Calhoun County, Georgia

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Calhoun County

| state = Georgia

| seal =

| founded year = {{start date and age|1854}}

| founded date = February 20

| seat wl = Morgan

| largest city wl = Morgan

| area_total_sq_mi = 284

| area_land_sq_mi = 280

| area_water_sq_mi = 3.2

| area percentage = 1.1%

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 5,573

| density_sq_mi = 20

| time zone = Eastern

| web = calhouncountyga.com

| ex image = Calhoun County Georgia Courthouse.jpg

| ex image cap = Calhoun County Courthouse in Morgan

| district = 2nd

| named for = John C. Calhoun

}}

Calhoun County is a rural county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Morgan and its population was 5,573 in 2020.

History

Calhoun County was named for John C. Calhoun, the seventh Vice President of the United States.{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/c.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030710215157/http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/c.pdf |archive-date=July 10, 2003 |url-status=live | title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=31 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}} It was created from parts of Early and Baker counties on February 20, 1854.{{cite web|title=Calhoun County|url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/calhoun-county/|access-date=November 28, 2021|archive-date=March 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315184321/https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/calhoun-county/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Calhoun County historic marker|url=https://georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/calhoun-county/|access-date=November 28, 2021|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208235349/https://georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/calhoun-county/|url-status=live}}

Rival political factions disagreed about whether the county seat should be in Concord, a community north of present-day Leary, or in Dickey, then known as Whitney. As a compromise, a spot halfway between Concord and Whitney was chosen for the county seat, and the town of Morgan was established there.

In 1923 the state legislature moved the county seat to Arlington as directed by a county referendum. This decision was reversed in 1929, restoring Morgan as the county seat.

Calhoun Memorial Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Arlington originally founded as a Hill-Burton hospital,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQvtmKWDx-wC&dq=%22calhoun+memorial+hospital%22+georgia+hill-burton&pg=PA19|title=Report on Hill-Burton Hospitals and Their Obligations|year=1984|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}} closed in 2013 after 62 years of operation.{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiahealthnews.com/2013/02/small-rural-hospital-closes-doors-follow/|title=Small rural hospital closes doors|date=February 4, 2013|access-date=November 29, 2021|archive-date=October 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004080535/https://www.georgiahealthnews.com/2013/02/small-rural-hospital-closes-doors-follow/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.walb.com/story/20939553/calhoun-memorial-hospital-closes/|title=Calhoun Memorial Hospital closes|access-date=November 29, 2021|archive-date=December 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202230948/https://www.walb.com/story/20939553/calhoun-memorial-hospital-closes/|url-status=live}}

In 2008, members of the Downtown Business Authority in Arlington founded the South Georgia Regional Information Technology Authority (SGRITA) with help from the state government to provide wireless broadband service to several counties in rural southwest Georgia.{{cite web|url=https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/georgia-citizens-take-broadband-into-their-own-hands/|title=Georgia citizens take broadband into their own hands|date=April 24, 2009|access-date=November 29, 2021|archive-date=November 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126095725/https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/georgia-citizens-take-broadband-into-their-own-hands|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.manta.com/c/mm8nv6d/sgrita|title=Sgrita|access-date=November 29, 2021|archive-date=November 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129170320/https://www.manta.com/c/mm8nv6d/sgrita|url-status=live}} In 2017 SGRITA moved its office to Blakely in Early County.{{cite web|url=https://www.earlycountynews.com/articles/sgrita-relocating-to-city-hall/|title=SGRITA relocating to City Hall|access-date=November 29, 2021|archive-date=November 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129171959/https://www.earlycountynews.com/articles/sgrita-relocating-to-city-hall/|url-status=live}}

Geography

The county seat is Morgan,{{cite web |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Calhoun_County,_Georgia |access-date=November 28, 2021 |title=Ballotpedia |archive-date=November 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109224743/https://ballotpedia.org/Calhoun_County,_Georgia |url-status=live }} where the historic Calhoun County Courthouse is located. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|284|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|280|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|3.2|sqmi}} (1.1%) is water.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990|archive-date=August 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824085937/https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|url-status=live}}

The vast majority of Calhoun County is in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The county's western and southwestern corner, from Arlington running northwest to west of Edison, is in the Spring Creek sub-basin of the same larger ACF River Basin.{{cite web |url=http://www.gaswcc.org/maps/ |title=Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience |publisher=Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission |access-date=November 24, 2015 |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003004639/http://www.gaswcc.org/maps/ |url-status=dead }}

The United States Department of Agriculture has designated most of the county's land as prime farmland. Agricultural, forestry, and wildlife plantations line the county's eastern edge.{{cite web|title=Calhoun County Georgia|url=http://calhouncountyga.com/|access-date=November 29, 2021|archive-date=November 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103210246/http://calhouncountyga.com/|url-status=live}}

= Adjacent counties =

Terrell County (northeast)
Dougherty County (east)
Baker County (southeast)
Early County (southwest)
Clay County (west)
Randolph County (northwest)

Communities

=Cities=

=Unincorporated communities=

Demographics

{{US Census population

| 1860 = 4913

| 1870 = 5503

| 1880 = 7024

| 1890 = 8438

| 1900 = 9274

| 1910 = 11334

| 1920 = 10225

| 1930 = 10576

| 1940 = 10438

| 1950 = 8578

| 1960 = 7341

| 1970 = 6606

| 1980 = 5717

| 1990 = 5013

| 2000 = 6320

| 2010 = 6694

| 2020 = 5573

|estyear=2023

|estimate=5457

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

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=}}
1790-1880{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800 |website=United States Census Bureau|date= 1880|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/vol-01-population/1880_v1-08.pdf|accessdate=|page=}} 1890-1910{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1910 Census of Population - Georgia |website=United States Census Bureau|date= 1910|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/abstract/supplement-ga.pdf |accessdate=|page=}}
1920-1930{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1930 Census of Population - Georgia |website=United States Census Bureau|date= 1930|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/03815512v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=|page=}} 1930-1940{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1940 Census of Population - Georgia |website=United States Census Bureau|date= 1940|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-volume-1/33973538v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=}}
1940-1950{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1950 Census of Population - Georgia - |website=United States Census Bureau|date= 1950|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/population-volume-2/37779083v2p11ch2.pdf |accessdate=}} 1960-1980{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia |website=United States Census Bureau|date= 1980|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_gaABC-01.pdf|accessdate=}}
1980-2000{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia |website=United States Census Bureau|date= 2000|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2003/dec/phc-3-12.pdf |accessdate=}} 2010 2020

}}

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

|+Calhoun 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 – Calhoun County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p004&g=050XX00US13037&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 26, 2024}}

!Pop 2010{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Calhoun County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US13037&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 26, 2024}}

!{{partial|Pop 2020}}{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Calhoun County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US13037&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 26, 2024}}

!% 2000

!% 2010

!{{partial|% 2020}}

White alone (NH)

|2,368

|2,250

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,766

|37.47%

|33.61%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |31.69%

Black or African American alone (NH)

|3,726

|4,092

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,569

|58.96%

|61.13%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |64.04%

Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8

|0.14%

|0.13%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.14%

Asian alone (NH)

|30

|style='background: #ffffe6; |19

|0.06%

|0.45%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.34%

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.00%

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

Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1

|0.00%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%

Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|24

|49

|style='background: #ffffe6; |61

|0.38%

|0.73%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.09%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|189

|262

|style='background: #ffffe6; |149

|2.99%

|3.91%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.67%

Total

|6,320

|6,694

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,573

|100.00%

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

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,573 people, 1,736 households, and 1,152 families residing in the county. Of these people, 4.0% were under 5 years old, 16.9% were under 18, and 16.6% were 65 or over. The population was 39.3% female. The foreign-born population was 4.1% of the total. Of residents aged 5 or older, 7.7% spoke a language other than English at home.

There were 1,736 households. The average household size was 2.56. The county had 2,406 housing units, of which 65.6% were owner-occupied.{{cite web|title=Calhoun County QuickFacts|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/calhouncountygeorgia/POP010220|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 28, 2021}}

Economy

Many farms in Calhoun County grow corn, oats, sorghum, and wheat. Calhoun State Prison in Morgan is a major employer. Calhoun Nursing Home, a 60-bed long-term care facility in Edison, is now operated by Miller County.

Education

The Calhoun County School District has an elementary school and a middle-high school all in Edison. The district has about 530 students.{{cite web|url=https://schoolgrades.georgia.gov/calhoun-county|title=School Grades|access-date=November 29, 2021|archive-date=May 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513191454/https://schoolgrades.georgia.gov/calhoun-county|url-status=dead}}

Pataula Charter Academy opened in 2010 in Edison as a tuition-free public charter school serving several counties in southwest Georgia. It has about 609 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.{{cite web|url=https://www.pataula.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=953108&type=d&pREC_ID=1279094|title=Pataula Charter Academy|access-date=November 29, 2021|archive-date=February 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205014930/https://www.pataula.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=953108&type=d&pREC_ID=1279094|url-status=live}}

The Calhoun County Library in Edison is part of the Kinchafoonee Regional Library System.{{cite web|url=https://krlibrary.org/?page_id=18|title=Calhoun County Library|access-date=November 29, 2021|archive-date=May 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519033014/https://krlibrary.org/?page_id=18|url-status=live}}

Government

Calhoun County has a council-manager government with five commissioners elected by district.{{Cite web|url=https://calhouncountyga.com/commissioners|title=Calhoun County Commissioners|access-date=November 30, 2021}}

Politics

Calhoun County is staunchly Democratic in US presidential elections. The last Republican candidate to win the county was Richard Nixon in 1972.{{PresHead|place=Calhoun County, Georgia|source={{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 19, 2018|archive-date=March 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323225526/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|url-status=live}}}}