Harris County, Georgia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harris County
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County courthouse in Hamilton
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Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
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 Georgia's location within the U.S. |
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Founded | December 14, 1827 |
| Named for | Charles Harris |
| Seat | Hamilton |
| Largest city | Pine Mountain |
| Area | |
| • Total | 473 sq mi (1,230 km2) |
| • Land | 464 sq mi (1,200 km2) |
| • Water | 9.1 sq mi (24 km2) 1.9%% |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 34,668 |
| • Density | 75/sq mi (29/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 3rd |
Harris County is a county located in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia; its western border with the state of Alabama is formed by the Chattahoochee River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,668. The county seat is Hamilton. The largest city in the county is Pine Mountain, a resort town that is home to the Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park (the largest state park in Georgia). Harris County was created on December 14, 1827, and named for Charles Harris, a Georgia judge and attorney.
Harris County is part of the Columbus, GA-AL metropolitan area and has become a popular suburban and exurban destination of residence for families relocating from Columbus. Because of this, Harris has become the sixth-wealthiest county in Georgia in terms of per capita income and the wealthiest in the state outside of Metro Atlanta.
Contents
History
The county was settled by European Americans largely after the federal government had forcibly removed the indigenous Creek people (Muscogee), who were relocated to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. In the antebellum era, parts of the county were developed for cotton plantations, the premier commodity crop. Planters imported numerous slaves from the Upper South through the domestic slave trade as workers.
The County courthouse was designed by Edward Columbus Hosford of Georgia and completed in 1906.
By the late 19th century, there had been numerous interracial relationships between whites and blacks both before and after the war; many residents were of mixed race, typically with European ancestry through the paternal line. There were 200 years of families with many inter-connections among them; justice was nearly always meted out to kin. Periodically some of the whites would try to reduce the relations of white men with mixed-race and black women, a movement that started in the late 19th century. The mountain areas of the county had moonshiners in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; both whites and blacks took part in this.
The county is now part of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which has become industrialized and developed a more varied economy. By per capita income, the county is the sixth-wealthiest in the state of Georgia, and the wealthiest county in the state outside of Metro Atlanta.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 473 square miles (1,230 km2), of which 464 square miles (1,200 km2) is land and 9.1 square miles (24 km2) (1.9%) is water.
The majority of Harris County is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Lake Harding sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin), with the exception of the county's southeastern border area, south of Ellerslie, which is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.
Major highways
Interstate 85
Interstate 185
U.S. Route 27
U.S. Route 27 Alternate
State Route 1
State Route 18
State Route 36
State Route 85
State Route 85 Alternate
State Route 103
State Route 116
State Route 190
State Route 208
State Route 219
State Route 315
State Route 354
State Route 403 (unsigned designation for I-85)
State Route 411 (unsigned designation for I-185)
Adjacent counties
- Troup County (north)
- Meriwether County (northeast)
- Talbot County (east)
- Muscogee County (south)
- Lee County, Alabama (southwest/CST Border)
- Chambers County, Alabama (northwest/CST Border except Lanett and Valley as the cities are jointed by the Columbus Metropolitan Area)
Communities
Cities
- Hamilton - county seat
- Shiloh
- West Point
Towns
Unincorporated communities
- Cataula
- Ellerslie
- Fortson
- Midland
- Mountain Hill
- Pine Mountain Valley
- Piney Grove
- Rehobeth
- Ridgeway
- Whitesville
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1830 | 5,105 | — | |
| 1840 | 13,933 | 172.9% | |
| 1850 | 14,721 | 5.7% | |
| 1860 | 13,736 | −6.7% | |
| 1870 | 13,284 | −3.3% | |
| 1880 | 15,758 | 18.6% | |
| 1890 | 16,797 | 6.6% | |
| 1900 | 18,009 | 7.2% | |
| 1910 | 17,886 | −0.7% | |
| 1920 | 15,775 | −11.8% | |
| 1930 | 11,140 | −29.4% | |
| 1940 | 11,428 | 2.6% | |
| 1950 | 11,265 | −1.4% | |
| 1960 | 11,167 | −0.9% | |
| 1970 | 11,520 | 3.2% | |
| 1980 | 15,464 | 34.2% | |
| 1990 | 17,788 | 15.0% | |
| 2000 | 23,695 | 33.2% | |
| 2010 | 32,024 | 35.2% | |
| 2020 | 34,668 | 8.3% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 36,654 | 14.5% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1880 1890-1910 1920-1930 1930-1940 1940-1950 1960-1980 1980-2000 2010 |
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| Race | Num. | Perc. |
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| White (non-Hispanic) | 25,925 | 74.78% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 5,170 | 14.91% |
| Native American | 101 | 0.29% |
| Asian | 388 | 1.12% |
| Pacific Islander | 21 | 0.06% |
| Other/Mixed | 1,646 | 4.75% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,417 | 4.09% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 34,668 people, 12,156 households, and 9,581 families residing in the county.
Education
The Harris County School District holds preschool to grade 12 and consists of four elementary schools, an intermediate school, a middle school, and a high school. The district headquarters is located in Hamilton, and has 274 full-time teachers and over 4,411 students spread out over seven schools.
- Mulberry Creek Elementary School (Cataula)
- New Mountain Hill Elementary School (Fortson)
- Park Elementary School (Hamilton)
- Pine Ridge Elementary School (Ellerslie)
- Creekside Intermediate School (grades 5–6) (Cataula)
- Harris County Carver Middle School (Hamilton)
- Harris County High School (Hamilton)
Notable people
- Reuben J. Crews, father of C.C. Crews and a colonel in the Georgia Militia
- Benjamin Franklin White, clerk of the Inferior Court of Harris County, mayor of Whitesville, and compiler of the shape note songbook known as The Sacred Harp
See also
In Spanish: Condado de Harris (Georgia) para niños
