Putnam County, Georgia

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Putnam County

| state = Georgia

| seal =

| founded = {{start date and age|1807|12|10}}

| seat wl = Eatonton

| largest city wl = Eatonton

| area_total_sq_mi = 361

| area_land_sq_mi = 345

| area_water_sq_mi = 16

| area percentage = 4.4%

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 22047

| density_sq_mi = 64

| web = www.putnamcountyga.us

| named for = Israel Putnam

| ex image = Putnam County Georgia Courthouse.jpg

| ex image cap = Putnam County courthouse in Eatonton

| district = 10th

| time zone = Eastern

}}

Putnam County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 22,047.{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Putnam County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Putnam_County,_Georgia?g=0500000US13237|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 28, 2022}} The county seat is Eatonton.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}

Since the early 21st century, the county has had a housing boom. It has proximity to Lake Oconee, Lake Sinclair, and the Oconee River, all of which are recreation sites, as well as to major employment centers such as Atlanta, Athens, and Macon.

History

Putnam County is named in honor of Israel Putnam, a hero of the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. It was settled by European Americans after the war, as migrants moved down from the Upper South. The county was created on December 10, 1807, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly.{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/p.pdf| title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=182 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}

Following the invention of the cotton gin, which could profitably process short-staple cotton, the county was developed for cotton cultivation of that type. It thrived in the upland areas, where plantations were developed and worked by the field labor of thousands of African-American slaves.

During the 1919 Red Summer there were many incidents of racial violence including an arson attack where almost a dozen black community buildings were burnt down in late May 1919.{{sfn|McWhirter|2011|p=53}} The Wheeling Intelligencer claimed the buildings were burnt down because of a "minor racial clash at Dennis Station."{{sfn|The Wheeling Intelligencer|1919|p=14}} During this time armed black and white mobs patrolled the area in fear of each other.{{sfn|McWhirter|2011|p=53}}

In the first half of the 20th century, thousands of blacks left the state during the Great Migration from 1920 to 1960. The county population dropped by more than half during this period following mechanization of agriculture and as rural workers moved into cities. Since the late 20th century, population has increased. The white population of the county has grown since the turn of the 21st century: in 2010 African Americans comprised 26 percent of the county population, a drop from nearly 42% in 2000.{{citation needed|date=November 2020|reason=It's necessary to prove this figure}}

In the 21st century, dairy farming is more important to Putnam County than cotton. It annually holds the nationally known Dairy Festival.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|361|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|345|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|16|sqmi}} (4.4%) 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}} The entirety of Putnam County is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha 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 20, 2015 |archive-date=October 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003004639/http://www.gaswcc.org/maps/ |url-status=dead }}

The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state, with rolling hills, farms, and lakes covering a majority of the county.

=Major highways=

=Adjacent counties=

Morgan County (north)
Greene County (northeast)
Hancock County (east)
Baldwin County (southeast)
Jones County (southwest)
Jasper County (west)

=National protected area=

Oconee National Forest (part)

Communities

=City=

Eatonton

=Census-designated place=

Crooked Creek

=Unincorporated community=

Willard

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1810= 10029

|1820= 15475

|1830= 13261

|1840= 10260

|1850= 10794

|1860= 10125

|1870= 10461

|1880= 14539

|1890= 14842

|1900= 13436

|1910= 13876

|1920= 15151

|1930= 8367

|1940= 8514

|1950= 7731

|1960= 7798

|1970= 8394

|1980= 10295

|1990= 14137

|2000= 18812

|2010= 21218

|2020= 22047

|estyear=2023

|estimate=23129

|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 |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1880|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/vol-01-population/1880_v1-08.pdf|accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=|page=}} 1890-1910{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1910 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1910|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/abstract/supplement-ga.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=|page=}}
1920-1930{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1930 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1930|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/03815512v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=|page=}} 1930-1940{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1940 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1940|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-volume-1/33973538v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}
1940-1950{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1950 Census of Population - Georgia - |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1950|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/population-volume-2/37779083v2p11ch2.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}} 1960-1980{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1980|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_gaABC-01.pdf|accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}
1980-2000{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 2000|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2003/dec/phc-3-12.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}} 2010{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13237.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=February 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209055645/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13237.html|archive-date=December 9, 2015|url-status=dead}}

}}

class="wikitable"

|+Putnam County racial composition as of 2020{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US13237&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 18, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

White (non-Hispanic)

|14,316

|64.93%

Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

|5,385

|24.43%

Native American

|33

|0.15%

Asian

|108

|0.49%

Pacific Islander

|0.0%

Other/Mixed

|647

|2.93%

Hispanic or Latino

|1,557

|7.06%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,047 people, 8,937 households, and 6,282 families residing in the county.

Education

The Putnam County Charter School System serves the community.

Politics

{{PresHead|place=Putnam 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 22, 2018}}}}

Bibliography

;Notes

;References

{{cite book |last=McWhirter|first=Cameron | title = Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America|url=https://archive.org/details/redsummersummero0000mcwh|url-access=registration|year=2011| publisher = Henry Holt and Company| isbn= 9781429972932}} - Total pages: 368
{{cite news |date= May 31, 1919|title= Georgia White Burn Five Negro Churches|last=The Wheeling Intelligencer|author-link=The Intelligencer and Wheeling News Register|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86092536/1919-05-31/ed-1/seq-14/#|newspaper=The Wheeling Intelligencer|publisher=Intelligencer Pub. Co.|location=Wheeling, West Virginia|oclc=13502337|pages=1–24|access-date= July 19, 2019 }}

External links

[http://www.LostWorlds.org/rock_eagle.html LostWorlds.org | Rock Eagle] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608025019/http://www.lostworlds.org/rock_eagle.html |date=June 8, 2011 }}

{{Geographic Location

|Centre = Putnam County, Georgia

|North = Morgan County

|Northeast = Greene County

|East = Hancock County

|Southeast = Baldwin County

|South =

|Southwest = Jones County

|West = Jasper County

|Northwest =

}}

{{Coord|33.32|-83.37|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990}}