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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.

Thomas County, Georgia

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

County Seat: Thomasville
Year Organized: 1825
Square Miles: 548

Court House:

P.O. Box 920
County Courthouse,225 North Broad Street
Thomasville, GA 31799-0920

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Georgia's 63rd county, and its county seat, Thomasville, were named for a hero of the War of 1812, General Jett Thomas. In addition to his military career, General Thomas built the first university building in Athens.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Thomas County was created in 1825 from portions of Decatur and Irwin counties. Georgia's 63rd county, and its county seat, Thomasville, were named for a hero of the War of 1812, General Jett Thomas. In addition to his military career, General Thomas built the first university building in Athens.

Ochlocknee is named for the river flowing through Thomas County. Pavo, Latin for Peacock, was named after the first postmaster in the area.

Thomasville was a popular, turn-of-the-century, winter resort for wealthy northern families. Non-residents still maintain many large estates and hunting preserves. Many of these estates are listed on the National Register of Historic Places including the Susina Plantation Inn, the Lapham-Patterson House, Thomasville Cultural Center, Pebble Hill Plantation and Melhana Plantation. The Lapham-Patterson House is a large, Victorian house, that was built by a survivor of the great fire of Chicago. He designed the house with 45 doors, 26 of which were exterior. Every room had its own fire extinguisher.

Points of Interest

Limestone sinks are common in this section which was once part of the ocean floor. A great limestone aquifer in subterranean south Georgia offers a nearly limitless fresh water supply.

Thomasville is home to a "Big Oak," which has a limb spread of about 175 feet. Also, the McKinley Memorial Tree planted in 1896 as a salute to candidate William McKinley, who became the 25th President of the United States, is located in Thomasville.

Notable Citizens

Bailey White, a National Public Radio essayist and author of Mama Makes Up Her Mind, is from Thomas County.

Higher Education

Thomas University

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Colquitt County
East: Brooks County
South: Jefferson County, Fla.
Southwest: Leon County, Fla.
West: Grady County
Northwest: Mitchell County

Cities and Towns:

- Boston	city	Incorporated Area
- Coolidge	city	Incorporated Area
- Meigs	city	Incorporated Area
- Ochlocknee	town	Incorporated Area
- Pavo	city	Incorporated Area
- Thomasville (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

County http://www.thomascountyboc.org

Chamber of Commerce http://www.thomasvillechamber.com/ Additional County Info http://www.georgiaplanning.com/CountyPortal/countyportal.asp?FIPS=13275

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."