Jones County, Georgia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jones County
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Jones County Courthouse in Gray
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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 10, 1807 |
| Named for | James Jones |
| Seat | Gray |
| Largest city | Gray |
| Area | |
| • Total | 395 sq mi (1,020 km2) |
| • Land | 394 sq mi (1,020 km2) |
| • Water | 1.5 sq mi (4 km2) 0.4%% |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 28,347 |
| • Density | 72/sq mi (28/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 8th |
Jones County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,347. The county seat is Gray. The county was created on December 10, 1807, and named after U.S. Representative James Jones.
Contents
History
Jones County along with Morgan County, Putnam County, and Old Randolph were established by an act of the Georgia General Assembly passed on December 10, 1807 from land that had originally been part Baldwin County in 1803 and, earlier, part of the Creek Nation. Jones County was originally bounded by a line running North 56° East to Commissioners Creek, then North 15° West to Cedar Creek, then up the creek to corner Randolph County and Putnam County, then along a line to Ocmulgee River, and then down the river to where the old county line between Wilkinson County and Baldwin County was. It excluded parts of what is now Bibb County east of the Ocmulgee River, including the location of Fort Benjamin Hawkins, as they were part of a reserve guaranteed to the Creek Nation. Those areas were later added to Jones County after the Treaty of Indian Springs.
During the initial months of existence a town known as Albany served as the county seat of Jones County. Albany's exact location is unknown, but it might have been simply renamed Clinton. Clinton was established as the county seat by the Georgia General Assembly on December 22, 1808. Clinton became incorporated as a town in 1816. During the 1800s Clinton grew as a center of commerce and the cotton trade. Clinton remained one of the most populous cities in Georgia in the middle 1800s.
In December 1810 Jones County gained a portion of Putnam County between Cedar Creek and their original border. In December 1822 Bibb County was established and Jones County lost some of its land to that county.
During the early 19th century, Jones County had a rapid population increase. The peak came around 1835, when the county ranked third or fourth among all of the state's counties in agricultural wealth. After 1835, soil erosion and lack of funds to develop property drove many farmers to newly opened land elsewhere in Georgia.
Before the American Civil War a few factories sprang up in the county including a cotton gin factory at Griswoldville in the southern portion of the county and a woolen factory at Wallace. Griswoldville was founded by Samuel Griswold in the 1850s. During the Civil War, the cotton gin factory was reformatted so it could produce pistols and other weapons for the Confederate Army. In addition, Griswoldville was located on the railway linking Macon to Savannah. Thus it became a prime target in 1864 as the Union Army moved through Georgia. On November 20, 1864, the town and the factories in it were burned as part of Sherman's March to the Sea. Days later the Battle of Griswoldville took place in the area. The town of Griswoldville was not rebuilt.
Many other areas in Jones County were damaged by the Union Army during that time period. The Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site in Jones County showcases one of the few and well-preserved antebellum plantations in Georgia.
In the 1890s a railroad line owned by the Central of Georgia Railway named the Macon & Northern Railroad was built through the county and bypassed Clinton by a mile after citizens wanted the line to not pass through the town. By the early 1900s the population had shifted northeastward and the city of Gray was established. On June 27, 1905 the citizens of Jones County voted on the issues of moving the county seat from Clinton to Gray. The results were 1,289 votes in favor of moving the county seat to Gray and 51 votes for keeping the county seat at Clinton. On August 9, 1905 Gray became the new county seat of Jones County.
Jones County is the home to many famous people including professor Sherwood and Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash owned a summer home along the Whiteshead River. Upon his death, the home went to his estate, and was sold to a local family.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 395 square miles (1,020 km2), of which 394 square miles (1,020 km2) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) (0.4%) is water.
The western half of Jones County, west of Gray, is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The northeastern quarter of the county, north of Gray, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin, while the southeastern corner of Jones County is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the larger Altamaha River basin.
Major highways
U.S. Route 129
State Route 11
State Route 18
State Route 22
State Route 44
State Route 49
State Route 57
State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway) (future)
Rivers
- Ocmulgee River
Adjacent counties
- Jasper County - north
- Putnam County - northeast
- Baldwin County - east
- Twiggs County - southeast
- Wilkinson County - southeast
- Bibb County - south
- Monroe County - west
National protected areas
- Oconee National Forest (part)
- Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Communities
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1810 | 8,597 | — | |
| 1820 | 16,570 | 92.7% | |
| 1830 | 13,345 | −19.5% | |
| 1840 | 10,065 | −24.6% | |
| 1850 | 10,224 | 1.6% | |
| 1860 | 9,107 | −10.9% | |
| 1870 | 9,436 | 3.6% | |
| 1880 | 11,613 | 23.1% | |
| 1890 | 12,709 | 9.4% | |
| 1900 | 13,358 | 5.1% | |
| 1910 | 13,103 | −1.9% | |
| 1920 | 13,269 | 1.3% | |
| 1930 | 8,992 | −32.2% | |
| 1940 | 8,331 | −7.4% | |
| 1950 | 7,538 | −9.5% | |
| 1960 | 8,468 | 12.3% | |
| 1970 | 12,218 | 44.3% | |
| 1980 | 16,579 | 35.7% | |
| 1990 | 20,739 | 25.1% | |
| 2000 | 23,639 | 14.0% | |
| 2010 | 28,669 | 21.3% | |
| 2020 | 28,347 | −1.1% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 28,969 | 1.0% | |
| 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) | 20,074 | 70.82% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 6,739 | 23.77% |
| Native American | 46 | 0.16% |
| Asian | 138 | 0.49% |
| Pacific Islander | 7 | 0.02% |
| Other/mixed | 867 | 3.06% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 476 | 1.68% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 28,347 people, 10,701 households, and 7,670 families residing in the county.
Education
Notable people
- Terrance Gore, professional baseball player with the Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees,Atlanta Braves and New York Mets; part of the World Series team with Kansas City in 2015 and Atlanta Braves in 2021.
- William Lee, early Alabama politician; immigrated to Jones County from England
- Sadie Gray Mays (1900–1969), social worker and wife of college president Benjamin Mays; born in Gray
- Otis Redding, singer, lived on a ranch he owned in Jones County during the height of his music career. A marker in downtown Gray pays tribute to Redding.
- John T. Edge, writer, commentator, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, and most visibly, host of the SEC Network’stravel and food show, *True South*. Edge is author of several books on Southern food and contributes regularly to the Oxford American, the New York Times, and Garden & Gun.
See also
In Spanish: Condado de Jones (Georgia) para niños
