Hall County is a county in the Northeast region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 203,136, up from 179,684 at the 2010 census. The county seat is Gainesville. The entirety of Hall County comprises the Gainesville, Georgia, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also part of the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, Combined Statistical Area.

History

Hall County was created on December 15, 1818, from Cherokee lands ceded by the Treaty of Cherokee Agency (1817) and Treaty of Washington (1819).

The county is named for Lyman Hall, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and governor of Georgia as both colony and state.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (8.5%) is water. The county is located in the upper Piedmont region of the state in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the north.

Slightly more than half of Hall County, the eastern portion of the county, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin, while the western half of the county is located in the Upper Chattahoochee River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin).

The Chattahoochee River gathers strength in Hall County, as immortalized in Sidney Lanier's poem, "Song of the Chattahoochee":

<blockquote><poem>OUT of the hills of Habersham,

Down the valleys of Hall,

I hurry amain to reach the plain,

Run the rapid and leap the fall,

Split at the rock and together again,

</poem></blockquote>

Adjacent counties

  • White County – north
  • Habersham County – northeast
  • Banks County – east
  • Jackson County – southeast
  • Barrow County – south
  • Gwinnett County – southwest
  • Forsyth County – west
  • Dawson County – northwest
  • Lumpkin County – northwest

Attractions

  • Atlanta Botanical Garden (Gainesville)
  • Brenau Downtown Center (Gainesville)
  • Don Carter State Park
  • Elachee Nature Science Center (Gainesville)
  • Falcons Complex (Flowery Branch)
  • Gainesville Theatre Alliance (Gainesville)
  • Interactive Neighborhood for Kids (Gainesville)
  • Lake Lanier Islands (Buford)
  • Lake Sidney Lanier
  • Quinlan Visual Arts Center
  • Road Atlanta (Braselton)

Transportation

Major highways

  • 25px Interstate 985
  • 20px U.S. Route 23
  • 25px U.S. Route 129
  • 20px State Route 11
  • 20px State Route 11 Business
  • 20px State Route 13
  • 20px State Route 51
  • 20px State Route 52
  • 20px State Route 53
  • 20px State Route 53 Connector
  • 20px State Route 60
  • 20px State Route 82
  • 25px State Route 115
  • 25px State Route 136
  • 25px State Route 211
  • 25px State Route 254
  • 25px State Route 283
  • 25px State Route 284
  • 25px State Route 323
  • 25px State Route 332
  • 25px State Route 347
  • 25px State Route 365
  • 25px State Route 365 Business
  • 25px State Route 369
  • 25px State Route 419 (unsigned designation for I-985)

Mass transit

  • The Gainesville AMTRAK station is situated at 116 Industrial Boulevard. Amtrak's Crescent train connects Gainesville with the cities of New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Greensboro, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans.
  • Gainesville has a bus transit system, the Gainesville Connection, with 130 stops along three routes through Gainesville. The Hall Area Transit Transportation System began operations in January 2001 with three buses and four mini-buses.

Pedestrians and cycling

  • Chicopee Woods Bike Trail
  • Wilshire Trail

Demographics