TALIAFERRO COUNTY, GEORGIA

'Taliaferro County' is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the population is 2,077. The 2005 Census Estimate shows a population of 1,826 [1]. The county seat is Crawfordville, Georgia⁶. Taliaferro County is the smallest county in Georgia in regards to population.
The county's name is not spelled phonetically, being properly pronounced like "toliver", rhyming with the given name "Oliver" (which in turn sounds like "olive").

Contents

History

Geography

Major Highways

Adjacent Counties

Demographics

Economy

In Film

Cities and towns

References

External Links

History

Taliaferro County was formed by an act of the Georgia Legislature meeting in Milledgeville on December 24th, 1825. It was formed by taking portions of five other counties: Wilkes, Greene, Hancock, Oglethorpe, and Warren Counties.
The county was named for Colonel Benjamin Taliaferro of Virginia, who was an officer in the American Revolution.
The county is most famous for being the home of Alexander H. Stephens, who served as a senator from Georgia in the antelbellum south, the Vice President of the Confederate States of America, and the governor of Georgia until his death. A state park near his home in Crawfordville, Georgia bears his name.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 506 km² (195 mi²). 506 km² (195 mi²) of it is land and 0 km² (0 mi²) of it (0.04%) is water.

Major Highways

★

Interstate 20

★

U.S. Highway 278

★

Georgia State Route 12

★

Georgia State Route 22

★

Georgia State Route 47

Adjacent Counties

★ Wilkes County, Georgia - north

★ Oglethorpe County, Georgia - north

★ Warren County, Georgia - southeast

★ Hancock County, Georgia - south

★ Greene County, Georgia - west

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 2,077 people, 870 households, and 559 families residing in the county. The population density was 4/km² (11/mi²). There were 1,085 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (6/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 60.33% Black or African American, 38.18% White, 0.05% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 0.67% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 870 households out of which 26.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.30% were married couples living together, 20.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.70% were non-families. 33.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 24.60% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 18.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $23,750, and the median income for a family was $27,800. Males had a median income of $26,380 versus $21,534 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,498. About 22.30% of families and 23.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.30% of those under age 18 and 23.40% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The major source of income for Taliaferro County and Crawfordville consists of fines collected by the Sheriff's department. The department has set a nefarious sort of speed trap where officers pull over cars with out of state license plates, regardless of speed, harrass and threaten the driver, issue a bogus citation, and wait for the cash to pour in. One particular deputy is very harsh, threatening women with jail time and manhandling them. It really is a great fundraiser, the receiver of the citation has no recourse--even a return to fight the citation results in being threatened by the county's judge.^[1]

In Film

Several Hollywood films have been shot in Taliaferro County. ''The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia'', starring Kristy McNichol and Dennis Quaid was largely filmed in Crawfordville. ''Paris Trout'', starring Dennis Hopper, was also primarily filmed in the county. More recently, the film ''Sweet Home Alabama'', starring Reese Witherspoon, was filmed in the county seat, Crawfordville.
Taliaferro County has escaped the development that other parts of Georgia have experienced. The county has steadily lost population over the years, even though the state as a whole has been one of the fastest growing in the nation. This has given the county a "stuck in time" quality.

Cities and towns

★ Crawfordville

★ Sharon

References

1.

External Links

★ Georgia Historical Markers in Taliaferro County