Clarke County, Georgia Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Clarke County

U.S. county

Clarke County Courthouse in Athens

Seal

Location within the U.S. state of Georgia

Georgia's location within the U.S.

Country

United States

State

Georgia

Founded

1801; 224 years ago

Named for

Elijah Clarke

Seat

Athens

Largest city

Athens

Area

• Total

121 sq mi (310 km²)

• Land

119 sq mi (310 km²)

• Water

1.8 sq mi (5 km²) 1.5%%

Population

(2020)

• Total

128,671

• Estimate

(2023)

129,933

• Density

1,063/sq mi (410.6/km²)

Time zone

UTC−5 (Eastern)

• Summer (DST)

UTC−4 (EDT)

Congressional districts

9th, 10th

Clarke County is located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 128,671. Its county seat is Athens, with which it is a consolidated city-county. Clarke County is included in the Athens-Clarke County, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area.

History
Geography
- Adjacent counties
Communities
- Cities
- Town
Demographics
Education
Transportation
- Major highways
- Pedestrians and cycling
See also

History

Clarke County was created in 1801 by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 5. It was named for Revolutionary War hero Elijah Clarke and included 250 square miles (647.5 km²) that was formerly part of Jackson County. Colonel Clarke played a leading role the 1779 victory at the Battle of Kettle Creek in Wilkes County. The Elijah Clarke Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a monument to him in Broad Street in Athens.

As the population of the county grew in the early 19th century, its agricultural and cotton industries prospered. The adjacent plantation harvests flowed through city mills. Manufacturing and textile production operations were the major industries in Clarke County, especially after the railroad reached Athens in 1841. Athens and Clarke County were second only to Savannah and Chatham County in the amount of capital invested in manufacturing in the 1840s.

Two skirmishes were fought in Clarke County in 1864, during the American Civil War, one near Barber's Creek and the other near Mitchell's Road. Athens was occupied by the Union Army on May 29 and a provost-marshal took charge. Formal military occupation of the county ended by December 1864, though Union troops remained in the county until early 1866.

In 1801 the Clarke County Commission had selected Watkinsville (now in Oconee County) as the county seat. All county offices, including the courts and jail, moved to Athens when the seat was moved on November 24, 1871. County meetings took place in the old Athens town hall, until a new courthouse was constructed in 1876. The present courthouse was built in 1914.

Map of Clarke County from 1893

On February 12, 1875, in response to complaints over the relocation of the county seat to Athens, the state legislature created Oconee County from the southwestern portion of Clarke County, making Watkinsville its seat. Clarke County thus lost one-third of its population and three-fifths of its land area.

The position of "commissioner of roads and revenue" was created by the legislature for what are today known as county commissioners. As an extension of the state, the county would conduct welfare and health programs, build and maintain roads, and hold courts of law.

On March 29, 1973, the Georgia legislature increased the number of county commissioners from 3 to 5, also adding a county administrator.

In 1990, the residents voted to unify the city and county governments creating Athens-Clarke County, the second (after Columbus-Muscogee County) unified city-county government in the State of Georgia.

Geography

Clarke County is located at 33°57′20″N 83°23′00″W / 33.955464°N 83.383245°W / 33.955464; -83.383245. The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state.

The vast majority of Clarke County is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin, with a very small portion of the county's eastern edge, north of Winterville, located in the Broad River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 121 square miles (310 km²), of which 119 square miles (310 km²) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) (1.5%) is water. It is the smallest county by area in Georgia.

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities

Athens (county seat)
Winterville

Town

Bogart (mostly in Oconee County)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1810	7,628	—
1820	8,767	14.9%
1830	10,176	16.1%
1840	10,522	3.4%
1850	11,119	5.7%
1860	11,218	0.9%
1870	12,941	15.4%
1880	11,702	−9.6%
1890	15,186	29.8%
1900	17,708	16.6%
1910	23,273	31.4%
1920	26,111	12.2%
1930	25,613	−1.9%
1940	28,398	10.9%
1950	36,550	28.7%
1960	45,363	24.1%
1970	65,177	43.7%
1980	74,498	14.3%
1990	87,594	17.6%
2000	101,489	15.9%
2010	116,714	15.0%
2020	128,671	10.2%
2023 (est.)	129,933	11.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1880 1890-1910 1920-1930 1930-1940 1940-1950 1960-1980 1980-2000 2010 2020

**Clarke County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition**
*Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	62,895	66,674	72,201	61.97%	57.13%	56.11%
Black or African American alone (NH)	27,496	30,695	31,367	27.09%	26.30%	24.38%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	164	141	297	0.16%	0.12%	0.23%
Asian alone (NH)	3,162	4,811	4,920	3.12%	4.12%	3.82%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	41	48	66	0.04%	0.04%	0.05%
Other race alone (NH)	172	270	980	0.17%	0.23%	0.76%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	1,123	1,883	4,504	1.11%	1.61%	3.50%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	6,436	12,192	14,336	6.34%	10.45%	11.14%
Total	101,489	116,714	128,671	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%