Gordon County, Georgia facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Gordon County
U.S. county
Gordon County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	February 13, 1850; 174 years ago (1850)
Named for	William Washington Gordon
Seat	Calhoun
Largest city	Calhoun
Area
• Total	358 sq mi (930 km²)
• Land	356 sq mi (920 km²)
• Water	2.2 sq mi (6 km²) 0.6%%
Population (2020)
• Total	57,544
• Density	162/sq mi (63/km²)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	14th

Gordon County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,544. The county seat is Calhoun. Gordon County comprises the Calhoun, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Atlanta–Athens-Clarke County–Sandy Springs, GA-AL CSA.

History

Gordon County was created on February 13, 1850, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly. The new county was formed from portions of Cass (later renamed Bartow) and Floyd counties. All lands that would become Gordon County were originally occupied by the Cherokee Indians—and, in fact, the area was home of New Echota, the last seat of the Cherokee Nation. Even while Cherokees remained on their homeland, the General Assembly enacted legislation in December 1830 that provided for surveying the Cherokee Nation in Georgia and dividing it into sections, districts, and land lots. Subsequently, the legislature identified this entire area as "Cherokee County" (even though it never functioned as a county). An act of December 3, 1832, divided the Cherokee lands into ten new counties—Cass (later renamed Bartow), Cherokee, Cobb, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Murray, Paulding, and Union. Cherokee lands were distributed to whites in a land lottery, but the legislature temporarily prohibited whites from taking possession of lots on which Cherokees still lived.

It was not until December 29, 1835, that Georgia had an official basis for claiming the unceded Cherokee lands that included the future location of Gordon County. In the Treaty of New Echota, a faction of the Cherokees agreed to give up all Cherokee claims to land in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina and move west in return for $5 million. Though a majority of Cherokees opposed the treaty and refused to leave, the U.S. and Georgia considered it binding. In 1838, U.S. Army troops rounded up the last of 15,000 Cherokees in Georgia and forced them to march west in what came to be known as the "Trail of Tears", making this area the starting point of the removal.

Gordon County's original 1850 boundaries were changed numerous times between 1852 and 1877, during which time the legislature transferred portions of Cass (Bartow), Floyd, Murray, Pickens, and Walker counties to Gordon County, while transferring land from Gordon to Floyd and Murray counties.

Georgia's 94th county was named for William Washington Gordon (1796–1842), the first Georgian to graduate from West Point and first president of the Central of Georgia Railroad.

Geography

Aerial view of Interstate 75 between Adairsville and Calhoun, 1967

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 358 square miles (930 km²), of which 356 square miles (920 km²) is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) (0.6%) is water.

Mountains in Gordon County include Baugh Mountain and Horn Mountain.

The eastern half of Gordon County is located in the Coosawattee River sub-basin of the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin). Most of the western half of the county is located in the Oostanaula River sub-basin of the same larger ACT River Basin, while a small northerly portion of the county, between Resaca and Industrial City, is in the Conasauga River sub-basin of the ACT River Basin.

Gordon County has the most interstate exits out of all of the counties in Georgia, because of its location in the middle of Interstate 75.

Major highways

Interstate 75
U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 411
State Route 3
State Route 53
State Route 53 Spur
State Route 61
State Route 136
State Route 136 Connector
State Route 156
State Route 225
State Route 401 (unsigned designation for I-75)

Adjacent counties

Murray County - north
Whitfield County - north
Gilmer County - northeast
Pickens County - east
Cherokee County - southeast
Bartow County - south
Floyd County - west
Walker County - northwest

National protected area

Chattahoochee National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	5,984	—
1860	10,146	69.6%
1870	9,268	−8.7%
1880	11,171	20.5%
1890	12,758	14.2%
1900	14,119	10.7%
1910	15,861	12.3%
1920	17,736	11.8%
1930	16,846	−5.0%
1940	18,445	9.5%
1950	18,922	2.6%
1960	19,228	1.6%
1970	23,570	22.6%
1980	30,070	27.6%
1990	35,072	16.6%
2000	44,104	25.8%
2010	55,186	25.1%
2020	57,544	4.3%
2023 (est.)	59,757	8.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1880 1890-1910 1920-1930 1930-1940 1940-1950 1960-1980 1980-2000 2010

2020 census

Gordon County Racial Composition
Race	Num.	Perc.
White	43,317	75.28%
Black or African American	2,075	3.61%
Native American	122	0.21%
Asian	719	1.25%
Pacific Islander	15	0.03%
Other/Mixed	2,339	4.06%
Hispanic or Latino	8,957	15.57%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 57,544 people, 20,561 households, and 15,002 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 55,186 people, 19,715 households, and 14,653 families living in the county. The population density was 155.1 inhabitants per square mile (59.9/km²). There were 22,278 housing units at an average density of 62.6 units per square mile (24.2 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.2% white, 3.6% black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 7.7% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 14.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 14.6% were American, 9.8% were Irish, 6.9% were English, and 6.7% were German.

Of the 19,715 households, 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 25.7% were non-families, and 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.20. The median age was 36.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,916 and the median income for a family was $47,964. Males had a median income of $37,358 versus $28,394 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,285. About 13.7% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.7% of those under age 18 and 17.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

In addition to service industries, the economy of Gordon County is rooted in manufacturing and both heavy and light industry. Mohawk Industries, a leading manufacturer of flooring, is headquartered in Gordon County. In addition, Shaw Industries, Beaulieu International Group, LG Chem, and Kobelco Construction Machinery America - a division of Kobe Steel - have significant presences in Gordon, County.

Culture

Gordon County was the home of the Georgia Yellow Hammers, an old-time music group from the 1920s. The Yellow Hammers, chiefly composed of Bill Chitwood, Clyde Evans, Bud Landress, Charles Ernest Moody, and Phil Reeve were one of the most important bands during the heyday of old-time music. They have left their mark on the community. The Calhoun High School (Calhoun, Georgia) Yellow Jackets football team play in Phil Reeve Stadium. Mr. Moody was the author of songs which are today Southern Gospel standards including "Drifting Too Far From the Shore" which has been covered and recorded by such artists as Jerry Garcia, Emmylou Harris, Phil Lesh, Hank Williams and many others.

Rail accidents

Two fatal rail accidents took place in Gordon County in the late 20th century. The first one was in 1981 when Southern Railway train #160 collided with a log truck near the community of Oostanaula. The engineer and the driver of the log truck were fatally injured. In 1990, Train #188 ran a stop signal at the north end of the siding at Davis, Georgia and collided with Train #G38 on the same line. The engineer and conductor on #G38 and the conductor on #188 died in this collision. A monument stands at the site of the collision near the Georgia Highway 136 crossing.

Education

Gordon County public schools

High schools

Sonoraville High School
Gordon Central High School

Middle schools

Redbud Middle School
Ashworth Middle School

Elementary schools

Fairmount Elementary School
Belwood Elementary School
W.L. Swain Elementary School
Max V. Tolbert Elementary School
Red Bud Elementary School
Sonoraville Elementary School

Private schools

Georgia-Cumberland Academy
John L. Coble Elementary School

Calhoun city schools

Calhoun Primary School - formerly known as Eastside Primary School
Calhoun Elementary School
Calhoun Middle School
Calhoun High School

Communities

Downtown Calhoun

Cities

Towns

Resaca

Unincorporated communities

Media

Calhoun Times and Gordon County News, 210 S. King St., is the official legal organ of Gordon County. Established in 1870, the newspaper is the oldest business in Calhoun and Gordon County.

Recreational complexes

Calhoun Recreation Department, Calhoun, Georgia
The Sonoraville Recreational Complex in Sonoraville, Georgia