Stewart County, Georgia

Stewart County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,314. The county seat is Lumpkin. The county was created on December 23, 1830.

History

The area was inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years in the Pre-Columbian period. Roods Landing site on the Chattahoochee River is a significant archaeological site located south of Omaha. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it includes major earthwork mounds built about 1100–1350 CE by peoples of the sophisticated Mississippian culture. Another Mississippian site is the Singer Moye Mounds, located in the southern part of the county.

The first Europeans to encounter the Native Americans were Spanish explorers in the mid-16th century. At that time the historical Creek tribe inhabited the southern two thirds of what is now defined as Georgia, west of the Low Country. they are believed to be the descendants of the Mississippian culture.

They maintained their territory until after European American settlers arrived in increasing number in the early decades of the 19th century. The ensuing conflicts ultimately resulted in most of the Creek people's being driven out of the region. In the 1830s under Indian removal, the US federal government forced most Creek to relocate west of the Mississippi River, to Indian Territory in what became present-day Oklahoma.

Stewart County was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 23, 1830, from land that had been part of Randolph County, Georgia. The county is named for Daniel Stewart, a Revolutionary War veteran, and fighter against American Indians. He was one of the four great-grandfathers of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt.

Settlers developed the area as large cotton plantations, part of the "Black Belt" of Georgia and the Deep South. Before the American Civil War, planters depended on enslaved labor of thousands of African Americans to cultivate and process the cotton for market. Mostly born in the United States, the slaves were transported from the Upper South, with many families broken up when some members were purchased through sales in the domestic slave trade.

In 1850, the county reached its peak in wealth as one of the largest cotton producers in the state. It had the tenth-largest population of any county in the state, with 16,027 people. African-American slaves numbered 7,373, or 46% of the population.

By 1860, the county population was 13,422. The apparent drop was due to the counties of Kinchafoonee (later Webster County) and Quitman being created from Stewart County territory in 1853 and 1858, respectively.

After the war and emancipation, cotton continued as the major commodity crop and additional territory was developed by planters for cultivation. Many freedmen became sharecroppers and tenant farmers in the area, which was agricultural for decades, but in decline. Stewart County lost its premier position when it was bypassed by developing railroads, which went to the north and south. It did not have railroad access until 1885. The county is mainly located in the upper Gulf coastal plain region of the state, with a few hills due to its close proximity to the fall line.

The vast majority of Stewart County is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). Just the very eastern edge of the county, bordered by a north-to-south line running through Richland, is located in the Kinchafoonee-Muckalee sub-basin of the same ACF Basin, with the very southeastern corner located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the larger ACF River Basin.

Major highways

25px U.S. Route 27
20px U.S. Route 280
20px State Route 1
20px State Route 1 Connector
20px State Route 27
20px State Route 39
20px State Route 39 Connector
20px State Route 39 Spur
20px State Route 520

Adjacent counties

Chattahoochee County (north)
Webster County (east)
Randolph County (south)
Quitman County (southwest)
Barbour County, Alabama (west/CST Border)
Russell County, Alabama (northwest/CST Border except for Phenix City as the city is jointed by the Columbus Metropolitan Area)

National protected area

Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Communities

Cities

Lumpkin
Richland

Unincorporated communities

Louvale
Omaha
Florence
Sanford

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

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

|+Stewart 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)

|2,073

|2,036

|1,926

|1,655

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,338

|35.16%

|36.01%

|36.67%

|27.32%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25.18%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|3,734

|3,567

|3,201

|2,833

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,461

|63.33%

|63.09%

|60.95%

|46.76%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |46.31%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|13

|12

|11

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10

|0.05%

|0.23%

|0.18%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.19%

|Asian alone (NH)

|12

|44

|style='background: #ffffe6; |167

|0.15%

|0.21%

|0.17%

|0.73%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.14%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5

|0.00%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.09%

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8

|0.00%

|0.15%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.15%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|25

|51

|style='background: #ffffe6; |108

|0.48%

|0.84%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.03%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|77

|26

|79

|1,454

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,217

|1.31%

|0.46%

|1.50%

|24.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |22.90%

|Total

|5,896

|5,654

|5,252

|6,058

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,314

|100.00%

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

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 5,314 people, 1,674 households, and 1,138 families residing in the county, and the median age was 40.9 years.

13.1% of residents were under the age of 18, and 17.1% were 65 years of age or older; for every 100 females there were 167.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 182.0 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 25.4% White, 46.4% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.2% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 22.1% from some other race, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 22.9% of the population.

There were 1,674 households in the county, of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 37.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Stewart County is part of District 151.

Sheriff Larry Jones is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for Stewart County.

Education

The Stewart County School District includes Stewart County Elementary School, Stewart County Middle School, and Stewart County High School.

References

External links

"Stewart County", New Georgia Encyclopedia
Stewart County Georgia Community Web Pages