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Muscogee County, Georgia facts for kids

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Muscogee County
Columbus Consolidated Government Center
Columbus Consolidated Government Center
Map of Georgia highlighting Muscogee County
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Map of the United States highlighting Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  Georgia
Founded June 9, 1826; 198 years ago (1826)
Named for Muscogee people
Seat Columbus
Largest city Columbus
Area
 • Total 221 sq mi (570 km2)
 • Land 216 sq mi (560 km2)
 • Water 4.6 sq mi (12 km2)  2.1%%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 206,922
 • Density 958/sq mi (370/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts 2nd, 3rd

Muscogee County is a county located on the central western border of the U.S. state of Georgia named after the Muscogee that originally inhabited the land with its western border with the state of Alabama that is formed by the Chattahoochee River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 206,922. Its county seat and only city is Columbus, with which it has been a consolidated city-county since the beginning of 1971.

Muscogee County is part of the Columbus, GA–AL, metropolitan statistical area.

The only other city in the county was Bibb City, a company town that disincorporated in December 2000, two years after its mill closed permanently. Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning), a large Army installation, takes up nearly one quarter of the county and extends into Chattahoochee County; it generates considerable economic power in the region.

History

Inhabited for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples, this area was territory of the historic Creek people at the time of European encounter.

The land for Lee, Muscogee, Troup, Coweta, and Carroll counties was ceded by a certain eight chiefs among the Creek people in the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs. The Creek Nation declared the land cession illegal, because it did not represent the will of the majority of the people. The United States Senate did not ratify it. The following year, the US government negotiated another treaty with the Creek, by which they ceded nearly as much territory under continued pressure from the state of Georgia and US land commissioners.

The counties' boundaries were created by the Georgia General Assembly on June 9, but they were not named until December 14, 1826. The county was originally developed by American Indians for cotton plantations. In many areas of what became known as the Black Belt for the fertility of soil and development of plantations, American Indians who were reclassified by the government as Colored/Negro made up the majority of population in many counties.

This county was named by American Indians for the native Muscogee or Creek people. Parts of the then-large county (which extended east to the Flint River) were later taken to create every other neighboring Georgia county, including Harris County to the north in 1827 and Chattahoochee County to the south in 1854.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 221 square miles (570 km2), of which 216 square miles (560 km2) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km2) (2.1%) is water.

The county is located on the fall line between the Atlantic coastal plain to the south and the Piedmont to the north. As such, the newly constructed Fall Line Freeway runs across the northern portion of the county along JR Allen Parkway, and areas across the northern part of the county are hillier compared to the southern part of the county.

The majority of Muscogee County, from north of Columbus running northeast in the direction of Ellerslie, is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake subbasin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The northwestern corner of the county, south of Fortson, is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Lake Harding subbasin of the same ACF River Basin.

Major highways

  • I-14 (GA).svg Interstate 14 (Extension is coming)
  • I-185 (GA).svg Interstate 185
  • US 27.svg U.S. Route 27
  • US 27 Alternate.svg U.S. Route 27 Alternate
  • US 80.svg U.S. Route 80
  • US 280.svg U.S. Route 280
  • Georgia 1.svg State Route 1
  • Georgia 22.svg State Route 22
  • Georgia 22 Connector.svg State Route 22 Connector
  • Georgia 22 Spur.svg State Route 22 Spur
  • Georgia 85.svg State Route 85
  • Georgia 219.svg State Route 219
  • Georgia 411.svg State Route 411 (unsigned designation for I-185)
  • Georgia 520.svg State Route 520
  • Georgia 540.svg State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities

Former incorporated communities

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1830 3,508
1840 11,699 233.5%
1850 18,578 58.8%
1860 16,584 −10.7%
1870 16,663 0.5%
1880 19,322 16.0%
1890 27,761 43.7%
1900 29,836 7.5%
1910 36,227 21.4%
1920 44,195 22.0%
1930 57,558 30.2%
1940 75,494 31.2%
1950 118,028 56.3%
1960 158,623 34.4%
1970 167,377 5.5%
1980 170,108 1.6%
1990 179,278 5.4%
2000 186,291 3.9%
2010 189,885 1.9%
2020 206,922 9.0%
2023 (est.) 201,877 6.3%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1880 1890-1910
1920-1930 1930-1940
1940-1950 1960-1980
1980-2000 2010
Muscogee County racial composition as of 2020
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 79,083 38.22%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 94,701 45.77%
Native American 488 0.24%
Asian 5,546 2.68%
Pacific Islander 517 0.25%
Other/mixed 10,074 4.87%
Hispanic or Latino 16,513 7.98%

According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were 186,291 people, 69,819 households, and 47,686 families living in the county. The population density was 861 inhabitants per square mile (332/km2). In 2010, there were 189,885 people, 74,081 households, and 47,742 families living in the county. By the 2020 United States census, there were 206,922 people, 73,134 households, and 45,689 families residing in the city.

Education

Higher education

Public

Private

  • Beacon University (seminary)
  • Rivertown School of Beauty
  • Southeastern Beauty School
  • Meadows Junior College
  • University of Phoenix

Primary and secondary education

Public schools

Muscogee County School District serves all parts of the county except Fort Moore for grades K-12. Fort Moore children are zoned to Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools for grades K-8. However, high school students attend the public high schools in the respective counties they are located in.

Private and religion-based schools

  • Brookstone School (K-12)
  • Calvary Christian School (Christian, K-12)
  • Edgewood Christian School (Baptist, K-12)
  • Grace Christian School (Christian, K-12)
  • Hallie Turner Private School (9-12)
  • Kip Christian Academy (Christian, K-8)
  • New Bethel Christian Academy (Seventh-day Adventist, K-8)
  • Our Lady of Lourdes School (Catholic, K-8)
  • Our Redeemer Christian Academy (Christian, K-12)
  • Pinehurst Christian School (Baptist, K-8)
  • St. Anne‒Pacelli Catholic School (Catholic, K-12)
  • St. Luke School (Christian, K-8)
  • Victory Academy (K-8)
  • Westminster Christian School (Christian, K-8)
  • Wynnbrook Christian School (Baptist, K-12)

Homeschooling

In regards to homeschooling, the Official Code of Georgia Annotated states the following:

Required Subjects: A basic academic educational program that includes, but is not limited to, reading, language arts, math, social studies, and science. [Ga. Code Ann. § 20-2-690(c)(4).]

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Muscogee para niños

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