Upson County, Georgia#Micropolitan Statistical Area

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Upson County

| state = Georgia

| seal =

| founded year = {{start date and age|1824}}

| founded date = December 15

| seat wl = Thomaston

| largest city wl = Thomaston

| area_total_sq_mi = 328

| area_land_sq_mi = 323

| area_water_sq_mi = 4.1

| area percentage = 1.3%

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 27700

| density_sq_mi = 86

| time zone = Eastern

| footnotes =

| web = www.upsoncountyga.org/

| named for = Stephen Upson

| ex image = Upson County Courthouse (West face).JPG

| ex image cap = Upson County Courthouse in Thomaston

| district = 3rd

}}

Upson County is a county in the West Central region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,700.{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Upson County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Upson_County,_Georgia?g=0500000US13293|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 29, 2022}} The county seat is Thomaston.{{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}} The county was created on December 15, 1824.

Upson County comprises the Thomaston, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs CSA.

History

Upson County was formed in 1824 and named after Stephen Upson, a state legislator.{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/u.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030917105250/http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/u.pdf |archive-date=September 17, 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=238 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}

= Emancipation Day =

On May 29, 1865, following the conclusion of the American Civil War, enslaved African Americans in the county were notified in Thomaston that they had been emancipated.{{Cite web |last=Ripley |first=Joe |date=June 17, 2022 |title=Juneteenth in Georgia {{!}} Here's how enslaved people in the South learned they were freed |url=https://www.11alive.com/article/entertainment/events/juneteenth/juneteenth-georgia-celebrating-freedom-upson-county-thomaston/85-e0dac742-78a2-4bdb-818a-143c9bffb158 |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=WXIA-TV}} By the following year, celebrations were held on that date, which continue to this day. It is considered one of the largest Emancipation Day celebrations in Georgia and one of the oldest continuously celebrated ones in the United States.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|328|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|323|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|4.1|sqmi}} (1.3%) 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}} Upson County boasts the lowest average summer humidity in the state.

The vast majority of Upson County is located in the Upper Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin), with just a tiny northeastern corner of the county, north of Yatesville, located in the Upper Ocmulgee 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}}

=Major highways=

=Adjacent counties=

Lamar County - north
Pike County - north
Monroe County - east
Crawford County - southeast
Taylor County - south
Talbot County - southwest
Meriwether County - northwest

Communities

=City=

Thomaston

=Town=

Yatesville

=Census-designated places=

=Unincorporated communities=

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1830= 7013

|1840= 9408

|1850= 9424

|1860= 9910

|1870= 9430

|1880= 12400

|1890= 12188

|1900= 13670

|1910= 12757

|1920= 14786

|1930= 19509

|1940= 25064

|1950= 25078

|1960= 23800

|1970= 23505

|1980= 25998

|1990= 26300

|2000= 27597

|2010= 27153

|2020= 27700

|estyear=2023

|estimate=28263

|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/13/13293.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=June 26, 2014|archive-date=December 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151214031727/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13293.html|url-status=dead}}

}}

class="wikitable"

|+Upson County racial composition as of 2020{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US13293&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 13, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

White (non-Hispanic)

|18,009

|65.01%

Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

|7,851

|28.34%

Native American

|63

|0.23%

Asian

|151

|0.55%

Pacific Islander

|0.0%

Other/Mixed

|992

|3.58%

Hispanic or Latino

|633

|2.29%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 27,700 people, 10,154 households, and 6,100 families residing in the county.

Politics

{{PresHead|place=Upson 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}}}}