Forsyth County, Georgia

Forsyth County ( or ) is a county in the Northeast region of the U.S. state of Georgia. Suburban and exurban in character, Forsyth County lies within the Atlanta metropolitan area. The county's only incorporated city and county seat is Cumming.

At the 2020 census, the population was 251,283. Forsyth was the fastest-growing county in Georgia and the 15th fastest-growing county in the United States between 2010 and 2019.

In the 1980s, the county attracted national media attention as the site of large civil rights demonstrations and counter-demonstrations. Organizers hoped to dispel the county's image as a sundown county. During the 1987 Forsyth County protests officials kept peace with police officers and National Guard protecting the event as thousands of marchers protested the segregation in the county.

From 2007 to 2009, the county received national attention because of a severe drought. Water supplies for the Atlanta area and downstream areas of Alabama and Florida were threatened. This followed a more severe drought in 2007 and 2008, and flooding in 2009. Flooding occurred in 2013, and severe drought again in 2016. Georgia, Alabama and Florida have been in a tri-state water dispute since 1990 over apportionment of water flow from Lake Lanier, which forms the eastern border of the county and is regulated by the Army Corps of Engineers as a federal project.

History

thumb|175px|A Mississippian priest, with a ceremonial flint mace and severed head. Artist Herb Roe, based on a repoussé copper plate.

Before European contact

For thousands of years, varying indigenous cultures lived in this area along the Etowah River. Starting near the end of the first millennium, Mound Builders of the Mississippian culture settled in this area; they built earthwork mound structures at nearby Etowah in present-day Bartow County, and large communities along the Etowah River in neighboring Cherokee County. They disappeared about 1500 AD.

Members of the Iroquoian-speaking Cherokee Nation migrated into the area from the North, possibly from the Great Lakes area. They settled in the territory that would become Forsyth County and throughout upper Georgia and Alabama, also having settlements or towns in present-day Tennessee and western North Carolina.

19th century

After the discovery of gold by European Americans in the surrounding area in 1829, numerous settlers moved into the area. They increased the pressure on the state and federal government to have the Cherokee and other Native Americans removed to west of the Mississippi River, in order to extinguish their land claims and make land available for purchase. The Cherokee were forced to relocate during what was called the Trail of Tears.

Forsyth County was named after John Forsyth, Governor of Georgia from 1827 to 1829 and Secretary of State under Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. For many years, much of this hill country was farmed by yeomen farmers, who owned few or no slaves.

20th century

thumb|View of northern Forsyth County from [[Sawnee Mountain's Indian Seats]]

The county population of about 10,000 was 90 percent White in the early 20th century, and residents still depended on agriculture. Its more than 1,000 blacks included 440 persons classified as mixed race on the census, indicating a continuing history of racial mixing that dated to slavery times.

Lynching and other violence driving non-white people from the county

After two different incidents in September 1912, in which black men were alleged to have assaulted white women, tensions rose in the county.

In the first case, a woman claimed she awoke to find two black men in her bedroom. A black preacher was later assaulted by whites for making disparaging comments about the victim. The sheriff gained support from the governor, who sent more than 20 National Guard troops to keep peace. The suspects were never tried, for lack of evidence. In the second case, a white woman was attacked and raped, allegedly by black men; she later died of her injuries. A lynch mob stormed the Cumming county jail and dragged out one of the suspects, Rob Edwards. They shot him and hung his body in the town square. At trial in early October, two black youths under the age of 18 were quickly convicted by an all-white jury; they were executed by hanging later that month.

Afterward, whites harassed and intimidated blacks in Forsyth and neighboring counties. Within weeks, they forced most of the blacks to leave the region in fear of their lives, losing land and personal property that was never recovered.

By 1987, the county was "all white". In 1997, African Americans numbered just 39 in a population of 75,739. A small civil rights march by African Americans in the county seat of Cumming in January 1987 was attacked by people throwing rocks, dirt and bottles. A week later another, much larger march took place, with civil rights activists going from Atlanta to Cumming protected by police and the National Guard. Thousands of protesters joined a counter-demonstration. Local people said conditions had been improving for minorities, but whites appeared to be reacting to the march out of fear.

21st century

Forsyth County continued to be developed for subdivisions, industry and related businesses. By 2008 it had been ranked for several years among the top ten fastest-growing counties of the United States. Many new subdivisions have been constructed, several around top-quality golf courses. The county's proximity to Atlanta and the Blue Ridge Mountains, and bordering Lake Sidney Lanier, has attracted many new residents. More than 60% of the current population either lived elsewhere in 1987 or had not yet been born.

The growth has put a strain on water supplies, especially during area droughts in the 21st century. Suburban growth has greatly increased water consumption in the area to maintain lawns and gardens, and supply new households. The region had severe droughts in 2007-2008 that threatened downriver water supplies in Alabama and Florida, in addition to Atlanta, in 2013 and in 2016. Bans on outdoor use of water were put in place, and the area has encouraged conversion of toilets and appliances to those that use less water. A severe drought in southern Forsyth County was declared by the end of June 2016. Several county organizations work to plan growth that can sustain the high quality of life in the area.

Racial history

The changing dynamics between white and black citizens after the Civil War resulted in tensions across the southern United States as whites tried to maintain dominance. They used violence to intimidate black voters and regain control of state legislatures, ending Reconstruction. At the turn of the 20th century, white Democrats dominated the Georgia legislature and passed laws increasing barriers to voter registration and voting, effectively disenfranchising most blacks in the state. Unable to vote, they were also excluded from juries. The white legislators passed racial segregation and other Jim Crow laws. Racial tensions increased as rural workers started to move to industrializing cities. Whites rioted against blacks in the 1906 Atlanta race massacre, resulting in more than 20 dead.

Forsyth County had a county population with a minority of ethnic African residents. The 1910 census recorded 10,847 white, 658 black, and 440 mulatto (mixed-race) residents, making the number of black citizens slightly more than 10% (as classified under the binary system of the South that classified all people of any African descent as Negro or black). They tended to work as sharecroppers, with some women working as domestic servants, and struggled with poverty.

In early September 1912 a white woman said she was the victim of an attempted rape by two black men, but they left before she was hurt. On September 7, 1912, police arrested five black men in connection with the assault, including Tony Howell and Isaiah Pirkle. That same afternoon members of numerous area black churches gathered for a barbecue just outside the county seat of Cumming. Preacher Grant Smith was heard to question the alleged victim's account, saying that perhaps she had been caught and had lied about what was actually a consensual relationship with a black man. (The mixed-race population in the county showed that whites and blacks had relationships; most were between white men and black or mixed-race women, which the whites tried to treat as a secret.) Whites horse-whipped Smith outside the courthouse, where he was rescued by police and taken into custody for his safety.

They locked him in the courthouse for safety. Rumors spread on both sides; whites said that the blacks threatened to dynamite the town. White residents gathered a lynch mob of 500 men (when Cumming had only 300 residents in total), with men coming to join from surrounding areas. They talked of lynching the black citizens held at the jail. By 1:30 p.m., the Sheriff deputized 25 men and called the Governor for help, who ordered in 23 National Guardsmen from nearby Gainesville, Georgia.

The next day, September 8, Mae Crow, a 19-year-old white woman, was allegedly attacked in a nearby community while walking to her aunt's house. She was allegedly pulled into the woods and assaulted. According to later testimony, she was allegedly raped by Ernest Knox, a 16-year-old black boy who worked as a hired hand at a neighbor's farm. Knox was said to have told friends about the incident: Oscar Daniel (17), his sister Trussie (Jane) Daniel (21), and her live-in boyfriend Rob Edwards (24), who also went to the scene. They left the girl, thinking she had died and being afraid to get involved. Crow was found the next day by a search party; whites said later that she had regained consciousness briefly and named Knox as her attacker, but no newspaper reported this. A small hand mirror found at the scene was recognized as belonging to Knox; police used it to connect him to the crime and arrested him that morning. Police said he confessed fully. Because of the trouble two days before in Cumming, they took Knox to the jail in Gainesville. Hearing threats of a lynch mob there, officials moved him to a jail in Atlanta.

The following day, Knox's friends were arrested in connection with the Mae Crow assault. Oscar Daniel and Rob Edwards were suspects in rape, and Trussie Daniel was held for not reporting the crime and as an accomplice. Ed Collins, a black neighbor, was picked up and held as a witness. They were detained in the small Cumming jail. The Atlanta Journal reported that Sheriff Reid drove through a mob of 2,000 people to get the suspects to the jail.

thumb|right|The Rob Edwards lynching made front-page news in all the Atlanta papers. Many newspapers first reported that Ed Collins was lynched because the body was so damaged that it could not be identified.

Within a few hours on September 9, the white mob increased to 4,000 people, who stormed the jail. Sheriff Reid was not there, having strategically left deputy Mitchell Lummus alone to protect the prisoners. Deputy Lummus hid most of them, but Rob Edwards was shot and killed by the mob while still in his cell. They dragged him out, mutilated him, and dragged his body behind a wagon, before hanging him from a telephone pole at the northwest corner of the Square. The coroner's inquest, held on September 18, 1912, found the cause of death to be a gunshot by an unknown assailant.

Crow died in the hospital two weeks later on September 23, 1912. The cause of death was listed as pneumonia. Knox and Daniel were indicted for rape and murder on September 30. Trussie Daniel and Ed Collins were both charged as accomplices.

thumb|Photo taken October 2, 1912. Although not identified by the newspaper they are believed to be: (Left to Right) Trussie (Jane) Daniel, Oscar Daniel, Tony Howell (defendant in Ellen Grice rape), Ed Collins (witness), Isaiah Pirkle (witness for Howell), and Ernest Knox All five trials, (including Tony Howell for the Ellen Grice case) were set for October 3 in Cumming, the county seat. The prisoners were escorted by four companies of the state militia by train to the Buford, Georgia station, and walked the remaining .

The trial of Tony Howell was postponed due to the lack of evidence. Howell had an alibi, with Isaiah Pirkle as a witness. The case would never go to trial, and was eventually dismissed.

As part of a plea bargain, Trussie Daniel changed her story and agreed to turn state's witness. Charges against her and Collins were dropped, in exchange for her testimony against Knox, her brother Oscar, and Edwards. The all-white jury deliberated 16 minutes and returned a verdict of guilty in Knox's case. Although no confession or other evidence linked Oscar Daniel to the crime, his sister's testimony was fatal. The all-white jury pronounced him guilty that night.

On the following day, October 4, both teenagers were sentenced to death by hanging, scheduled for October 25. State law prohibited public hangings. The scheduled execution was to be viewed only by the victim's family, a minister, and law officers. Gallows were built off the square in Cumming. A fence erected around the gallows was burned down the night before the execution. A crowd estimated at between 5,000 and 8,000 gathered to watch the hanging of the two youths, at a time when the total county population was around 12,000.

Marches and demonstrations of the 1980s

More ethnically diverse citizens had begun in recent years to migrate to the county, particularly in the affluent southern portion. However, racial tension continued to be a part of the county's image into the early 1990s. On January 17, 1987, civil rights activists marched in Cumming, and a counter-demonstration was made by a branch of the Ku Klux Klan, most of whom were not residents of the county, as well as others who objected to the march. According to a story published in The New York Times on January 18, four marchers were slightly injured by stones and bottles thrown at them. Eight people from the counter-demonstration, all white, were arrested. The charges included trespassing and carrying concealed weapons. arrived, they discovered that most of the Cumming residents had left town for the day. Some had boarded up their windows because they feared violence. Marchers wound slowly through streets lined by hundreds of armed National Guardsmen, many of them black. Forsyth County subsequently charged large fees for parade permits until the practice was overturned in Forsyth County, Georgia v. The Nationalist Movement (505 U.S. 123) in the Supreme Court of the United States on June 19, 1992.

Geography

thumb|Aerial view of Forsyth County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (9.4%) is water.

The eastern two-thirds of Forsyth County are located in the Upper Chattahoochee River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin), while the northwestern third of the county is located in the Etowah River sub-basin of the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin).

Adjacent counties

Dawson County - north
Hall County - east
Gwinnett County - southeast
Fulton County - southwest
Cherokee County - northwest

National protected areas

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (part)

Communities

City

Cumming (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

With only one officially incorporated city, the majority of Forsyth County citizens live in areas with zip codes assigned to cities in surrounding counties. In addition, there are several unincorporated communities throughout the county.

Big Creek
Coal Mountain
Chestatee
Daves Creek
Drew
Ducktown
Heardville
Hightower
Matt
Oscarville
Pirkle Woods
Silver City

Some areas in Forsyth County have Suwanee postal addresses, but the city proper of Suwanee is in Gwinnett County.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Forsyth County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|27,664

|43,257

|90,820

|140,943

|style='background: #ffffe6; |159,407

|98.95%

|98.13%

|92.29%

|80.30%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |63.44%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|426

|4,287

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,455

|0.00%

|0.02%

|0.43%

|2.44%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.16%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|126

|92

|200

|362

|style='background: #ffffe6; |456

|0.45%

|0.21%

|0.20%

|0.21%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.18%

|Asian alone (NH)

|16

|81

|771

|10,875

|style='background: #ffffe6; |45,117

|0.06%

|0.18%

|0.78%

|6.20%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |17.95%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|10

|54

|style='background: #ffffe6; |85

|0.01%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%

|Other race alone (NH)

|15

|50

|316

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,255

|0.05%

|0.02%

|0.05%

|0.18%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.50%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|653

|2,124

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,282

|0.66%

|1.21%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.69%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|136

|635

|5,477

|16,550

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25,226

|0.49%

|1.44%

|5.57%

|9.43%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.04%

|Total

|27,958

|44,083

|98,407

|175,511

|style='background: #ffffe6; |251,283

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 251,283. The median age was 38.7 years. 27.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.8 males age 18 and over. 92.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 7.7% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 65.1% White, 4.3% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 18.0% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.1% from some other race, and 8.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.0% of the population.

There were 83,551 households in the county, of which 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 17.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 15.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Private K-12 education

Cornerstone Schools
Covenant Christian Academy
Fideles Christian School
Friendship Christian School
Horizon Christian Academy
Ivy League Montessori School
Lakeview Academy
McGinnis Woods School
Montessori Academy at Sharon Springs
Pinecrest Academy

Public K-12 education

Forsyth County is served by Forsyth County Schools. FCS serves over 51,000 students and is the largest employer in the county with over 8000 full-time employees and substitutes. Out of 180 school districts, FCS is the seventh largest school system in Georgia. FCS is home to 41 schools – twenty-two elementary, eleven middle, seven high schools, and one college and career high school, as well as the Academies for Creative Education (A.C.E) that houses one school, iAchieve Virtual Academy, FCS' 6–12 online school, and two programs, Gateway Academy (the alternative program for middle and high school students) and Forsyth Academy.

Elementary schools:

Big Creek Elementary School
Brandywine Elementary School
Brookwood Elementary School
Chattahoochee Elementary School
Chestatee Elementary School
Coal Mountain Elementary School
Cumming Elementary School
Daves Creek Elementary School
Haw Creek Elementary School
Johns Creek Elementary School
Kelly Mill Elementary School
Mashburn Elementary School
Matt Elementary School
Midway Elementary School
Poole's Mill Elementary School
Sawnee Elementary School
Settles Bridge Elementary School
Sharon Elementary School
Shiloh Point Elementary School
Silver City Elementary School
Vickery Creek Elementary School
Whitlow Elementary School.

Middle schools:

DeSana Middle School
Hendricks Middle School
Lakeside Middle School
Liberty Middle School
Little Mill Middle School
North Forsyth Middle School
Otwell Middle School
Piney Grove Middle School
Riverwatch Middle School
South Forsyth Middle School
Vickery Creek Middle School.

An indicator that part of the county had reached the status of a mainstream suburban/exurban area and was starting to create new, positive history beyond its racist past, a mixed-use development Halcyon with residential, office, dining and entertainment facilities, opened in the southern part of the county near Alpharetta in summer 2019.

Recreation

right|thumb|225x225px|One of the steam engines in the [[Independence Day (United States)|July 4, 2002 Parade in downtown Cumming]]

Lake Lanier, a lake created and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in association with Buford Dam, is enjoyed by many residents and non-residents alike. Fishing, boating, tubing, wake boarding, and water skiing are common activities on the lake.

Forsyth County Parks and Recreation Department maintains 25 parks and facilities in the county. Most notable are Sawnee Mountain Preserve, Central Park, Fowler Park, Poole's Mill Covered Bridge and the Big Creek Greenway. The Cumming Fairgrounds host many events throughout the year including a rodeo, The Cumming Country Fair, and a farmers' market. There is also the annual July 4 Steam Engine Parade.

Government and politics

Forsyth County is governed by a five-member board of commissioners, whose members are elected from single-member districts to four-year terms, and a county manager.

{| class=wikitable

|+Forsyth County Board of Commissioners (as of 2025)

! colspan=2 align=center | Name

! align=center valign=bottom | Party

! valign=bottom align=center | First elected

! valign=bottom align=center | District

| style="background-color:" | 

| Kerry Hill

| style="text-align:center;" | Rep

| style="text-align:center;" | 2022

| style="text-align:center;" | 1

| style="background-color:" | 

| Alfred John

| style="text-align:center;" | Rep

| style="text-align:center;" | 2020

| style="text-align:center;" | 2

| style="background-color:" | 

| Todd Levent

| style="text-align:center;" | Rep

| style="text-align:center;" | 2006

| style="text-align:center;" | 3

| style="background-color:" | 

| Mendy Moore

| style="text-align:center;" | Rep

| style="text-align:center;" | 2024

| style="text-align:center;" | 4

| style="background-color:" | 

| Laura Semanson

| style="text-align:center;" | Rep

| style="text-align:center;" | 2012

| style="text-align:center;" | 5

David McKee is the current county manager, assuming the post on December 16, 2022.

The city of Cumming is located in district 1, which also extends to the west. District 2 is located in the southern tip of Forsyth County. District 3 is to the southwest of Cumming, between districts 1 and 2. District 4 comprises most of the north of the county and district 5 comprises the east and southeast of the county, including most of the county's shoreline.

The board of commissioners has also established and is assisted by a number of governmental bodies.

The county is also a member of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the National Association of Counties.

Previous local officials

County managers

Rhonda Poston-O'Connor, 2007–2008
Doug Derrer, 2008–2017
Eric Johnson (2017–2020)

County commissioners

Jack Conway, 2005–2006 (District 3)
David Richard, –2008 (District 4)
Linda K. Ledbetter, –2008 (District 5)
Charles Laughinghouse, 2003–2010 (District 1)
Jim Harrell, 2007–2010 (District 3)
Patrick B. Bell, 2009–2012 (District 4) (District 5)
Brian R. Tam, 2005–2016 (District 2)
Rick Swope, 2017

Other elected officials

Forsyth County had voting patterns similar to most Solid South and Georgia counties prior to 1968 in presidential elections. It only backed Republican Herbert Hoover before then once in 1928 amidst anti-Catholic sentiment towards Al Smith. From 1968 onward, the county has swung strongly away from the Democratic Party at the presidential level, only failing to vote Republican in presidential elections in 1968, when segregationist George Wallace appealed to anti-Civil Rights Act sentiment, and in the two elections Georgian Jimmy Carter was on the ballot, in 1976 and 1980. In addition, unlike the inner suburban counties of the Atlanta metropolitan area, Forsyth County has continued to vote for Republicans by landslide margins. However, just like other Atlanta suburbs, the county's share of Democratic voters has nevertheless increased in recent years; in 2020, Joe Biden was the first Democratic presidential nominee to win over 30% of the county's vote since Carter, and Republican Donald Trump's margin of victory was only about half that of Mitt Romney eight years previously.

Forsyth County is one of nine counties that shifted more than 25 percentage points to the left from 2012 to 2024.

United States Congress

{| class=wikitable

|+U.S. Senators

! colspan=2 align=center | Name

! align=center valign=bottom | Party

! valign=bottom align=center | First elected

! valign=bottom align=center | Class

| style="background-color:" | 

| Jon Ossoff

| style="text-align:center;" | Dem

| style="text-align:center;" | 2020–21

| style="text-align:center;" | 2

| style="background-color:" | 

| Raphael Warnock

| style="text-align:center;" | Dem

| style="text-align:center;" | 2020–21 (special)

| style="text-align:center;" | 3

{| class=wikitable

|+U.S. Representatives

! colspan=2 align=center | Name

! align=center valign=bottom | Party

! valign=bottom align=center | First elected

! valign=bottom align=center | District

| style="background-color:" | 

| Rich McCormick

| style="text-align:center;" | Rep

| style="text-align:center;" | 2022

| style="text-align:center;" | 7th

Georgia State Senate

{| class="wikitable"

!District

!Name

! colspan="2" |Party

!Assumed Office

|27

|Greg Dolezal

| style="background-color:" | 

|Republican

|2019

|51

|Steve Gooch

| style="background-color:" | 

|Republican

|2011

Georgia House of Representatives

{| class="wikitable"

!District

!Name

! colspan="2" |Party

!Assumed Office

|28

|Brent Cox

| style="background-color:" | 

|Republican

|2023

|11

|Rick Jasperse

| style="background-color:" | 

|Republican

|2010

|24

|Carter Barrett

| style="background-color:" | 

|Republican

|2023

|25

|Todd Jones

| style="background-color:" | 

|Republican

|2017

|26

|Lauren McDonald

| style="background-color:" | 

|Republican

|2021

Transportation

Major highways

20px U.S. Route 19 (Lee Highway)
20px State Route 9
20px State Route 20
20px State Route 53
25px State Route 141
25px State Route 306
25px State Route 369
25px State Route 371
25px State Route 400

Forsyth County, Georgia

History

Before European contact

19th century

20th century

Lynching and other violence driving non-white people from the county

21st century

Racial history

Marches and demonstrations of the 1980s

Geography

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Communities

City

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

Private K-12 education

Public K-12 education

Recreation

Government and politics

Previous local officials

County managers

County commissioners

Other elected officials

United States Congress

Georgia State Senate

Georgia House of Representatives

Transportation

Major highways

Pedestrians and cycling

See also

References

Further reading

External links