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Georgia Counties

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Georgia Counties

Georgia is divided into 159 counties. Under the Georgia Constitution, Counties are granted home rule to deal with issues that are local in nature. Four consolidated city-Counties — Athens (Clarke County), Augusta (Richmond County), Columbus (Muscogee County), and Cusseta (Chattahoochee County) — exist.

Georgia has the second-highest number of Counties of any state in the United States, behind Texas (254). A few Georgia Counties have changed names over time. Jasper County was originally known as Randolph County. Later, the current Randolph County came into being. Webster County was once known as Kinchafoonee County, and Bartow County was formerly known as Cass County.

Decatur County, Georgia

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

County Seat: Bainbridge
Year Organized: 1823
Square Miles: 597

Court House:

P.O. Box 735
County Courthouse
Bainbridge, GA 39818-0735

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named in honor of Commodore Stephen Decatur who defeated the Barbary Coast pirates at Tripoli in 1815.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Decatur County was created in 1823 from portions of Early County. The county was named in honor of Commodore Stephen Decatur who defeated the Barbary Coast pirates at Tripoli in 1815. Bainbridge, the county seat, was named for Commodore William Bainbridge, commander of the US Constitution, "Old Ironsides."

The Decatur County area was the site of several battles between Indians and early settlers. In the early 1700s, both the Spanish and English fought with Creek Indians. In 1818, General Andrew Jackson led troops from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia to victory over the Seminole Indians.

Points of Interest

Decatur County is divided by the Flint River, which flows to meet the Chattahoochee. Together they form the Apalachicola River which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. At the junction of the two rivers, the Jim Woodruff Dam forms Lake Seminole. A system of locks at the dam allows barge traffic to travel between the inland port at Bainbridge and the Gulf of Mexico.

The limestone aquifer underlying Decatur County is broken in many places, encouraging the formation of caves and lime sinks-one at Curry's Mill is almost 700 feet wide and reaches a depth of 102 feet.

Decatur County is the nation's leader in the production of Fuller's Earth, a type of clay with varied chemical uses. Once used for bleaching petroleum and cleaning grease out of wool, Fuller's Earth is currently used as cat litter and as an additive to insecticides and cements.

Lake Seminole is widely regarded as one of the nation's best lakes for large mouth bass fishing. In addition, local anglers fish for striped and white bass, catfish, crappy, and bream. Also, Lake Seminole is popular among area duck hunters.

Higher Education

Bainbridge College

Neighboring Counties:

North: Baker County
Northeast: Mitchell County
East: Grady County
South: Gadsden County, Fla.
West: Jackson County, Fla.; Seminole County
Northwest: Miller County

Cities and Towns:

- Attapulgus	city	Incorporated Area
- Bainbridge (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Brinson	town	Incorporated Area
- Climax	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Additional County Info http://www.georgiaplanning.com/CountyPortal/countyportal.asp?FIPS=13087

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."