Editing Elbert County, Georgia

{{Short description|County in the United States}}
{{about|Elbert County, Georgia|Elbert County, Colorado|Elbert County, Colorado}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
| county             = Elbert County
| state              = Georgia
| seal               =
| founded            = {{start date and age|1790}}
| seat wl            = Elberton
| largest city wl    = Elberton
| area_total_sq_mi   = 374
| area_land_sq_mi    = 351
| area_water_sq_mi   = 23
| area percentage    = 6.2%
| census yr = 2020
| pop                = 19637
| density_sq_mi      = 56
| time zone          = Eastern
| web                = http://www.elbertga.us/
| ex image           = Elbert County Georgia Courthouse.jpg
| ex image cap       = Elbert County courthouse in Elberton, 1973
| district           = 9th
| named for          = [[Samuel Elbert]]
}}

'''Elbert County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the [[Northeast Georgia|northeastern]] part of the U.S. state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 19,637.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census – Geography Profile: Elbert County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Elbert_County,_Georgia?g=0500000US13105|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=December 27, 2022}}</ref> The [[county seat]] is [[Elberton, Georgia|Elberton]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web |url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712220218/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=July 12, 2012 }}</ref> The county was established on December 10, 1790, and was named for [[Samuel Elbert]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/counties/elbert|title=Elbert County|website=georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu|language=en|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n114 116]}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|374|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|351|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|23|sqmi}} (6.2%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> The county is located in the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] region of the state.

The northern half of Elbert County, north of a line made by following [[Georgia State Route 17|State Route 17]] from [[Bowman, Georgia|Bowman]] southeast to [[Elberton, Georgia|Elberton]], and then following [[Georgia State Route 72|State Route 72]] east to just before the [[South Carolina]] border, and then heading south along the shores of [[Lake Richard B. Russell & Clarkes Hill]] to the county's southeastern tip, is located in the Upper [[Savannah River]] sub-basin of the larger Savannah River basin. The portion of the county south of this line is located in the [[Broad River (Georgia)|Broad River]] sub-basin of the Savannah River basin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gaswcc.org/maps/ |title=Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience |publisher=Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission |access-date=November 18, 2015 |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003004639/http://www.gaswcc.org/maps/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Major highways===
* [[File:Georgia 17.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 17|State Route 17]]
* [[File:Georgia 72.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 72|State Route 72]]
* [[File:Georgia 77.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 77|State Route 77]]
* [[File:Georgia 77 Connector.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 77 Connector (Elberton)|State Route 77 Connector]]
* [[File:Georgia 79.svg|20px]] [[Georgia State Route 79|State Route 79]]
* [[File:Georgia 172.svg|25px]] [[Georgia State Route 172|State Route 172]]
* [[File:Georgia 368.svg|25px]] [[Georgia State Route 368|State Route 368]]

===Adjacent counties===
{{div col}}
* [[Anderson County, South Carolina|Anderson County]], South Carolina (northeast)
* [[Abbeville County, South Carolina|Abbeville County]], South Carolina (east)
* [[McCormick County, South Carolina|McCormick County]], South Carolina (southeast)
* [[Lincoln County, Georgia|Lincoln County]] (southeast)
* [[Wilkes County, Georgia|Wilkes County]] (south)
* [[Oglethorpe County, Georgia|Oglethorpe County]] (southwest)
* [[Madison County, Georgia|Madison County]] (west)
* [[Hart County, Georgia|Hart County]] (north)
* [[Franklin County, Georgia|Franklin County]] (northwest)
{{div col end}}

==Communities==
===Cities===
* [[Bowman, Georgia|Bowman]]
* [[Elberton, Georgia|Elberton]]

===Census-designated place===
* [[Dewy Rose, Georgia|Dewy Rose]]

===Unincorporated communities===
* [[Beverly, Georgia|Beverly]]
* [[Centerville, Elbert County, Georgia|Centerville]]
* [[Coldwater, Georgia|Coldwater]]
* [[Hard Cash, Georgia|Hard Cash]]
* [[Heardmont, Georgia|Heardmont]]
* [[Montevideo, Georgia|Montevideo]]
* [[Rice Town, Georgia|Rice Town]]
* [[Rock Branch, Georgia|Rock Branch]]
* [[Ruckersville, Georgia|Ruckersville]]

===Ghost town===
* [[Huguenot, Georgia|Huguenot]]
* [[Petersburg, Georgia|Petersburg]]

==Demographics==

{{US Census population
| 1800 = 10094
| 1810 = 12156
| 1820 = 11788
| 1830 = 12354
| 1840 = 11125
| 1850 = 12959
| 1860 = 10433
| 1870 = 9249
| 1880 = 12957
| 1890 = 15376
| 1900 = 19729
| 1910 = 24125
| 1920 = 23905
| 1930 = 18485
| 1940 = 19618
| 1950 = 18585
| 1960 = 17835
| 1970 = 17262
| 1980 = 18758
| 1990 = 18949
| 2000 = 20511
| 2010 = 20166
| 2020 = 19637
|estyear=2023
|estimate=20013
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 31, 2024}}</ref>
| align-fn = center
| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=}}</ref><br>1790–1880<ref name=1880CensusGACty>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1880 Census Population by Counties 1790–1800 |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1880|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/vol-01-population/1880_v1-08.pdf|accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=|page=}}</ref> 1890–1910<ref name=1910CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1910 Census of Population – Georgia  |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1910|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/abstract/supplement-ga.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=|page=}}</ref><br> 1920–1930<ref name=1930CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1930 Census of Population – Georgia  |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1930|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/03815512v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=|page=}}</ref> 1930–1940<ref name=1940CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1940 Census of Population – Georgia  |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1940|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-volume-1/33973538v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}</ref><br> 1940–1950<ref name=1950CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1950 Census of Population – Georgia – |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1950|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/population-volume-2/37779083v2p11ch2.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}</ref> 1960–1980<ref name=1980CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 1980 Census of Population – Number of Inhabitants – Georgia  |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1980|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_gaABC-01.pdf|accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}</ref><br> 1980–2000<ref name=2000CensusGA>{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink=   |title= 2000 Census of Population – Population and Housing Unit Counts – Georgia  |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 2000|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2003/dec/phc-3-12.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}</ref> 2010<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13105.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=June 22, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607123530/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13105.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref>
}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Elbert County racial composition as of 2020<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US13105&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 9, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]]
|12,610
|64.22%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]]
|5,253
|26.75%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|26
|0.13%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|182
|0.93%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
|3
|0.02%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|567
|2.89%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|996
|5.07%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 19,637 people, 7,559 households, and 5,065 families residing in the county.

== Judiciary and government ==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2017}}
Elbert County is part of the Northern Judicial Circuit of Georgia, which also includes the counties of Hart, Franklin, Madison, and Oglethorpe. Elbert County's governing authority, the Elbert County Board of Commissioners, has five Commissioners elected in districts, a Chairperson elected County-wide, and an appointed County Administrator.

===Politics===
{{PresHead|place=Elbert County, Georgia|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|6,860|2,700|29|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|6,226|2,879|71|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|5,292|2,539|196|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|4,859|3,181|116|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|4,868|3,366|98|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|4,626|2,984|58|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|3,262|2,527|64|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|2,393|2,900|564|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|2,372|3,025|770|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|2,796|2,118|11|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|3,366|2,670|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|1,967|4,014|80|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|961|4,730|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|2,875|884|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|914|1,216|3,252|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,887|3,172|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|609|3,672|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|447|3,635|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|552|3,279|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|152|1,617|354|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|370|1,564|2|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|357|2,052|20|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|438|1,772|22|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|77|2,023|19|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|931|1,052|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|72|1,024|191|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|187|1,247|0|Georgia}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|0|1,756|183|Georgia}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|13|882|238|Georgia}}

== Historical and cultural sites ==
{{See also|Georgia Guidestones}}
Historical and cultural sites in Elbert County include the [[Nancy Hart]] cabin, the [[Daniel Tucker (minister)|Dan Tucker]] gravesite, the [[Stephen Heard]] Cemetery, the Petersburg Township site, Vans Creek Church, the Elbert County Courthouse, the Elberton Seaboard-Airline Depot, the Rock Gym, the [[Granite Bowl]], the Elberton Granite Museum and Exhibit, the Richard B. Russell Dam, the Elbert Theatre, [[Richard B. Russell State Park]], and [[Bobby Brown Park]]. The [[Georgia Guidestones]] stood in Elbert County from 1980 until their destruction in 2022.

==Notable people==

* [[Warren Akin Sr.]], member of the [[Georgia House of Representatives]] and [[Confederate States Congress]]
* [[Milton Alexander]], [[brigadier general]] during the [[Black Hawk War]]
* [[William J. Alston]], [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]], [[Alabama House of Representatives]], and [[Alabama Senate]]
* [[Richard E. Banks]], physician and surgeon
* [[William Barnett (Georgia politician)|William Barnett]], [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]
* [[William Augustus Bell]], academic and president of [[Miles College]]
* [[Fred Bond Jr.]], tobacco industry representative and mayor [[Cary, North Carolina]]
* [[Nathaniel J. Hammond]], [[U.S. Congressional Delegations from Georgia#House of Representatives|United States House of Representatives]] and [[Georgia Attorney General]]
* [[Mecole Hardman]], professional football player
* [[Derek Harper]], professional basketball player
* [[Corra Mae Harris]], journalist and war correspondent
* [[Sampson Willis Harris]], [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] and [[Georgia House of Representatives]]
* [[Nancy Hart]], rebel heroine of the [[American Revolutionary War]]
* [[William Henry Heard]], clergyman and diplomat 
* [[R. H. Hunt]], architect
* [[Mammy Kate]], enslaved women
* [[Joseph Rucker Lamar]], US Supreme Court justice
* [[Otis Leavill]], R&B singer, songwriter and record company executive
* [[Daniel Parker (Baptist)|Daniel Parker]], leader in the Primitive Baptist Church
* [[Charles Tait (politician)|Charles Tait]], [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] and a [[United States federal judge|United States district judge]]
* [[Horace Tate]], educator, activist, scholar, and politician
* [[Daniel Tucker (minister)|Daniel Tucker]], [[Methodist]] minister, farmer, and ferryman as well as a captain during the [[American Revolution]]
* [[Matthias Ward]], lawyer and [[United States Senator]] from Texas.
* [[William J. White (journalist)|William J. White]], civil rights leader, minister, educator, and journalist
* [[Thomas Simpson Woodward]], [[brigadier general]] in the [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] militia

==See also==
{{Portal|State of Georgia}}
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Elbert County, Georgia]]
* [[Georgia Guidestones]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.elbertga.us/}}

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Elbert County, Georgia
|North     = [[Hart County, Georgia|Hart County]]
|Northeast = [[Anderson County, South Carolina]]
|East      = [[Abbeville County, South Carolina]]
|Southeast = [[McCormick County, South Carolina]]
|South     = [[Wilkes County, Georgia|Wilkes County]]
|Southwest = [[Oglethorpe County, Georgia|Oglethorpe County]]
|West      = [[Madison County, Georgia|Madison County]]
|Northwest =
}}
{{Elbert County, Georgia}}
{{Georgia (U.S. state)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|34.11|-82.84|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Elbert County, Georgia| ]]
[[Category:1790 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) counties]]
[[Category:Northeast Georgia]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1790]]