[edit]

* Oglethorpe County (north)
* Taliaferro County (east)
* Hancock County (southeast)
* Putnam County (southwest)
* Morgan County (west)
* Oconee County (northwest)

### National protected area

[edit]

* Oconee National Forest (part)

## Communities

[edit]

### Cities

[edit]

* Greensboro
* Union Point
* White Plains
* Woodville

### Towns

[edit]

* Siloam

### Unincorporated communities

[edit]

* Bairdstown

### Other

[edit]

* Scull Shoals, an extinct town on the Oconee River.

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1790| 5,405| | —
1800| 10,761| | 99.1%
1810| 11,679| | 8.5%
1820| 13,589| | 16.4%
1830| 12,549| | −7.7%
1840| 11,690| | −6.8%
1850| 13,068| | 11.8%
1860| 12,652| | −3.2%
1870| 12,454| | −1.6%
1880| 17,547| | 40.9%
1890| 17,051| | −2.8%
1900| 16,542| | −3.0%
1910| 18,512| | 11.9%
1920| 18,972| | 2.5%
1930| 12,616| | −33.5%
1940| 13,709| | 8.7%
1950| 12,843| | −6.3%
1960| 11,193| | −12.8%
1970| 10,212| | −8.8%
1980| 11,391| | 11.5%
1990| 11,793| | 3.5%
2000| 14,406| | 22.2%
2010| 15,994| | 11.0%
2020| 18,915| | 18.3%
2023 (est.)| 20,722| [8]| 9.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
1790-1880[10] 1890-1910[11]
1920-1930[12] 1930-1940[13]
1940-1950[14] 1960-1980[15]
1980-2000[16] 2010[17] 2020[1]
Greene County racial composition as of 2020[18] Race  | Num.  | Perc.

|
|

White (non-Hispanic)  | 11,126  | 58.82%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)  | 5,783  | 30.57%
Native American | 28  | 0.15%
Asian | 174  | 0.92%
Pacific Islander | 2  | 0.01%
Other/Mixed | 513  | 2.71%
Hispanic or Latino | 1,289  | 6.81%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 18,915 people, 7,132 households, and 4,975 families residing in the county.

## Education

[edit]

The county supports the Greene County School Board, Lake Oconee Academy and Nathanael Greene Academy.

## Role in passage of the Georgia Indigent Defense Act

[edit]

In 2001, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Benham convened a committee to investigate indigent defense in the state of Georgia. An avalanche of complaints about the state of public defense in Greene County, along with a number of lawsuits filed by Stephen Bright and the Southern Center for Human Rights, contributed to the formation of this commission. The commission discovered during its investigation that indigent defendants in Greene County were routinely pleaded guilty by judges without the presence of counsel and sometimes without even being present in court to make their pleas, violations of the Sixth Amendment. Excessive bail, e.g. $50,000 for loitering, was often set as well, a violation of the Eighth Amendment. After two years of investigation, the committee's recommendations led to the passage of the Georgia Indigent Defense Act.[19][20]

## Politics

[edit]

Prior to 2000, the only time Greene County failed to back a Democratic Party candidate in a presidential election was in 1972, when Richard Nixon won every county in Georgia and all but 130 counties nationwide. From 2000 onward, it has been consistently Republican due to the growth of white residents moving to Reynolds Lake Oconee.

United States presidential election results for Greene County, Georgia[21] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies)

|
|
|

No.  | % | No.  | % | No.  | %
2024 | 8,215  | 64.25% | 4,514  | 35.30%  | 57  | 0.45%
2020 | 7,066  | 62.83% | 4,087  | 36.34%  | 94  | 0.84%
2016 | 5,490  | 61.55% | 3,199  | 35.87%  | 230  | 2.58%
2012 | 5,071  | 60.90% | 3,201  | 38.44%  | 55  | 0.66%
2008 | 4,532  | 57.21% | 3,339  | 42.15%  | 50  | 0.63%
2004 | 4,069  | 59.17% | 2,774  | 40.34%  | 34  | 0.49%
2000 | 2,980  | 57.34% | 2,137  | 41.12%  | 80  | 1.54%
1996 | 1,702  | 42.39%  | 2,115  | 52.68% | 198  | 4.93%
1992 | 1,307  | 32.21%  | 2,259  | 55.67% | 492  | 12.12%
1988 | 1,432  | 43.93%  | 1,818  | 55.77% | 10  | 0.31%
1984 | 1,599  | 44.53%  | 1,992  | 55.47% | 0  | 0.00%
1980 | 961  | 26.90%  | 2,571  | 71.96% | 41  | 1.15%
1976 | 652  | 20.46%  | 2,534  | 79.54% | 0  | 0.00%
1972 | 1,679  | 64.63% | 919  | 35.37%  | 0  | 0.00%
1968 | 652  | 18.58%  | 1,635  | 46.58% | 1,223  | 34.84%
1964 | 1,093  | 28.83%  | 2,698  | 71.17% | 0  | 0.00%
1960 | 328  | 14.22%  | 1,979  | 85.78% | 0  | 0.00%
1956 | 541  | 21.19%  | 2,012  | 78.81% | 0  | 0.00%
1952 | 397  | 14.60%  | 2,323  | 85.40% | 0  | 0.00%
1948 | 92  | 5.79%  | 1,213  | 76.29% | 285  | 17.92%
1944 | 144  | 10.33%  | 1,246  | 89.38% | 4  | 0.29%
1940 | 148  | 8.93%  | 1,497  | 90.29% | 13  | 0.78%
1936 | 86  | 5.96%  | 1,348  | 93.35% | 10  | 0.69%
1932 | 52  | 5.35%  | 918  | 94.44% | 2  | 0.21%
1928 | 245  | 28.10%  | 627  | 71.90% | 0  | 0.00%
1924 | 77  | 9.86%  | 558  | 71.45% | 146  | 18.69%
1920 | 178  | 20.72%  | 681  | 79.28% | 0  | 0.00%
1916 | 153  | 17.35%  | 676  | 76.64% | 53  | 6.01%
1912 | 150  | 21.90%  | 525  | 76.64% | 10  | 1.46%

## See also

[edit]

* State of Georgia portal

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Greene County, Georgia
* List of counties in Georgia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b US 2020 Census Bureau report, Greene County, Georgia
2. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Greene County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 98\. ISBN 0-915430-00-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 17, 2003.
5. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 143.
6. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
7. ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
8. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
9. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
10. ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
11. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
12. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
13. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
14. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
15. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
16. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
17. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
18. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
19. ^ Amy Bach (2009). Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court. New York: Metropolitan Books. ISBN 978-0-8050-7447-5.
20. ^ "Georgia Indigent Defense Act HB 770". Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
21. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 20, 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Greene County historical marker
* Old Greene County "Gaol" historical marker

* v
* t
* e

Places adjacent to Greene County, Georgia

| Oconee County | Oglethorpe County |

|
|

|  |
Morgan County |

Greene County, Georgia

| Taliaferro County
|  |
Putnam County |  | Hancock County

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Greene County, Georgia, United States

County seat: Greensboro

Cities|

* Union Point
* White Plains
* Woodville

Map of Georgia highlighting Greene County

Towns|

* Greensboro
* Siloam

Unincorporated
communities|

* Bairdstown‡
* Bethesda
* Carey
* Daniel Springs
* Greshamville
* Penfield
* Temperance Bell
* Veazey

Ghost towns|

* Grantville
* Scull Shoals

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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33°35′N 83°10′W﻿ / ﻿33.58°N 83.17°W﻿ / 33.58; -83.17
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