Carnesville is a city in Franklin County, Georgia, United States, and the county seat. Located in the center of Franklin County in northeastern Georgia, approximately from Atlanta, Carnesville had a population of 713 as of 2020. It is the fourth most populous city in the county.
History
The original inhabitants of the area where Carnesville sits in the Piedmont region were the Cherokee and Creek indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Yet, over the years, the indigenous people became indebted to the settlers, which led to the Treaty of Augusta in 1773 and 1783, where they relinquished their claim over the land to the new settlers.
thumb|left|The Franklin County Courthouse is one of twelve sites in Carnesville listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Franklin County, Georgia|National Register of Historic Places.]]
In 1805, the county seat, Carnesville, was laid out and named in honor of Thomas Petters Carnes, a lawyer and politician of the American Revolutionary War era. In 1806, Carnesville was named the permanent county seat in Franklin County, Georgia. Carnesville was incorporated as a town in 1819 and subsequently enlarged to a city in 1901.
Carnesville was thinly settled for a considerable time after being laid out. About 80 people lived in the city at the time of its incorporation. The area around Carnesville had a free population of 9,156 and a slave population of 1,056 by 1810.
Although primarily settled by the English, some Scotch-Irish people came from Pennsylvania into western North Carolina and South Carolina. Their children came to Franklin County, Georgia, but many of pure English origin came with them.
Growing rapidly during the American Civil War era, Carnesville grew to about 240 people, while the area around Carnesville had a free population of 9,131 and a slave population of 2,382 by 1850.
At its height, the city prospered. The city engaged to some extent in manufacturing. The area around Carnesville was an agricultural center, with farms producing crops, like cotton, corn, potatoes, sorghum, and small grains.
Geography
Carnesville is located in the center of Franklin County in northeastern Georgia, approximately northeast of Atlanta, Georgia, north of Athens, Georgia, and southwest of Greenville, South Carolina.
Carnesville is in the watershed of the Broad River, a tributary of the Savannah River. Two stems of the river, the North Fork Broad River and Middle Fork Broad River, flow from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Stephens County, Georgia around Carnesville.
Interstate 85 passes northwest of the city, with access from Exit 164 and Exit 166. Carnesville has Georgia State Route 59 and Georgia State Route 106 as its south-to-north thoroughfares and Georgia State Route 145 as its southeast-to-northeast thoroughfares.
Carnesville's hardiness zone is 8a and has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa). It is served by the Carnesville United States Postal Service.
Demographics
As of the 2020 census, FCSS is the largest employer in Franklin County.
Notable people
- James Albert Bray (1870–1944), American bishop, academic administrator and college president
- Spurgeon Ferdinand "Spud" Chandler; pitcher for the New York Yankees (1937–1947) and American League MVP (1943)
- William Kennedy, pitcher for the Cleveland Indians (1948), St. Louis Browns (1948–1951), Chicago White Sox (1952), Boston Red Sox (1953), and Cincinnati Redlegs (1956–1957)
- Helen Dortch Longstreet, known as the "Fighting Lady", the second wife of Confederate General James Longstreet; American social advocate for civil rights and the first woman who tried to secure a public office in the state of Georgia
- William Oscar Payne; professor of history and athletic director at the University of Georgia
- John M. Sandidge; congressman from the state of Louisiana
- Samuel Joelah Tribble; member of the 62nd U.S. Congress
- Pup Phillips; All-American center for Georgia Tech football, member of 1917 national championship team
- Kyle Myers, known as FPSRussia; YouTuber, internet celebrity, host of the FPSRussia channel, and co-host of the Painkiller Already podcast
- Brent Honeywell Jr., professional baseball player