Webster County, Georgia

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Webster County

| state = Georgia

| seal =

| founded = {{start date and age|1853|12|16}}

| seat wl = Preston

| largest city wl = Preston

| city type = community

| area_total_sq_mi = 210

| area_land_sq_mi = 209

| area_water_sq_mi = 1.1

| area percentage = 0.5%

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 2348

| pop_est_as_of = 2024

| population_est = 2337 {{loss}}

| density_sq_mi = auto

| web = www.webstercountyga.org

| ex image = Webster County, GA Courthouse.JPG

| ex image cap = County courthouse in Preston

| district = 2nd

| time zone = Eastern

| named for = Daniel Webster }}

Webster County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census reflected a population of 2,348,{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Webster County, Georgia|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Webster_County,_Georgia?g=0500000US13307|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 29, 2022}} making it the third-least populous county in Georgia. The county seat is Preston.{{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}}

History

Webster County was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 16, 1853, as Kinchafoonee County.Weston Woman's Club: History of Webster County, Georgia, W. H. Wolfe Associates, Roswell, Ga., 1980, pp. 16-19. A subsequent legislative act on February 21, 1856, changed the name to Webster. The land for the county came from eastern portions of Stewart County.{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/w.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030727152344/http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/w.pdf |archive-date=July 27, 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=249 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}

The county is named for Daniel Webster, U.S. representative of New Hampshire and U.S. representative and U.S. senator of Massachusetts.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC&pg=PA242 | title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States | publisher=Routledge | date=May 13, 2013 | access-date=November 30, 2013 | author=Hellmann, Paul T. | pages=242| isbn=978-1135948597 }} Webster County's original name of Kinchafoonee came from the Kinchafoonee Creek which runs through the county.

On January 1, 2009, the city of Preston and town of Weston gave up their municipal charters and formed a consolidated city-county known as the Unified Government of Webster County.{{cite book|title=Webster County Comprehensive Plan 2024–2029|author=River Valley Regional Commission|publisher=Unified Government of Webster County|location=Preston, Georgia|date=September 10, 2024|accessdate=December 10, 2024|page=4|url=https://dca.georgia.gov/document/plans/unified-government-webster-county-comprehensive-plan-update-2024/download#page=6}}

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|210|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|209|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|1.1|sqmi}} (0.5%) 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 majority of Webster County, bordered to the southwest by State Route 520, is located in the Kinchafoonee-Muckalee sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The southwestern corner of the county is located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin. A tiny edge of the southwestern border, just south of State Route 520, is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake sub-basin of the same 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}}

=Major highways=

=Adjacent counties=

Marion County – north
Sumter County – east
Terrell County – south
Randolph County – southwest
Stewart County – west

Communities

None of these places are incorporated, instead Webster county acts as a unified county. Preston is the county seat, despite being unincorporated.

Archery
Preston (County Seat)
Weston

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1860= 5030

|1870= 4677

|1880= 5237

|1890= 5695

|1900= 6618

|1910= 6151

|1920= 5342

|1930= 5032

|1940= 4726

|1950= 4081

|1960= 3247

|1970= 2362

|1980= 2341

|1990= 2263

|2000= 2390

|2010= 2799

|2020= 2348

|estyear=2023

|estimate=2337

|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/13/13307.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=June 27, 2014}}

}}

class="wikitable"

|+Webster County racial composition as of the 2020 census{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US13307&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 9, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

White

|1,136

|48.38%

Black or African American

|1,063

|45.27%

Asian

|12

|0.51%

Pacific Islander

|0.26%

Other/Mixed

|72

|3.07%

Hispanic or Latino

|59

|2.51%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,348 people, 1,140 households, and 724 families residing in the county.

Education

Webster County School District operates public schools.

Politics

Webster County was reliably Democratic throughout the 20th century. However, the margins tightened in the 2000 election and in 2004, Democrat John Kerry only won this county very narrowly as George Bush won Georgia's electoral votes easily. Webster County is the only county in Georgia that flipped to John McCain's column in 2008 after voting for Kerry in 2004.

{{PresHead|place=Webster 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 24, 2018}}}}

References

External links

[http://www.webstercountyga.org Consolidated Government of Webster County] Including the City of Preston, Weston, and Webster County
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100401033647/http://www.webstereagles.net/ Webster County Board of Education] a School system serving the City of Preston and Weston
[http://www.webstercosheriff.org Webster County Sheriff's Department] is the primary law enforcement agency for the entire county, and is an integral part of the county's system of justice.
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060424065748/http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/courthouses/websterCH.htm GeorgiaInfo Webster County Courthouse history]
[http://www.webstercountyga.org/ County's Official Site]
[http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/webster-county Webster County] in the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

{{Geographic Location

|Centre = Webster County, Georgia

|North = Marion County

|Northeast =

|East = Sumter County

|Southeast =

|South = Terrell County

|Southwest = Randolph County

|West = Stewart County

|Northwest =

}}

{{Coord|32.05|-84.55|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990}}