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Butts County, Georgia

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Butts County is a county in the West Central region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,434,[1] up from 23,655 in 2010.[2] The county seat is Jackson.[3] The county was created on December 24, 1825.

Butts County
County
Butts County Courthouse in Jackson
Butts County Courthouse in Jackson
Official seal of Butts County
Seal
Map of Georgia highlighting Butts County
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Map of the United States highlighting Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°17′N 83°58′W / 33.29°N 83.96°W / 33.29; -83.96
Country United States
State Georgia
Founded1825; 199 years ago (1825)
Named forSamuel Butts
SeatJackson
Largest cityJackson
Area
 • Total
188 sq mi (490 km2)
 • Land184 sq mi (480 km2)
 • Water3.6 sq mi (9 km2)  1.9%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
25,434[1]
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district10th
Websitebuttscountyga.com

Butts County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell MSA. In 2010, the center of population of Georgia was located in the northeastern portion of the county.[4]

History

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Butts County was formed on December 24, 1825, as the sixty-fourth county in Georgia from portions of Henry County and Monroe County. It was named by the Georgia General Assembly in honor of Samuel Butts, an officer who was killed in the Creek War in 1814.[5][6] A year later, Jackson was created as the first city in the new county and became the county seat. Other towns followed, including Indian Springs (1837); Flovilla (1883); Jenkinsburg (1889); and Pepperton (1897). Indian Springs later disincorporated and Pepperton was merged with Jackson in 1966, leaving just three incorporated cities in Butts County. In recent years, Indian Springs has again become a tourist destination including many historic sites, shops, eating establishment and the famous Indian Springs Hotel as its centerpiece.

Much of Butts County and its cities were destroyed by the army of General William T. Sherman in its March to the Sea during the American Civil War. Butts County struggled for decades afterwards to become economically stable again. The arrival of the first railroad train on May 5, 1882, started the resurgence and growth followed. In 1898, caught up in the post-reconstruction fervor that had infected most Georgia counties, Butts County erected a monumental courthouse designed by Bruce & Morgan. This building was used as a courthouse until 2019; following renovations, it is now a museum and visitor center. The construction of the Lloyd Shoals dam in 1910 created Jackson Lake, a recreational lake located primarily in Butts County.

Progress milestones in Butts County include the first telephones in 1884; first waterworks in 1905; electric lights on February 19, 1907; and traffic lights in 1926.

In 2007, Butts County, along with the city of Flovilla were both designated as Georgia Signature Communities by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. This prestigious designation was given to a total of 12 communities in Georgia that year.

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 188 square miles (490 km2), of which 184 square miles (480 km2) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2) (1.9%) is water.[7] The entirety of Butts County is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.[8]

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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Communities

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Cities

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Unincorporated communities

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18304,944—
18405,3087.4%
18506,48822.2%
18606,455−0.5%
18706,9417.5%
18808,31119.7%
189010,56527.1%
190012,80521.2%
191013,6246.4%
192012,327−9.5%
19309,345−24.2%
19409,182−1.7%
19509,079−1.1%
19608,976−1.1%
197010,56017.6%
198013,66529.4%
199015,32612.2%
200019,52227.4%
201023,65521.2%
202025,4347.5%
2023 (est.)26,887[9]5.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1790-1880[11]1890-1910[12]
1920-1930[13] 1930-1940[14]
1940-1950[15] 1960-1980[16]
1980-2000[17] 2010[2] 2020[1]
Butts County racial composition as of 2020[18]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 16,628 65.38%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 6,808 26.77%
Native American 39 0.15%
Asian 102 0.4%
Pacific Islander 9 0.04%
Other/Mixed 1,045 4.11%
Hispanic or Latino 803 3.16%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 25,434 people, 8,279 households, and 5,823 families residing in the county.

Media

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Butts County has one radio station: WJGA FM 92.1 and one local newspaper, the Jackson Progress-Argus. The county has gained attention in recent years as being a frequent backdrop for a number of movies and television shows. Most recently, the Netflix series Stranger Things made the Butts County city of Jackson, Georgia the backdrop of the show's fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, turning the downtown area into a 1980s Indiana small town.[citation needed] In addition to the many buildings of the downtown that are visible in various scenes, the exterior of the Butts County Courthouse is featured, standing in for the Hawkins library.[19]

The fact that Butts County serves as the filming location for key events in the show has already led fans there after just two seasons. Other shows which have filmed in the area include The Originals, a television show, and a recent remake of Endless Love by Universal Studios. Beginning October 18, 2024, Butts County Sheriff's Office began being featured in the Reelz live television program "On Patrol: Live."[20]

Government and infrastructure

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County government

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Butts County is governed by a Board of Commissioners composed of one commissioner from each of the county's five electoral districts. The commission members serve four year, staggered terms. The Board is presided over by the chairman, elected annually from the members of the commission to chair the meetings of the Board. The Board employs a County Administrator, Deputy County Administrator, County Clerk and nine department managers to oversee the daily affairs of the government.

There are four Constitutional Officers and three Elected Officials who are elected at-large by the voters of the county. The Constitutional Officers include the Sheriff; Tax Commissioner; Probate Judge and Clerk of the Superior Court. Elected officials include the Magistrate Judge; Coroner and County Surveyor. Other services are provided by departments headed by appointees of the Board of Commissioners.

In 2008, a movement began to create an elected, at-large chairman position to serve as presiding officer over the Board of Commissioners. This movement lost ground in 2009 and has not been revisited.

State representation

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Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison

The Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison of the Georgia Department of Corrections is a maximum security prison in unincorporated Butts County. It is home to Georgia's death row for men and Georgia's execution facility.[21] The prison is also home to maximum security general population (non-death row).

Politics

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United States presidential election results for Butts County, Georgia[22]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2024 9,424 72.39% 3,544 27.22% 51 0.39%
2020 8,406 71.38% 3,274 27.80% 96 0.82%
2016 6,717 70.60% 2,566 26.97% 231 2.43%
2012 6,306 67.09% 2,968 31.57% 126 1.34%
2008 5,947 65.32% 3,065 33.67% 92 1.01%
2004 5,119 66.12% 2,572 33.22% 51 0.66%
2000 3,198 56.75% 2,281 40.48% 156 2.77%
1996 2,027 42.61% 2,271 47.74% 459 9.65%
1992 1,768 36.45% 2,448 50.46% 635 13.09%
1988 2,184 55.66% 1,730 44.09% 10 0.25%
1984 2,141 54.05% 1,820 45.95% 0 0.00%
1980 1,210 31.47% 2,574 66.94% 61 1.59%
1976 819 22.03% 2,898 77.97% 0 0.00%
1972 1,968 73.02% 727 26.98% 0 0.00%
1968 584 19.25% 959 31.62% 1,490 49.13%
1964 1,261 45.12% 1,534 54.88% 0 0.00%
1960 382 18.59% 1,673 81.41% 0 0.00%
1956 323 14.63% 1,885 85.37% 0 0.00%
1952 189 9.00% 1,910 91.00% 0 0.00%
1948 61 5.22% 987 84.50% 120 10.27%
1944 85 6.01% 1,330 93.99% 0 0.00%
1940 87 7.90% 1,012 91.92% 2 0.18%
1936 28 3.28% 820 96.13% 5 0.59%
1932 21 1.22% 1,693 98.14% 11 0.64%
1928 148 14.89% 846 85.11% 0 0.00%
1924 50 8.61% 493 84.85% 38 6.54%
1920 141 21.93% 502 78.07% 0 0.00%
1916 27 4.01% 595 88.28% 52 7.72%
1912 46 8.17% 490 87.03% 27 4.80%

Education

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Main article: Butts County School District

All parts of the county are in the Butts County School District.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c US 2020 Census Bureau report, Butts County, Georgia
  2. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ "Centers of Population by State: 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  5. ^ Georgia.gov profile of Butts County
  6. ^ New Georgia Encyclopedia entry for Butts County, Georgia
  7. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  8. ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  9. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  10. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
  11. ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1880.
  12. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1910.
  13. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1930.
  14. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1940.
  15. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1950.
  16. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1980.
  17. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 2000.
  18. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  19. ^ "Georgia Locations for Netflix's 'Stranger Things'". Deep South Magazine. Deep South Media. July 28, 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017. Georgia's small towns outside of Atlanta, including Douglasville, Conyers, Jackson, Winston and Fayetteville, easily pass for the Midwest, and Jackson's intact downtown isn't a far stretch from 1983 Hawkins on film.
  20. ^ "On Patrol: Live - Season 3 - Departments". LivePD.org. livepd.org. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  21. ^ "Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison Archived 2010-04-23 at the Wayback Machine." Georgia Department of Corrections. Retrieved on July 18, 2010. "HWY 36 WEST" "JACKSON, GA 30233." and the travel directions "Take I-75 south toward Macon to Exit 201, Jackson/Barnesville. Exit and turn left, go over the bridge and travel approximately ¼ mile. Go through two lights and you will see the entrance to the Diagnostic Center ahead on the left, several truck stops and fueling stations on the right. Turn left on Prison Boulevard and follow it to the facility."
  22. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  23. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Butts County, GA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 1, 2022. - Text list
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33°17′N 83°58′W / 33.29°N 83.96°W / 33.29; -83.96

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