Telfair County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,477. The largest city and county seat is McRae-Helena.
In 2009, researchers from the Fernbank Museum of Natural History announced having found artifacts they associated with the 1541 Hernando de Soto Expedition at a private site near the Ocmulgee River, the first such find between Tallahassee, Florida and western North Carolina. De Soto's expedition was well recorded, but researchers have had difficulties finding artifacts from sites where he stopped. This site was an indigenous village occupied by the historic Creek people from the early 15th century into the 16th century. It was located further southeast than de Soto's expedition was thought to go in Georgia.
History
thumb|left|85px|Modern example of chevron beads
Archaeologists associated with Atlanta's Fernbank Museum of Natural History have excavated a plot near McRae-Helena and approximately a mile from the Ocmulgee River, beginning in 2005. In 2009 they announced finding evidence of a Spanish settlement dating to the first half of the 16th century. The archaeologists originally believed that the artifacts may have come from a settlement founded by Spanish leader Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón from Hispaniola in 1526 and briefly occupied by hundreds of colonists. The group encountered hard conditions and fewer than 200 survived to return to Hispaniola.
Additional research suggests that the site instead was one visited in 1541 by the de Soto Expedition. Researchers have recovered Murano glass beads, made in Venice, Italy, and brought by the Spanish for trading with Native Americans; pottery fragments, and iron weapons. Some of the beads bear a chevron pattern. Such beads have been identified as a hallmark of the de Soto expedition, due to the limited period of time in which they were produced. Excavations have also produced six metal objects, including three iron tools and a silver pendant.
The site is further west than scholars had earlier believed that the de Soto expedition had traveled, based on documentation from his expedition. This was the first evidence found of his expedition between Tallahassee, Florida, where excavations have revealed artifacts of his expedition, and western North Carolina
Many of the first European-American settlers were Scottish immigrants and Scots-Irish migrants who traveled down the backcountry from Pennsylvania and Virginia.
World Record Largemouth Bass
The world record largemouth according to the IGFA is shared by Manabu Kurita and George W. Perry. Kurita's bass was caught from Lake Biwa in Japan on July 2, 2009, and weighed 10.12 kilograms (22 lb 5 oz). Perry's bass was caught on June 2, 1932, from Montgomery Lake in Georgia and weighed 10.09 kilograms (22 lb 4 oz). Montgomery Lake is not a true lake but an oxbow off the Ocmulgee River in between Lumber City, Georgia and Jacksonville, Georgia.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water. The county contains at least 50 artesian wells.
The southern two-thirds of Telfair County, bordered by a line from Milan east to Lumber City, are located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The northern portion of the county is located in the Little Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin.
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Route 23
- 25px U.S. Route 280
- 25px U.S. Route 319
- 25px U.S. Route 341
- 25px U.S. Route 441
- 20px State Route 19
- 20px State Route 27
- 20px State Route 30
- 20px State Route 31
- 23px State Route 117
- 23px State Route 132
- 23px State Route 149
- 23px State Route 149 Connector
- 23px State Route 165
Adjacent counties
- Wheeler County (northeast)
- Jeff Davis County (southeast)
- Coffee County (south)
- Ben Hill County (southwest)
- Wilcox County (west)
- Dodge County (northwest)
Communities
Cities
- McRae-Helena (county seat)
- Jacksonville
- Lumber City
- Milan
- Scotland
Unincorporated communities
- China Hill
- Towns
- Workmore
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Telfair County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!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)
|7,828
|7,190
|6,993
|8,429
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,970
|68.40%
|65.36%
|59.29%
|51.08%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |47.85%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|3,517
|3,754
|4,515
|5,830
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,326
|30.73%
|34.13%
|38.28%
|35.33%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |34.67%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|2
|9
|3
|8
|style='background: #ffffe6; |28
|0.02%
|0.08%
|0.03%
|0.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.22%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|13
|6
|23
|90
|style='background: #ffffe6; |30
|0.11%
|0.05%
|0.20%
|0.55%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.24%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|0
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|x
|x
|0.00%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|1
|0
|3
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |17
|0.01%
|0.00%
|0.03%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.14%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|42
|110
|style='background: #ffffe6; |178
|x
|x
|0.36%
|0.67%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.43%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|84
|41
|215
|2,026
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,928
|0.73%
|0.37%
|1.82%
|12.28%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15.45%
|-
|Total
|11,445
|11,000
|11,794
|16,500
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,477
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 12,477 people, 3,924 households, and 3,259 families residing in the county.
The median age was 40.0 years. 18.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 148.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 160.9 males age 18 and over. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
The racial makeup of the county was 58.3% White, 37.1% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.7% from some other race, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 15.5% of the population.
Of those households, 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 34.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Telfair County is part of districts 133 and 156.
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Education
The Telfair County School District has three schools, including the Telfair County High School.
Notable people
- Eugene Talmadge
- Herman Talmadge
- James E. Livingston
- Marion B. Folsom
- Kim Batten
- James McRae (United States Army officer)
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Telfair County, Georgia
- List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition
- List of counties in Georgia