Lanier County, Georgia

County in Georgia, United States

County in Georgia

Lanier County

County

Lanier County Courthouse in Lakeland

Location within the U.S. state of Georgia

Georgia's location within the U.S.

Coordinates: 31°02′16″N 83°03′46″W﻿ / ﻿31.0378937°N 83.0626534°W﻿ / 31.0378937; -83.0626534
Country|  United States
State|  Georgia
Founded| August 7, 1920
Named for| Sidney Lanier
Seat| Lakeland
Largest city| Lakeland
Area

• Total

| 200 sq mi (500 km2)
• Land| 185 sq mi (480 km2)
• Water| 15 sq mi (40 km2)  7.3%
Population

(2020)

• Total

| 9,877
• Density| 53/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zone| UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district| 8th
Website| laniercountyboc.com
[1]

Lanier County is a county in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. At the 2020 census, the population was 9,877.[2] The county seat is Lakeland.[3] It is named after Georgia poet Sidney Lanier.[4]

Lanier County is part of the Valdosta, Georgia metropolitan statistical area and shares Moody Air Force Base with Lowndes County on its western boundary.

## Geography

[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 200 square miles (520 km2), of which 185 square miles (480 km2) is land and 15 square miles (39 km2) (7.3%) is water.[5]

The vast majority of Lanier County is in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the Suwannee River 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.[6]

### Major highways

[edit]

* U.S. Route 84
* U.S. Route 129
* U.S. Route 221
* State Route 11
* State Route 11 Bypass
* State Route 31
* State Route 31 Connector
* State Route 37
* State Route 38
* State Route 64
* State Route 122
* State Route 122 Connector
* State Route 125
* State Route 135
* State Route 135 Bypass
* State Route 168

### Major waterways

[edit]

* Alapaha River
* Banks Lake

### Railways

[edit]

#### Previous

[edit]

* CSX Transportation

#### Defunct

[edit]

* Atlantic and Gulf Railroad
* Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
* 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
* Waycross and Western Railroad (Defunct, it was used from 1912 to 1925 from Waycross, Georgia to Lakeland, Georgia. It roughly followed current Georgia State Route 122)

### Adjacent counties

[edit]

* Berrien County \- northwest
* Atkinson County \- north
* Clinch County \- east
* Echols County \- south
* Lowndes County \- southwest

### National protected area

[edit]

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 4,000 acres (16 km2) 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 75 acres (300,000 m2) 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

[edit]

#### Cities

[edit]

* Lakeland
* Ray City

#### Census-designated place

[edit]

* Stockton

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1930| 5,190| | —
1940| 5,632| | 8.5%
1950| 5,151| | −8.5%
1960| 5,097| | −1.0%
1970| 5,031| | −1.3%
1980| 5,654| | 12.4%
1990| 5,531| | −2.2%
2000| 7,847| | 41.9%
2010| 10,078| | 28.4%
2020| 9,877| | −2.0%
2023 (est.)| 10,452| [7]| 5.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1790-1880[9] 1890-1910[10]
1920-1930[11] 1930-1940[12]
1940-1950[13] 1960-1980[14]
1980-2000[15] 2010[16]
Lanier County racial composition as of 2020[17] Race  | Num.  | Perc.

|
|

White (non-Hispanic)  | 6,595  | 66.77%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)  | 2,138  | 21.65%
Native American | 31  | 0.31%
Asian | 81  | 0.82%
Pacific Islander | 14  | 0.14%
Other/Mixed | 446  | 4.52%
Hispanic or Latino | 572  | 5.79%

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

## Economy

[edit]

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:[citation needed]

* 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)

## Media

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

Historic sites include Governor 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

[edit]

Lanier County School District headquarters

The Lanier County School District, the only school district in the county,[18] operates four schools: Lanier County Primary School, Lanier County Elementary School, Lanier County Middle School, and Lanier County High School.

## Politics

[edit]

United States presidential election results for Lanier County, Georgia[19] Year  | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies)

|
|
|

No. | % | No. | % | No. | %
2024 | 2,726  | 72.97% | 995  | 26.63%  | 15  | 0.40%
2020 | 2,509  | 70.16% | 1,019  | 28.50%  | 48  | 1.34%
2016 | 1,984  | 69.10% | 806  | 28.07%  | 81  | 2.82%
2012 | 1,820  | 61.11% | 1,114  | 37.41%  | 44  | 1.48%
2008 | 1,787  | 62.05% | 1,062  | 36.88%  | 31  | 1.08%
2004 | 1,641  | 63.38% | 931  | 35.96%  | 17  | 0.66%
2000 | 1,048  | 55.04% | 832  | 43.70%  | 24  | 1.26%
1996 | 519  | 34.55%  | 818  | 54.46% | 165  | 10.99%
1992 | 600  | 35.03%  | 811  | 47.34% | 302  | 17.63%
1988 | 725  | 50.81% | 698  | 48.91%  | 4  | 0.28%
1984 | 852  | 53.48% | 741  | 46.52%  | 0  | 0.00%
1980 | 470  | 29.30%  | 1,116  | 69.58% | 18  | 1.12%
1976 | 207  | 14.02%  | 1,269  | 85.98% | 0  | 0.00%
1972 | 850  | 81.50% | 193  | 18.50%  | 0  | 0.00%
1968 | 241  | 15.63%  | 277  | 17.96%  | 1,024  | 66.41%
1964 | 719  | 52.10% | 661  | 47.90%  | 0  | 0.00%
1960 | 198  | 15.88%  | 1,049  | 84.12% | 0  | 0.00%
1956 | 152  | 14.59%  | 890  | 85.41% | 0  | 0.00%
1952 | 170  | 16.75%  | 845  | 83.25% | 0  | 0.00%
1948 | 92  | 13.53%  | 486  | 71.47% | 102  | 15.00%
1944 | 40  | 6.02%  | 625  | 93.98% | 0  | 0.00%
1940 | 16  | 2.56%  | 607  | 97.12% | 2  | 0.32%
1936 | 30  | 3.59%  | 800  | 95.81% | 5  | 0.60%
1932 | 3  | 1.38%  | 211  | 97.24% | 3  | 1.38%
1928 | 138  | 31.29%  | 303  | 68.71% | 0  | 0.00%
1924 | 46  | 11.41%  | 356  | 88.34% | 1  | 0.25%

## See also

[edit]

* State of Georgia portal

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

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ "Lanier County Act Amended, No. 505". Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia. 1920. pp. 45–48. Retrieved November 13, 2022.45-48&rft.pub=Acts+of+the+General+Assembly+of+the+State+of+Georgia&rft.date=1920&rft_id=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.a0001991439;skin=2021;sz=25;q1=lanier;start=1;sort=seq;page=search;seq=49;num=45&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Lanier+County,+Georgia" class="Z3988">
2. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Lanier County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 129\. ISBN 0-915430-00-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 14, 2004.
5. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
6. ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
7. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
8. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
9. ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
10. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
11. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
12. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
13. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
14. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
15. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
16. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
17. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
18. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lanier County, GA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 26, 2024. \- Text list
19. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 20, 2018.

## References

[edit]

* GeorgiaInfo.com Lanier County Courthouse History
* Lanier County School System
* Lanier County History

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lanier County, Georgia.

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Places adjacent to Lanier County, Georgia

| Berrien County | Atkinson County |

|
|

|  |

Lanier County, Georgia

| Clinch County
|  |
Lowndes County | Echols County |

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Lanier County, Georgia, United States

County seat: Lakeland

Cities|

* Lakeland
* Ray City‡

Map of Georgia highlighting Lanier County

CDP|

* Stockton

Footnotes|

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

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