Cook County, Georgia

Cook County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Adel
Year Organized: 1918
Square Miles: 229

Court House:

1200 S Hutchinson Avenue
County Courthouse
Adel, GA 31620-5218

Etymology - Origin of County Name

named for General Philip Cook, who fought in both the Seminole War and the Civil War and was Georgia's Secretary of State for over 20 years.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Cook County was the 153rd county formed in Georgia. It was created from Berrien County and named for General Philip Cook, who fought in both the Seminole War and the Civil War and was Georgia's Secretary of State for over 20 years.

The county courthouse was constructed in 1939, one of many depression era public works projects in the state. This courthouse is also listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. Another historic building, located in Adel, is the Jim Paulk-SOWEGA Building, owned by the Adel-Cook County Chamber of Commerce. The building was constructed in 1930 and originally the home office of Southwest Georgia Melon Growers Association (SOWEGA), which started in 1920 as the only cooperative association for marketing watermelons in the world.

One of the first roads cut through the Wiregrass Territory ran through Cook County at Cecil. This road, known as the Coffee Road, was called for by an act of the state legislature in 1823 and was built by General John Coffee. The Coffee Road became a main thoroughfare for early settlers, who traveled to Tallahassee and the Gulf Coast for salt and other staples.

Points of Interest

Reed Bingham State Park is located in the county. The park has a variety of recreational facilities centering around a 400-acre lake, where swimming, skiing, boating, and fishing are excellent. Other facilities include campsites, nature trails, miniature golf, and picnic shelters.

Notable Citizens

A notable person from Cook County is Eugene Patterson, a recipient of a Pulitzer Prize. He was the editor of The Atlanta Constitution during the Ralph McGill era (1960-68) and wrote for the Associated Press. Patterson became chairman and CEO of what is now the biggest daily newspaper in Florida - the St. Petersburg Times and started Florida Trend magazine. He was also instrumental in starting Georgia Trend magazine.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Berrien County
Southeast: Lowndes County
Southwest: Brooks County
West: Colquitt County
Northwest: Tift County

Cities and Towns:

- Adel (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Cecil	town	Incorporated Area
- Lenox	city	Incorporated Area
- Sparks	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Chamber of Commerce http://www.adel-cookchamber.org/

Additional County Info http://www.georgiaplanning.com/CountyPortal/countyportal.asp?FIPS=13075

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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