Ware County, Georgia Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Ware County
U.S. county
Ware County Courthouse, (Built 1957), Waycross
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	December 15, 1824; 199 years ago (1824-12-15)
Named for	Nicholas Ware
Seat	Waycross
Largest city	Waycross
Area
• Total	908 sq mi (2,350 km²)
• Land	892 sq mi (2,310 km²)
• Water	16 sq mi (40 km²) 1.7%%
Population
• Estimate (2018)	35,680
• Density	41/sq mi (16/km²)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st

Laura S. Walker State Park

Ware County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 36,312. The county seat is Waycross.

Ware County is part of the Waycross, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area.

By geographic area, Ware County is the largest county in Georgia.

History

Ware County, Georgia's 60th county, was created on December 15, 1824, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly from land that was originally part of Appling County.

The county is named for Nicholas Ware, the mayor of Augusta, Georgia from (1819–1821) and United States Senator who represented Georgia from 1821 until his death in 1824.

Several counties were later created from parts of the original Ware County borders:

Bacon County (from portions of Appling, Pierce, and Ware counties in 1917)
Charlton County (from portions of Camden and Ware county)
Clinch County (from portions of Lowndes and Ware counties in 1850)
Coffee County (from portions of Clinch, Irwin, Telfair, and Ware counties in 1854)
Pierce County (from portions of Appling and Ware counties in 1857)

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 908 square miles (2,350 km²), of which 892 square miles (2,310 km²) is land and 16 square miles (41 km²) (1.7%) is water. It is the largest county in Georgia by area. A large portion of the county lies within the Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected areas.

More than half of Ware County, made up by the western half of the southern portion of the county, the land bridge to the northern portion of the county, and the southern and western portion of the northern section of the county, is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The eastern half of the southern portion of Ware County is located in the St. Marys River sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla River basin. The rest of the county, from just southeast to north and west of Waycross, is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the same St. Marys-Satilla River basin.

Major highways

U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 Business
U.S. Route 23
U.S. Route 23 Business
U.S. Route 82
U.S. Route 84
State Route 4
State Route 4 Business
State Route 38
State Route 122
State Route 158
State Route 177
State Route 520

Adjacent counties

Bacon County - north
Pierce County - east
Brantley County - east
Charlton County - southeast
Baker County, Florida - south
Clinch County - west
Atkinson County - west
Coffee County - northwest

National protected area

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1830	1,205	—
1840	2,323	92.8%
1850	3,888	67.4%
1860	2,200	−43.4%
1870	2,286	3.9%
1880	4,159	81.9%
1890	8,811	111.9%
1900	13,761	56.2%
1910	22,957	66.8%
1920	28,361	23.5%
1930	26,558	−6.4%
1940	27,929	5.2%
1950	30,289	8.4%
1960	34,219	13.0%
1970	33,525	−2.0%
1980	37,180	10.9%
1990	35,471	−4.6%
2000	35,483	0.0%
2010	36,312	2.3%
2018 (est.)	35,680	−1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 36,312 people, 13,654 households, and 9,209 families living in the county. The population density was 40.7 inhabitants per square mile (15.7/km²). There were 16,326 housing units at an average density of 18.3 per square mile (7.1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 66.4% white, 29.5% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 1.5% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of the population.

Of the 13,654 households, 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.6% were non-families, and 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 38.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,517 and the median income for a family was $47,609. Males had a median income of $36,149 versus $27,034 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,295. About 16.7% of families and 20.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.5% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

Ware County Racial Composition
Race	Num.	Perc.
White	22,275	61.45%
Black or African American	10,703	29.52%
Native American	77	0.21%
Asian	333	0.92%
Pacific Islander	18	0.05%
Other/Mixed	1,233	3.4%
Hispanic or Latino	1,612	4.45%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 36,251 people, 13,823 households, and 8,909 families residing in the county.

Communities

Cities

Waycross

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Education

High schools

Ware County High School, Waycross

Middle schools

Ware County Middle School, Waycross
Waycross Middle School, Waycross

Elementary schools

Wacona Elementary School, Waycross
Center Elementary School, Waycross
Williams Heights Elementary School, Waycross
Memorial Drive Elementary School, Waycross
Ruskin Elementary School, Waycross
Waresboro Elementary School, Waycross

Ware County, Georgia facts for kids

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