Lee County, Georgia

Lee County
County
Lee County courthouse in Leesburg
Lee County courthouse in Leesburg
Map of Georgia highlighting Lee County
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Map of the United States highlighting Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°47′N 84°08′W / 31.78°N 84.14°W / 31.78; -84.14
Country United States
State Georgia
FoundedJune 9, 1825; 199 years ago (1825-06-09)
Named forHenry Lee III
SeatLeesburg
Largest cityLeesburg
Area
 • Total362 sq mi (940 km2)
 • Land356 sq mi (920 km2)
 • Water5.9 sq mi (15 km2)  1.6%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total33,163
 • Density93/sq mi (36/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district2nd
Websitewww.lee.ga.us

Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,163.[1] The county was established in 1825 and its county seat is Leesburg.[2] Lee County is included in the Albany, GA metropolitan statistical area.

History

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The land for Lee, Muscogee, Troup, Coweta, and Carroll counties was ceded by the Creek people in the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs. The counties' boundaries were created by the Georgia General Assembly on June 9, but they were not named until December 14, 1826.[3] The county was named in honor of Henry Lee III, popularly known as "Light-Horse Harry," the father of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.[4] On January 29, 1916, five African American men were lynched; they were taken from the Worth county jail and hung, their bodies riddled with bullets.[5] The Leesburg Stockade occurred in Lee County.

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 362 square miles (940 km2), of which 356 square miles (920 km2) is land and 5.9 square miles (15 km2) (1.6%) is water.[6] Most of the western three-quarters of Lee County is located in the Kinchafoonee-Muckalee sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The eastern quarter of the county is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin, while a very small corner in the south of Lee County is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the same larger ACF River Basin. An even smaller southwestern corner is located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the ACF River Basin.[7]

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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Communities

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18301,680—
18404,520169.0%
18506,66047.3%
18607,1968.0%
18709,56732.9%
188010,57710.6%
18909,074−14.2%
190010,34414.0%
191011,67912.9%
192010,904−6.6%
19308,328−23.6%
19407,837−5.9%
19506,674−14.8%
19606,204−7.0%
19707,04413.5%
198011,68465.9%
199016,25039.1%
200024,75752.4%
201028,29814.3%
202033,16317.2%
2023 (est.)33,872[8]2.1%
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]
Lee County racial composition as of 2020[18]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 22,758 68.62%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 7,331 22.11%
Native American 57 0.17%
Asian 850 2.56%
Pacific Islander 9 0.03%
Other/Mixed 1,205 3.63%
Hispanic or Latino 953 2.87%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 33,163 people, 10,226 households, and 7,872 families residing in the county.

Education

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Lee County School District headquarters

Public schools are operated by the Lee County School District. Lee County High School is the sole high school of the district.

Politics

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Historically, Lee County was part of the solidly Democratic Solid South[19] where control of the dominant black population dictated unified white voting for Democratic candidates due to the Republican association with Reconstruction and black political power. However, with a combination of the Great Migration and white in-migration, the black share of the county's population has declined and it is now powerfully Republican, having voted Republican in every presidential election since 1964, with the exception of 1968 and 1976 when it backed Southern “favorite sons” George Wallace and Jimmy Carter.

United States presidential election results for Lee County, Georgia[20]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 12,007 71.82% 4,558 27.26% 154 0.92%
2016 10,646 74.73% 3,170 22.25% 430 3.02%
2012 10,314 75.58% 3,196 23.42% 136 1.00%
2008 9,925 75.69% 3,100 23.64% 87 0.66%
2004 8,201 78.64% 2,182 20.92% 45 0.43%
2000 5,872 74.48% 1,936 24.56% 76 0.96%
1996 3,983 61.15% 2,005 30.78% 525 8.06%
1992 3,061 51.81% 1,811 30.65% 1,036 17.54%
1988 2,875 74.04% 995 25.62% 13 0.33%
1984 2,972 69.83% 1,284 30.17% 0 0.00%
1980 1,942 53.05% 1,670 45.62% 49 1.34%
1976 1,110 39.13% 1,727 60.87% 0 0.00%
1972 1,441 78.70% 390 21.30% 0 0.00%
1968 389 17.18% 674 29.77% 1,201 53.05%
1964 1,041 81.01% 244 18.99% 0 0.00%
1960 191 32.10% 404 67.90% 0 0.00%
1956 79 12.93% 532 87.07% 0 0.00%
1952 205 34.45% 390 65.55% 0 0.00%
1948 36 7.69% 215 45.94% 217 46.37%
1944 27 5.70% 447 94.30% 0 0.00%
1940 17 3.91% 416 95.63% 2 0.46%
1936 1 0.20% 490 99.59% 1 0.20%
1932 6 2.33% 252 97.67% 0 0.00%
1928 45 13.55% 287 86.45% 0 0.00%
1924 23 9.39% 211 86.12% 11 4.49%
1920 19 7.04% 251 92.96% 0 0.00%
1916 4 1.24% 316 97.83% 3 0.93%
1912 5 2.22% 213 94.67% 7 3.11%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Lee County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Hellmann, Paul T. (May 13, 2013). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. p. 236. ISBN 978-1135948597. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  4. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 184.
  5. ^ "Coroner Probes Lynching in Lee". Atlanta Constitution. January 22, 1916. p. 9.
  6. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  7. ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  8. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  9. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
  10. ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
  11. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
  12. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
  13. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
  14. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
  15. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
  16. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
  17. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  18. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  19. ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 267 ISBN 9780691163246
  20. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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