Liberty County, Georgia
Liberty County | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 31°48′N 81°28′W / 31.8°N 81.46°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Georgia |
Founded | February 5, 1777 |
Named for | Liberty |
Seat | Hinesville |
Largest city | Hinesville |
Area | |
• Total | 603 sq mi (1,560 km2) |
• Land | 490 sq mi (1,300 km2) |
• Water | 113 sq mi (290 km2) 18.7% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 65,256 |
• Density | 133/sq mi (51/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
Congressional district | 1st |
Website | www |
Liberty County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population is 65,256. The county seat is Hinesville.
Liberty County is part of the Hinesville, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Savannah-Hinesville-Statesboro, Georgia Combined Statistical Area.
History
Liberty County was established in 1777. It is named for the American ideal of liberty. Sunbury was first designated the county seat in 1784. In 1797, the seat was transferred to Riceboro, and in 1837 it was transferred again to Hinesville.
1922 lynching
On July 1, 1922, James Harvey and Joe Jordan, two African American men, were lynched by a mob of about 50 people in Liberty County during an escort by police from Jesup, Georgia to a jail in Savannah, Georgia. The event drew condemnation from both the local black community and from several prominent white citizens, with the preacher at Midway Methodist Church denouncing the acts and publishing a widely circulated letter condemning the Wayne County officials of being complicit in the murders. The incident prompted an investigation by the NAACP, and in total, 22 men were indicted, with four being convicted.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 603 square miles (1,560 km2), of which 490 square miles (1,300 km2) is land and 113 square miles (290 km2) (18.7%) is water.
The eastern and southern portion of Liberty County is located in the Ogeechee Coastal sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin. The northern and western portion of the county is located in the Canoochee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin.
Major highways
Adjacent counties
- Chatham County - northeast
- Bryan County - north
- McIntosh County - south
- Long County - west
- Evans County - northwest
- Tattnall County - northwest
Communities
Cities
- Allenhurst
- Flemington
- Gumbranch
- Hinesville (county seat)
- Midway
- Riceboro
- Walthourville
Census-designated place
Unincorporated communities
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1790 | 5,355 | — | |
1800 | 5,313 | −0.8% | |
1810 | 6,228 | 17.2% | |
1820 | 6,695 | 7.5% | |
1830 | 7,233 | 8.0% | |
1840 | 7,241 | 0.1% | |
1850 | 7,926 | 9.5% | |
1860 | 8,367 | 5.6% | |
1870 | 7,688 | −8.1% | |
1880 | 10,649 | 38.5% | |
1890 | 12,887 | 21.0% | |
1900 | 13,093 | 1.6% | |
1910 | 12,924 | −1.3% | |
1920 | 12,707 | −1.7% | |
1930 | 8,153 | −35.8% | |
1940 | 8,595 | 5.4% | |
1950 | 8,444 | −1.8% | |
1960 | 14,487 | 71.6% | |
1970 | 17,569 | 21.3% | |
1980 | 37,583 | 113.9% | |
1990 | 52,745 | 40.3% | |
2000 | 61,610 | 16.8% | |
2010 | 63,453 | 3.0% | |
2020 | 65,256 | 2.8% | |
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1880 1890-1910 1920-1930 1930-1940 1940-1950 1960-1980 1980-2000 2010 |
Race | Num. | Perc. |
---|---|---|
White (non-Hispanic) | 24,004 | 36.78% |
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 27,309 | 41.85% |
Native American | 225 | 0.34% |
Asian | 1,325 | 2.03% |
Pacific Islander | 437 | 0.67% |
Other/Mixed | 4,170 | 6.39% |
Hispanic or Latino | 7,786 | 11.93% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 65,256 people, 23,485 households, and 16,657 families residing in the county.
Education
Liberty County School District is the designated school district for grades K-12 for the county, except parts in Fort Stewart. Fort Stewart has the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) as its local school district, for the elementary level. Students at the secondary level on Fort Stewart attend public schools operated by county school districts.
The Liberty district operates public schools, including the comprehensive high school Liberty County High School and the Bradwell Institute, as well as its educative middle schools Midway Middle School, Lewis Frasier Middle School, and Snelson-Golden Middle School.
They also provide a career academy, Liberty College & Career Academy (LCCA), for extra academics where students study for a profession they could seek out in the future.
In the media
The 2014 independent film, A Promise, was filmed in Liberty County.
Politics
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 7,959 | 37.20% | 13,104 | 61.25% | 331 | 1.55% |
2016 | 6,134 | 37.68% | 9,556 | 58.70% | 589 | 3.62% |
2012 | 5,565 | 34.36% | 10,457 | 64.57% | 173 | 1.07% |
2008 | 5,828 | 35.54% | 10,474 | 63.87% | 98 | 0.60% |
2004 | 6,131 | 47.86% | 6,619 | 51.67% | 59 | 0.46% |
2000 | 4,455 | 44.68% | 5,347 | 53.62% | 170 | 1.70% |
1996 | 3,042 | 37.42% | 4,462 | 54.89% | 625 | 7.69% |
1992 | 2,832 | 35.87% | 3,853 | 48.80% | 1,210 | 15.33% |
1988 | 3,100 | 51.24% | 2,906 | 48.03% | 44 | 0.73% |
1984 | 3,229 | 53.53% | 2,803 | 46.47% | 0 | 0.00% |
1980 | 1,507 | 32.18% | 3,099 | 66.18% | 77 | 1.64% |
1976 | 979 | 22.73% | 3,328 | 77.27% | 0 | 0.00% |
1972 | 2,337 | 65.76% | 1,217 | 34.24% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 592 | 16.78% | 1,572 | 44.55% | 1,365 | 38.68% |
1964 | 1,458 | 39.73% | 2,212 | 60.27% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 929 | 36.88% | 1,590 | 63.12% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 967 | 52.02% | 892 | 47.98% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 517 | 26.31% | 1,448 | 73.69% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 121 | 9.98% | 820 | 67.66% | 271 | 22.36% |
1944 | 122 | 20.23% | 481 | 79.77% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 102 | 20.00% | 407 | 79.80% | 1 | 0.20% |
1936 | 49 | 11.64% | 369 | 87.65% | 3 | 0.71% |
1932 | 18 | 5.84% | 289 | 93.83% | 1 | 0.32% |
1928 | 203 | 50.25% | 201 | 49.75% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 39 | 9.38% | 334 | 80.29% | 43 | 10.34% |
1920 | 175 | 36.61% | 303 | 63.39% | 0 | 0.00% |
1916 | 26 | 6.95% | 245 | 65.51% | 103 | 27.54% |
1912 | 29 | 8.12% | 251 | 70.31% | 77 | 21.57% |
Gallery
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Liberty County Justice Center
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Liberty County Courthouse Annex
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Liberty County Recreation Department