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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.

Dougherty County, Georgia

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

County Seat: Albany
Year Organized: 1853
Square Miles: 330

Court House:

P.O. Box 1827
County Courthouse
Albany, GA 31702-1827

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named for Charles Dougherty of Athens, a judge of the Western Circuit and a popular advocate of state rights.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Dougherty County was created in 1853 from part of Baker County. Georgia's 102nd county was named for Charles Dougherty of Athens, a judge of the Western Circuit and a popular advocate of state rights.

Albany has several sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Among them are St. Teresa's Catholic Church, built in 1859 and the oldest Catholic Church in continuous use in Georgia, and Heritage Plaza, a collection of historic buildings and educational facilities.

Points of Interest

Radium Springs is located within the county just south of Albany. The springs are the largest in Georgia, discharging 70,000 gallons of 68 degree water each minute. The springs received its current name in 1925 when the spring water tested was found to contain traces of radium isotopes. During the 1920s a club casino was operated on the banks of the springs.

Dougherty County, which has more pecan trees than any other county in the nation, is a strong contributor to south Georgia's claim as the pecan capital of the world.

Dougherty and Lee counties share Chehaw Wild Animal Park, a 100-acre wildlife preserve where native and exotic animals move about freely in natural habitats.

The Flint RiverQuarium is an amazing 175,0000-gallon 22-foot deep Blue Hole Spring. This interactive museum showcases Southwest Georgia's underwater world with more than 100 kinds of fish, turtles, alligators, snapping turtles, and other river creatures.

Notable Citizens

Some notable Albany natives include naturalist Jim Fowler and former major league baseball player Ray Knight. LPGA great Nancy Lopez also makes her home in Albany.

Dougherty County was also home to Alice Coachman, the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. Coachman, who grew up in Albany, won the high jump competition in 1948.

Higher Education

Albany State University, Albany Technical College, and Darton College

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Lee County
East: Worth County
South: Mitchell County
Southwest: Baker County
West: Calhoun County
Northwest: Terrell County

Cities and Towns:

- Albany (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

County http://www.albany.ga.us

Chamber of Commerce http://www.albanyga.com/

Additional County Info http://www.georgiaplanning.com/CountyPortal/countyportal.asp?FIPS=13095

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."