Baker County, Georgia

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Baker County

| state = Georgia

| ex image = Baker County Courthouse, Newton 1900.jpg

| ex image size = 300px

| ex image cap = Baker County Courthouse in Newton.

| seal = Seal of Baker County, Georgia.png

| founded year = {{start date and age|1825}}

| founded date = December 12

| named for = John Baker

| seat wl = Newton

| largest city wl = Newton

| area_total_sq_mi = 349

| area_land_sq_mi = 342

| area_water_sq_mi = 7.2

| area percentage = 2.1%

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 2876

| density_sq_mi = 8

| time zone = Eastern

| district = 2nd

|website=https://www.bakercountyga.com/}}

Baker County is a county in Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,876, making it the fifth-least populous county in Georgia.{{Cite web |title=Census - Geography Profile: Baker County, Georgia |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Baker_County,_Georgia?g=0500000US13007 |access-date=December 26, 2022 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}} The county seat and only city is Newton.{{Cite web |title=Find a County |url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 |access-date=June 7, 2011 |publisher=National Association of Counties}} The county was created December 12, 1825, from the eastern portion of Early County by an act of the Georgia General Assembly and is named for Colonel John Baker, a hero of the American Revolutionary War.{{Cite book |last=Candler |first=Allen Daniel |url=https://archive.org/details/georgiacomprisi00evangoog |title=Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons |last2=Evans |first2=Clement Anselm |publisher=State historical association |year=1906 |page=[https://archive.org/details/georgiacomprisi00evangoog/page/n108 114]}}

Baker County is included in the Albany, GA metropolitan statistical area.

The Baker County Courthouse (Georgia) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Three other properties in Newton are also listed on the register: Notchaway Baptist Church and Cemetery, Pine Bloom Plantation, and Tarver Plantation.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|349|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|342|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|7.2|sqmi}} (2.1%) is water.{{Cite web |date=February 12, 2011 |title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990 |url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html |access-date=April 23, 2011 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}

The eastern half of Baker County is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The western half of the county is located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.{{Cite web |title=Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience |url=http://www.gaswcc.org/maps/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003004639/http://www.gaswcc.org/maps/ |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |access-date=November 24, 2015 |publisher=Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission}}

=Major highways=

=Adjacent counties=

Communities

=City=

Newton

=Unincorporated communities=

=Ghost towns=

Cheevertown
Dewsville{{Cite book |last=Baker County Historical Society |title=The History of Baker County |publisher=Baker County Historical Society |year=1991 |location=Newton, Baker County, Georgia, USA |pages=54–69 |lccn=92080765}}

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1830= 1253

|1840= 4226

|1850= 8120

|1860= 4985

|1870= 6843

|1880= 7307

|1890= 6144

|1900= 6704

|1910= 7973

|1920= 8298

|1930= 7818

|1940= 7344

|1950= 5952

|1960= 4543

|1970= 3875

|1980= 3808

|1990= 3615

|2000= 4074

|2010= 3451

|2020= 2876

|estyear=2023

|estimate=2743

|estref={{Cite web |title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html |access-date=March 31, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{Cite web |title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html |publisher=US Census Bureau}}
1790-1880{{Cite web |date=1880 |title=1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800 |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/vol-01-population/1880_v1-08.pdf |website=US Census Bureau}} 1890-1910{{Cite web |date=1910 |title=1910 Census of Population - Georgia |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/abstract/supplement-ga.pdf |website=US Census Bureau}}
1920-1930{{Cite web |date=1930 |title=1930 Census of Population - Georgia |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/03815512v1ch04.pdf |website=US Census Bureau}} 1930-1940{{Cite web |date=1940 |title=1940 Census of Population - Georgia |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-volume-1/33973538v1ch04.pdf |website=US Census Bureau}}
1940-1950{{Cite web |date=1950 |title=1950 Census of Population - Georgia - |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/population-volume-2/37779083v2p11ch2.pdf |website=US Census Bureau}} 1960-1980{{Cite web |date=1980 |title=1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_gaABC-01.pdf |website=US Census Bureau}}
1980-2000{{Cite web |date=2000 |title=2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2003/dec/phc-3-12.pdf |website=US Census Bureau}} 2010{{Cite web |title=State & County QuickFacts |url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13007.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607121637/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13007.html |archive-date=June 7, 2011 |access-date=June 17, 2014 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}} 2020

}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Baker County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition
{{nobold|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.}}

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 2000{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Baker County, Georgia |url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=050XX00US13007&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}

!Pop 2010{{Cite web |title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Baker County, Georgia |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US13007&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2 |website=United States Census Bureau}}

!{{partial|Pop 2020}}{{Cite web |title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Baker County, Georgia |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US13007&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |website=United States Census Bureau}}

!% 2000

!% 2010

!{{partial|% 2020}}

White alone (NH)

|1,889

|1,642

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,514

|46.37%

|47.58%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |52.64%

Black or African American alone (NH)

|2,038

|1,600

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,128

|50.02%

|46.36%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |39.22%

Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|9

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|0.22%

|0.26%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%

Asian alone (NH)

|0

|24

|style='background: #ffffe6; |18

|0.00%

|0.70%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.63%

Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|1

|2

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.02%

|0.06%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

Other race alone (NH)

|2

|1

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2

|0.05%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%

Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|24

|28

|style='background: #ffffe6; |70

|0.59%

|0.81%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.43%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|111

|145

|style='background: #ffffe6; |143

|2.72%

|4.20%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.97%

Total

|4,074

|3,451

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,876

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,876 people, 1,425 households, and 788 families residing in the county.

Education

File:Baker County Schools, Newton.jpg school building]]

Baker County School System operates public schools.[http://www.baker.k12.ga.us/ Baker County School System] Retrieved February 23, 2011.

Politics

Like most Deep South counties, Baker County is historically Democratic. Starting in 1964, the county began to see a realignment, with Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon carrying it in 1964 and 1972, and American Independent candidate George Wallace winning the county in 1968 as a third-party candidate. In 1956, Adlai Stevenson received over 96 percent of the county's vote.[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1956&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Atlas: 1956 statistics] The county voted Democratic consistently from 1976 until 2012, but by closer margins than in 1956, and the county shifted more to the right throughout the early 2000s. In 2008 Barack Obama won with just 50.1 percent to John McCain's 49.1 percent,[http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html?scp=1&sq=%22election%20map&st=cse The New York Times Electoral Map (Zoom in on Georgia)] while Donald Trump won the county by almost ten percent in 2016, despite declining on Mitt Romney’s performance statewide. Brian Kemp repeated this feat by double digits in the 2018 gubernatorial race, and in 2020, Trump won Baker County by nearly sixteen percentage points.{{citation |url= https://ballotpedia.org/Pivot_Counties_in_Georgia |title= Pivot Counties in Georgia |work= ballotpedia.org |access-date= 2024-09-23 }}

{{PresHead|place=Baker County, Georgia|whig=no|source1={{Cite web |last=Leip |first=David |title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS |access-date=March 18, 2018 |website=uselectionatlas.org}}}}

References

External links

[http://bakercountysheriffoffice.org/index.php Baker County Sheriff's Office]
[http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/baker/baker-county Baker County] historical marker
{{citation |encyclopedia=New Georgia Encyclopedia |publisher=Georgia Humanities Council |title=Baker County |url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/baker-county/ }}
Digital Public Library of America. Assorted items related to [https://dp.la/search?q=%22Baker+County%22+Georgia Baker County]

{{Geographic Location

|Centre = Baker County, Georgia

|North =

|Northeast = Dougherty County

|East = Mitchell County

|Southeast =

|South =

|Southwest = Decatur County

|West = Early County and Miller County

|Northwest = Calhoun County

}}

{{Coord|31.33|-84.45|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990}}