Hancock County, Georgia
Hancock County | |
|---|---|
 Hancock County Courthouse and Confederate Monument in Sparta | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Georgia | |
 Georgia's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 33°16′N 83°00′W / 33.27°N 83°W / 33.27; -83 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Founded | December 17, 1793 (1793-12-17) |
| Named for | John Hancock |
| Seat | Sparta |
| Largest city | Sparta |
| Area | |
| • Total | 479 sq mi (1,240 km2) |
| • Land | 472 sq mi (1,220 km2) |
| • Water | 6.8 sq mi (18 km2) 1.4% |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 8,735 |
| • Density | 19/sq mi (7/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 10th |
| Website | www.hancockcountyga.gov |
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Hancock County is a county located in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,735.[1] The county seat is Sparta.[2] The county was created on December 17, 1793, and named for John Hancock, a Founding Father of the American Revolution.[3][4]
History
Before the Civil War, Hancock County was developed for cotton plantations, as international demand was high for the commodity. The land was developed and the cotton cultivated and processed by thousands of enslaved African Americans. This area is classified as part of the Black Belt of the United States, primarily due to its fertile soil. It was later also associated with the slave society. Enslaved persons made up 61% of the total county population in the 1850 Census.[5] Unusually for such a plantation-dominated society, the county's representatives at the Georgia Secession Convention, who were overwhelmingly white and Democratic, voted against secession in 1861.[6]
But the secession conventions were dominated by men who voted for separation, and Georgia soon seceded and entered the war.
After the war, the freed black population predominated by number in the county for decades. After emancipation and granting of citizenship and the franchise, most freedmen joined the Republican Party, which they credited with gaining their freedom. Conservative white Democrats resisted political domination by blacks, although they were outnumbered. In the later years of Reconstruction, whites used violence, intimidation and fraud to suppress black voting. In 1908 the white-dominated legislature passed an amendment that effectively disenfranchised most black voters and many poor whites ones.
Contemporary voting issues
According to the 2010 census[7] estimate, the racial makeup of the county seat of Sparta was 84% African American, 15% White, 0.50% from two or more races, 0.30% Asian, and 0.10% Native American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.
Since the late 20th century, most African Americans support the Democratic Party and conservative whites support the Republican Party.
In August 2015, the majority-white Hancock County Board of Elections initiated an effort to purge voters from the rolls. They directed deputy sheriffs to the homes of more than 180 black people residing in Sparta (these constituted some 20% of the city's total registered voters) to inform them they would lose their voting rights unless they appeared in court to prove their residency. A total of 53 voters were removed the voting rolls, but a federal judge overturned the Board's actions. It was asserted that these actions were racially based.[8]
In 2021, the African-American elections superintendent for the City of Sparta was referred to the Georgia Secretary of State's Office for prosecution for allegedly imposing illegal requirements for candidates in the 2017 municipal election.[9]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 479 square miles (1,240 km2), of which 472 square miles (1,220 km2) is land and 6.8 square miles (18 km2) (1.4%) is water.[10]
The western portion of Hancock County, which is defined by a line running southeast from White Plains to the intersection of State Route 22 and Springfield Road, then running southwest along State Route 22, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The southern portion of the county, defined by a triangle made of State Route 22 and State Route 15, with Sparta at its apex, is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin. The northeastern portion of Hancock County is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin.[11]
Major highways
No Interstate Highway
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Adjacent counties
- Taliaferro County - north
- Warren County - northeast
- Glascock County - east
- Washington County - southeast
- Baldwin County - southwest
- Putnam County - west
- Greene County - northwest
Communities
City
- Sparta (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 14,456 | — | |
| 1810 | 13,330 | −7.8% | |
| 1820 | 12,734 | −4.5% | |
| 1830 | 11,820 | −7.2% | |
| 1840 | 9,659 | −18.3% | |
| 1850 | 11,578 | 19.9% | |
| 1860 | 12,044 | 4.0% | |
| 1870 | 11,317 | −6.0% | |
| 1880 | 16,989 | 50.1% | |
| 1890 | 17,149 | 0.9% | |
| 1900 | 18,277 | 6.6% | |
| 1910 | 19,189 | 5.0% | |
| 1920 | 18,357 | −4.3% | |
| 1930 | 13,070 | −28.8% | |
| 1940 | 12,764 | −2.3% | |
| 1950 | 11,052 | −13.4% | |
| 1960 | 9,979 | −9.7% | |
| 1970 | 9,019 | −9.6% | |
| 1980 | 9,466 | 5.0% | |
| 1990 | 8,908 | −5.9% | |
| 2000 | 10,076 | 13.1% | |
| 2010 | 9,429 | −6.4% | |
| 2020 | 8,735 | −7.4% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 8,676 | [12] | −0.7% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[13] 1790-1880[14] 1890-1910[15] 1920-1930[16] 1930-1940[17] 1940-1950[18] 1960-1980[19] 1980-2000[20] 2010[21] 2020[22] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[23] | Pop 2010[21] | Pop 2020[22] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 2,141 | 2,212 | 2,413 | 21.25% | 23.46% | 27.62% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 7,820 | 6,959 | 6,025 | 77.61% | 73.80% | 68.98% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 16 | 21 | 23 | 0.16% | 0.22% | 0.26% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 9 | 47 | 37 | 0.09% | 0.50% | 0.42% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00% | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0.02% | 0.00% | 0.11% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 34 | 50 | 163 | 0.34% | 0.53% | 1.87% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 54 | 139 | 63 | 0.54% | 1.47% | 0.72% |
| Total | 10,076 | 9,429 | 8,735 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,735 people, 2,974 households, and 1,755 families residing in the county.
Politics
Hancock County has been one of the most consistently Democratic counties in the entire nation since the Civil War. But the composition of the party voters and policies they support have undergone major changes since the late twentieth century, switching from whites to African Americans.
The majority of county voters have voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1852 except that of 1972, when George McGovern lost every county in Georgia. McGovern did perform better here than elsewhere in the state, losing by only 93 votes. Apart from Richard Nixon in that election, Barry Goldwater in 1964 was the only Republican since at least 1912 to gain 30 percent of the county's vote.[24] That year, most of the county's African-American majority was still largely disenfranchised and could not vote at all. The conservative white minority favored Goldwater because its traditional Democratic loyalties had frayed.
In 1980 Hancock County gave "favorite son" candidate Jimmy Carter his second highest vote share in the nation.[25] In 1984 it supported Walter Mondale, who won more than 76.6 percent of Hancock County ballots, making it his fourth-best county outside the District of Columbia. He was otherwise within 3,819 votes of losing all fifty states.[26]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 1,154 | 27.79% | 2,976 | 71.66% | 23 | 0.55% |
| 2016 | 843 | 23.49% | 2,701 | 75.28% | 44 | 1.23% |
| 2012 | 769 | 18.80% | 3,308 | 80.88% | 13 | 0.32% |
| 2008 | 795 | 18.28% | 3,535 | 81.30% | 18 | 0.41% |
| 2004 | 822 | 23.12% | 2,715 | 76.37% | 18 | 0.51% |
| 2000 | 662 | 21.45% | 2,414 | 78.22% | 10 | 0.32% |
| 1996 | 438 | 16.55% | 2,135 | 80.69% | 73 | 2.76% |
| 1992 | 506 | 16.03% | 2,461 | 77.95% | 190 | 6.02% |
| 1988 | 621 | 23.99% | 1,947 | 75.20% | 21 | 0.81% |
| 1984 | 644 | 23.39% | 2,109 | 76.61% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 573 | 20.40% | 2,205 | 78.50% | 31 | 1.10% |
| 1976 | 651 | 23.52% | 2,117 | 76.48% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1972 | 1,595 | 51.50% | 1,502 | 48.50% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 381 | 10.44% | 2,165 | 59.32% | 1,104 | 30.25% |
| 1964 | 925 | 46.27% | 1,074 | 53.73% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 286 | 26.83% | 780 | 73.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 354 | 29.16% | 860 | 70.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 267 | 17.66% | 1,245 | 82.34% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 111 | 14.38% | 441 | 57.12% | 220 | 28.50% |
| 1944 | 109 | 22.29% | 380 | 77.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 153 | 23.36% | 501 | 76.49% | 1 | 0.15% |
| 1936 | 57 | 10.00% | 504 | 88.42% | 9 | 1.58% |
| 1932 | 18 | 3.27% | 529 | 96.01% | 4 | 0.73% |
| 1928 | 118 | 17.61% | 552 | 82.39% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 22 | 7.14% | 272 | 88.31% | 14 | 4.55% |
| 1920 | 53 | 9.62% | 498 | 90.38% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 30 | 4.89% | 562 | 91.53% | 22 | 3.58% |
| 1912 | 13 | 2.16% | 549 | 91.35% | 39 | 6.49% |
Notable people
- James Abercrombie, (1795–1861) was born in Hancock County.
- Amanda America Dickson was born in Hancock County.
- William Henry Harrison, state legislator from Hancock County.
- Harvey Grant, twin brother of Horace Grant.
- Horace Grant, twin brother of Harvey Grant.
- Thomas "Tommy" Jackson, "Hurricane" Jackson.
- Biddy Mason was born in Hancock county
- Hiram George Runnels wasborn in Hancock County.
- William Terrell, member of Georgia House of Representatives,representing Hancock County
See also
- Central Savannah River Area
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Hancock County, Georgia
- Glen Mary Plantation
- List of counties in Georgia
References
- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Hancock County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Hancock County". Georgia.gov. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 148.
- ^ "Census of 1850" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 24, 2005. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ^ Joslyn, Mauriel (2003). "Hancock County". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Humanities Council.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
- ^ "Critics See Efforts by Counties and Towns to Purge Minority Voters From Rolls". The New York Times. July 31, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
- ^ "Voting violations cases sent to prosecutors, including one in Hancock County", WRDW, February 19, 2021
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
- ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
- ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
- ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
- ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
- ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
- ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
- ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Hancock County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Hancock County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Hancock County, Alabama". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election statistics 1920-1964, pp. 97, 100, 103, 106, 109 ISBN 0405077114
- ^ Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1980 Presidential Election Statistics
- ^ Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1984 Presidential Election Statistics
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
External links
Media related to Hancock County, Georgia at Wikimedia Commons
- New Georgia Encyclopedia. Hancock County
- Hancock County historical marker
- Powelton Baptist Church historical marker
33°16′N 83°00′W / 33.27°N 83.00°W / 33.27; -83.00
