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Ware County, Georgia

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Ware County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,251.[1] The county seat and only incorporated place is Waycross.[2] Ware County is part of the Waycross, Georgia micropolitan statistical area.

Ware County
County
Ware County Courthouse in Waycross
Ware County Courthouse in Waycross
Official seal of Ware County
Seal
Map of Georgia highlighting Ware 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°03′N 82°25′W / 31.05°N 82.42°W / 31.05; -82.42
Country United States
State Georgia
FoundedDecember 15, 1824; 200 years ago (1824-12-15)
Named forNicholas Ware
SeatWaycross
Largest cityWaycross
Area
 • Total
908 sq mi (2,350 km2)
 • Land892 sq mi (2,310 km2)
 • Water16 sq mi (40 km2)  1.7%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
36,251
 • Density41/sq mi (16/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district1st
Websitewarecountyga.gov
Laura S. Walker State Park

History

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Ware County, Georgia's 60th county, was created on December 15, 1824, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly from land that was originally part of Appling County.

The county is named for Nicholas Ware, the mayor of Augusta, Georgia from (1819–1821) and United States Senator who represented Georgia from 1821 until his death in 1824.

Several counties were later created from parts of the original Ware County borders:

Ware County was home to Laura S. Walker (1861-1955) a noted author and conservationist. Walker promoted a comprehensive program of forestry activity, including the establishment of forest parks. She erected markers and monuments along old trails and at historic sites, in Waycross and Ware County so that local history would not be forgotten. Walker wrote three books about the land and history of her home. They are: History of Ware County, Georgia[3] About "Old Okefenåok"[4] and Doctors of Primitive Times and Horse and Buggy Days of Ware County.[5]

An effort to recognize her work culminated in President Franklin D. Roosevelt issuing a proclamation to establish the Laura S. Walker National Park, located in Ware County, in her honor. She was the only living person for whom a state or national park was named.[6] In 1937, the federal government purchased distressed farmland for the park.[7][8] Work on the park was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1941, the national park was deeded over to Georgia, becoming the State's 13th state park.[8]

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 908 square miles (2,350 km2), of which 892 square miles (2,310 km2) is land and 16 square miles (41 km2) (1.7%) is water.[9] It is the largest county in Georgia by area. A large portion of the county lies within the Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected areas.

More than half of Ware County, made up by the western half of the southern portion of the county, the land bridge to the northern portion of the county, and the southern and western portion of the northern section of the county, is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The eastern half of the southern portion of Ware County is located in the St. Marys River sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla River basin. The rest of the county, from just southeast to north and west of Waycross, is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the same St. Marys-Satilla River basin.[10]

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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National protected area

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Communities

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City

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Census-designated places

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Unincorporated communities

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18301,205—
18402,32392.8%
18503,88867.4%
18602,200−43.4%
18702,2863.9%
18804,15981.9%
18908,811111.9%
190013,76156.2%
191022,95766.8%
192028,36123.5%
193026,558−6.4%
194027,9295.2%
195030,2898.4%
196034,21913.0%
197033,525−2.0%
198037,18010.9%
199035,471−4.6%
200035,4830.0%
201036,3122.3%
202036,251−0.2%
2023 (est.)36,243[11]0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[12]
1790-1880[13] 1890-1910[14]
1920-1930[15] 1930-1940[16]
1940-1950[17] 1960-1980[18]
1980-2000[19] 2010[20]
Ware County racial composition (2020)[21]
Race Num. Perc.
White 22,275 61.45%
Black or African American 10,703 29.52%
Native American 77 0.21%
Asian 333 0.92%
Pacific Islander 18 0.05%
Other/Mixed 1,233 3.4%
Hispanic or Latino 1,612 4.45%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 36,251 people, 13,823 households, and 8,909 families residing in the county.

Education

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High schools

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Middle schools

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  • Ware County Middle School, Waycross
  • Waycross Middle School, Waycross

Elementary schools

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  • Wacona Elementary School, Waycross
  • Center Elementary School, Waycross
  • Williams Heights Elementary School, Waycross
  • Memorial Drive Elementary School, Waycross
  • Ruskin Elementary School, Waycross
  • Waresboro Elementary School, Waycross

Preschools

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  • DAFFODIL Preschool, Waycross

Private schools

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  • Southside Christian School

Higher education

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Politics

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Ware County has favored the Republican Party in recent presidential elections, although it was a strongly Democratic Solid South county until the 1980s. In the 1992 election, Ware County gave Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican George H. W. Bush an exact tie, the most recent time in American history a county was tied between the two major party presidential candidates.

United States presidential election results for Ware County, Georgia[22]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2024 10,279 71.03% 4,068 28.11% 125 0.86%
2020 9,903 69.79% 4,169 29.38% 117 0.82%
2016 8,513 69.87% 3,440 28.23% 231 1.90%
2012 7,941 66.44% 3,900 32.63% 112 0.94%
2008 8,311 66.83% 4,034 32.44% 91 0.73%
2004 7,790 68.99% 3,449 30.55% 52 0.46%
2000 6,099 63.35% 3,480 36.14% 49 0.51%
1996 4,746 49.55% 4,171 43.54% 662 6.91%
1992 4,573 43.87% 4,573 43.87% 1,278 12.26%
1988 4,819 52.59% 4,292 46.84% 52 0.57%
1984 5,547 55.57% 4,435 44.43% 0 0.00%
1980 3,715 36.65% 6,307 62.22% 115 1.13%
1976 2,661 25.64% 7,719 74.36% 0 0.00%
1972 6,578 79.23% 1,724 20.77% 0 0.00%
1968 2,047 20.07% 2,255 22.11% 5,895 57.81%
1964 4,948 48.81% 5,189 51.19% 0 0.00%
1960 2,235 30.47% 5,099 69.53% 0 0.00%
1956 2,276 27.88% 5,888 72.12% 0 0.00%
1952 2,418 30.06% 5,627 69.94% 0 0.00%
1948 655 14.09% 2,611 56.15% 1,384 29.76%
1944 459 16.59% 2,306 83.34% 2 0.07%
1940 308 10.31% 2,672 89.48% 6 0.20%
1936 256 9.06% 2,566 90.77% 5 0.18%
1932 205 7.53% 2,504 91.96% 14 0.51%
1928 1,339 48.60% 1,416 51.40% 0 0.00%
1924 216 10.82% 1,497 75.00% 283 14.18%
1920 215 19.27% 901 80.73% 0 0.00%
1916 59 4.69% 1,066 84.74% 133 10.57%
1912 39 3.66% 972 91.27% 54 5.07%
1908 190 18.85% 771 76.49% 47 4.66%
1904 158 19.46% 635 78.20% 19 2.34%
1900 107 15.11% 601 84.89% 0 0.00%
1896 330 36.11% 545 59.63% 39 4.27%
1892 262 23.06% 775 68.22% 99 8.71%
1888 186 32.52% 369 64.51% 17 2.97%
1884 179 32.90% 365 67.10% 0 0.00%
1880 201 36.28% 353 63.72% 0 0.00%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Ware County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Laura Singleton Walker (1990). History of Ware County, Georgia. Southern Historical Press. ISBN 978-0-89308-106-5.
  4. ^ Laura Singleton Walker; Sara Singleton King (1947). About "Old Okefenåok".
  5. ^ Laura Singleton Walker (1940). Doctors of Primitive Times and Horse and Buggy Days of Ware County.
  6. ^ "Laura S. Walker: The Woman Behind the Park". Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  7. ^ Thomas J. Straka; S. Knight Cox; Heather T. Irwin. "Current Use of Federal Land Utilization Projects Granted to State and Local Agencies" (PDF). Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Clemson University. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Laura S. Walker State Park Established 1941" (PDF). Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  9. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  10. ^ "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 27, 2015.
  11. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  12. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
  13. ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
  14. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
  15. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
  16. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
  17. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
  18. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
  19. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
  20. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  21. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  22. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
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