Decatur County, Georgia

Decatur County
Decatur County
County
	Decatur County Courthouse in Bainbridge
	Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
	Georgia's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 30°53′N 84°35′W / 30.88°N 84.58°W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	1823; 201 years ago
Named for	Stephen Decatur
Seat	Bainbridge
Largest city	Bainbridge
Area
• Total	623 sq mi (1,610 km2)
• Land	597 sq mi (1,550 km2)
• Water	26 sq mi (70 km2) 4.2%
Population (2020)
• Total	29,367
• Density	49/sq mi (19/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.decaturcountyga.gov

Decatur County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,367.^[1] The county seat is Bainbridge.^[2]

Decatur County comprises the Bainbridge, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA), which is included in the Tallahassee—Bainbridge, FL-GA Combined Statistical Area.

History

The county was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 8, 1823, from a portion of Early County.^[3] Three other counties were created from land that was originally part of Decatur County.

In 1825, a portion of Decatur was used in the creation of Thomas County. In 1905, another portion of Decatur was used in the creation of part of Grady County. In 1920, the western portion of Decatur County was used to form Seminole County in its entirety.

Decatur County is named for United States Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur, a hero of the War of 1812.^[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 623 square miles (1,610 km²), of which 597 square miles (1,550 km²) is land and 26 square miles (67 km²) (4.2%) is water.^[5]

The bulk of Decatur County, from northeast to southwest, and centered on Bainbridge, is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). Almost all of the county's western border is located in the Spring Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin. The southwestern portion of Decatur County, centered on Attapulgus, and bordered on the west by State Route 302, is located on the Lower Ochlockonee River sub-basin of the larger Ochlockonee River basin. Finally, the county's southwestern corner, west of State Route 302, is located in the Apalachicola River sub-basin of the same larger ACF River basin.^[6]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Miller County - north
Mitchell County - northeast
Baker County - northeast
Grady County - east
Gadsden County, Florida - south
Seminole County - west

Communities

Cities

Town

Brinson

Census-Designated Place

Faceville

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	3,854		—
1840	5,872		52.4%
1850	8,262		40.7%
1860	11,922		44.3%
1870	15,183		27.4%
1880	19,072		25.6%
1890	19,949		4.6%
1900	29,454		47.6%
1910	29,045		−1.4%
1920	31,785		9.4%
1930	23,622		−25.7%
1940	22,234		−5.9%
1950	23,620		6.2%
1960	25,203		6.7%
1970	22,310		−11.5%
1980	25,495		14.3%
1990	25,511		0.1%
2000	28,240		10.7%
2010	27,842		−1.4%
2020	29,367		5.5%
2023 (est.)	29,087	^[7]	−1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8] 1790-1880^[9] 1890-1910^[10] 1920-1930^[11] 1930-1940^[12] 1940-1950^[13] 1960-1980^[14] 1980-2000^[15] 2010^[16]

Decatur County racial makeup as of 2020^[17]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White	14,280	48.63%
Black or African American	12,200	41.54%
Native American	64	0.22%
Asian	183	0.62%
Pacific Islander	16	0.05%
Other/Mixed	713	2.43%
Hispanic or Latino	1,911	6.51%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 29,367 people, 10,084 households, and 7,113 families residing in the county.

Education

Decatur County School District is the local school district with Bainbridge High School being the local high school.

Spring Creek Charter Academy was formed in 2019 and includes grades Pre-K through 9th Grade as of 2023–2024 school year with the next year being added as each grade progresses through the years.

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has a satellite campus in Bainbridge. Southern Regional Technical College has a satellite campus in Bainbridge serving the county.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Decatur County, Georgia^[18]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	6,755	58.09%	4,782	41.12%	91	0.78%
2016	6,020	58.35%	4,124	39.97%	173	1.68%
2012	5,824	55.47%	4,591	43.72%	85	0.81%
2008	5,890	56.72%	4,424	42.60%	71	0.68%
2004	5,348	59.71%	3,577	39.94%	31	0.35%
2000	4,187	54.75%	3,398	44.43%	63	0.82%
1996	3,035	44.65%	3,245	47.74%	517	7.61%
1992	3,142	42.35%	3,198	43.11%	1,079	14.54%
1988	3,866	61.95%	2,348	37.62%	27	0.43%
1984	4,134	60.88%	2,656	39.12%	0	0.00%
1980	2,919	46.76%	3,242	51.93%	82	1.31%
1976	2,500	40.09%	3,736	59.91%	0	0.00%
1972	4,292	78.21%	1,196	21.79%	0	0.00%
1968	749	10.62%	1,729	24.51%	4,576	64.87%
1964	5,060	71.55%	2,011	28.44%	1	0.01%
1960	918	24.82%	2,780	75.18%	0	0.00%
1956	1,062	22.31%	3,699	77.69%	0	0.00%
1952	1,001	27.95%	2,581	72.05%	0	0.00%
1948	296	13.03%	1,209	53.21%	767	33.76%
1944	294	15.47%	1,606	84.53%	0	0.00%
1940	217	10.85%	1,781	89.05%	2	0.10%
1936	79	3.85%	1,965	95.71%	9	0.44%
1932	65	5.17%	1,169	93.00%	23	1.83%
1928	1,156	61.16%	734	38.84%	0	0.00%
1924	151	16.38%	637	69.09%	134	14.53%
1920	300	23.40%	982	76.60%	0	0.00%
1916	116	8.94%	1,147	88.37%	35	2.70%
1912	34	6.00%	500	88.18%	33	5.82%