Pickens County, Georgia

Pickens County
Pickens County
County
	Pickens County Courthouse, Jasper
	Flag Seal
	Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
	Georgia's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 34°28′N 84°28′W / 34.46°N 84.46°W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	December 5, 1853; 172 years ago
Named for	Andrew Pickens
Seat	Jasper
Largest city	Jasper
Area
• Total	233 sq mi (600 km2)
• Land	232 sq mi (600 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (2 km2) 0.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	33,216
• Density	143/sq mi (55/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	9th, 14th
Website	pickenscountyga.gov

Pickens County is a county in the Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,216.^[1] The county seat is Jasper.^[2] Pickens County is part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia metropolitan statistical area.

History

The Georgia General Assembly passed an act on December 5, 1853, to create Pickens County from portions of Cherokee and Gilmer Counties.^[3] Pickens received several more land additions from Cherokee (1869) and Gilmer Counties (1858 and 1863); however, several sections of Pickens County have also been transferred to other counties: Dawson County (1857), Gordon County (1860), and Cherokee County (1870).

Pickens County is named for American Revolutionary War General Andrew Pickens.^[4]

During the Civil War, Company D of the 1st Georgia Infantry Battalion of the Union Army was raised in Pickens County.

Most of Pickens County's early industry revolved around marble. Georgia Marble Company is located in Marble Hill near Tate. The Tate elementary school is built out of marble. The marble was also used to make the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial. Most of the marble is white, but Pickens County is one of the few places in the world where pink marble is found. The marble is also used for tombstones for the United States military.

Pickens County has seen very rapid growth with the building of Georgia State Route 515, locally referred to as the "four-lane". Many new businesses and residents continue to move to Pickens County.^{[citation needed]}

Pickens County is home the Georgia Marble Festival.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 233 square miles (600 km²), of which 232 square miles (600 km²) are land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) (0.3%) is covered by water.^[5]

The county is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The highest point in Pickens County is the 3,288-ft summit of Mount Oglethorpe, the southernmost peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and for a number of years, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Other notable peaks in Pickens County include Sharp Top Mountain and Sharp Mountain. One of the best viewpoints of Sharp Top Mountain is from Grandview Lake Dam on Grandview Road.

The eastern half of Pickens County is located in the Etowah River subbasin of the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin). The western half of the county is located in the Coosawattee River sub-basin of the same larger ACT River Basin.^[6]

Adjacent counties

Gilmer County - north
Dawson County - east
Cherokee County - south
Bartow County - southwest
Gordon County - west

Communities

Cities

Jasper
Nelson (partially in Cherokee County)

Town

Talking Rock

Unincorporated communities

Private communities

A significant portion of the county population resides in gated master-planned communities that function similar to a municipality, with HOA fees to provide many municipal-type services independently from the county government.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	4,951		—
1870	5,317		7.4%
1880	6,790		27.7%
1890	8,182		20.5%
1900	8,641		5.6%
1910	9,041		4.6%
1920	8,222		−9.1%
1930	9,687		17.8%
1940	9,136		−5.7%
1950	8,855		−3.1%
1960	8,903		0.5%
1970	9,620		8.1%
1980	11,652		21.1%
1990	14,432		23.9%
2000	22,983		59.3%
2010	29,431		28.1%
2020	33,216		12.9%
2024 (est.)	37,113	^[8]	11.7%
U.S. Decennial Census^[9] 1790-1880^[10] 1890-1910^[11] 1920-1930^[12] 1930-1940^[13] 1940-1950^[14] 1960-1980^[15] 1980-2000^[16] 2010^[17]

Pickens County racial composition as of 2020^[18]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	31,468	94.11%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	176	0.53%
Native American	65	0.19%
Asian	103	0.31%
Pacific Islander	20	0.06%
Other/Mixed	1,521	4.55%
Hispanic or Latino	1,198	3.61%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 33,216 people, 11,868 households, and 8,539 families residing in the county.

Politics

Politically, Pickens County is an outlier in Georgia, one of the few ancestrally Republican counties of the state, due to Unionist sentiment in the county during the American Civil War.

United States presidential election results for Pickens County, Georgia^[19]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	17,281	82.62%	3,522	16.84%	112	0.54%
2020	14,110	82.17%	2,824	16.45%	238	1.39%
2016	11,651	82.51%	1,979	14.02%	490	3.47%
2012	10,547	83.03%	1,975	15.55%	180	1.42%
2008	10,004	78.08%	2,595	20.25%	214	1.67%
2004	8,115	76.28%	2,444	22.97%	80	0.75%
2000	5,488	66.92%	2,489	30.35%	224	2.73%
1996	3,041	46.31%	2,693	41.01%	832	12.67%
1992	2,332	40.57%	2,359	41.04%	1,057	18.39%
1988	3,021	67.52%	1,430	31.96%	23	0.51%
1984	2,801	67.82%	1,329	32.18%	0	0.00%
1980	1,612	39.54%	2,358	57.84%	107	2.62%
1976	973	27.45%	2,571	72.55%	0	0.00%
1972	2,101	80.16%	520	19.84%	0	0.00%
1968	1,659	44.50%	677	18.16%	1,392	37.34%
1964	1,955	50.32%	1,930	49.68%	0	0.00%
1960	1,943	56.88%	1,473	43.12%	0	0.00%
1956	2,341	65.45%	1,236	34.55%	0	0.00%
1952	1,328	50.30%	1,312	49.70%	0	0.00%
1948	1,258	46.22%	1,239	45.52%	225	8.27%
1944	795	50.48%	780	49.52%	0	0.00%
1940	884	43.76%	1,124	55.64%	12	0.59%
1936	1,053	46.27%	1,223	53.73%	0	0.00%
1932	743	33.54%	1,472	66.46%	0	0.00%
1928	1,319	70.84%	543	29.16%	0	0.00%
1924	1,149	60.25%	754	39.54%	4	0.21%
1920	830	65.51%	437	34.49%	0	0.00%
1916	344	27.28%	497	39.41%	420	33.31%
1912	190	20.41%	324	34.80%	417	44.79%