Ware County, Georgia

thumb|Laura S. Walker State Park

Ware County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,251. The county seat and only incorporated place is Waycross. Ware County is part of the Waycross, Georgia micropolitan statistical area.

History

Ware County, Georgia's 60th county, was created on December 15, 1824, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly from land that was originally part of Appling County.

The county is named for Nicholas Ware, the mayor of Augusta, Georgia from (1819–1821) and United States Senator who represented Georgia from 1821 until his death in 1824.

Several counties were later created from parts of the original Ware County borders:

Bacon County (from portions of Appling, Pierce, and Ware counties in 1917)
Charlton County (from portions of Camden and Ware county in 1854)
Clinch County (from portions of Lowndes and Ware counties in 1850)
Coffee County (from portions of Clinch, Irwin, Telfair, and Ware counties in 1854)
Pierce County (from portions of Appling and Ware counties in 1857)

Ware County was home to Laura S. Walker (1861–1955) a noted author and conservationist. Walker promoted a comprehensive program of forestry activity, including the establishment of forest parks. She erected markers and monuments along old trails and at historic sites, in Waycross and Ware County so that local history would not be forgotten. Walker wrote three books about the land and history of her home. They are: History of Ware County, Georgia About "Old Okefenåok" and Doctors of Primitive Times and Horse and Buggy Days of Ware County.

An effort to recognize her work culminated in President Franklin D. Roosevelt issuing a proclamation to establish the Laura S. Walker National Park, located in Ware County, in her honor. She was the only living person for whom a state or national park was named. In 1937, the federal government purchased distressed farmland for the park.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.7%) is water. It is the largest county in Georgia by area. A large portion of the county lies within the Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected areas.

More than half of Ware County, made up by the western half of the southern portion of the county, the land bridge to the northern portion of the county, and the southern and western portion of the northern section of the county, is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The eastern half of the southern portion of Ware County is located in the St. Marys River sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla River basin. The rest of the county, from just southeast to north and west of Waycross, is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the same St. Marys-Satilla River basin.

Major highways

20px U.S. Route 1
20px 20px U.S. Route 1 Business
20px U.S. Route 23
20px 20px U.S. Route 23 Business
20px U.S. Route 82
20px U.S. Route 84
20px State Route 4
20px State Route 4 Business
20px State Route 38
23px State Route 122
23px State Route 158
23px State Route 177
23px State Route 520

Adjacent counties

Bacon County - north
Pierce County - east
Brantley County - east
Charlton County - southeast
Baker County, Florida - south
Clinch County - west
Atkinson County - west
Coffee County - northwest

National protected area

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Communities

City

Waycross

Census-designated places

Deenwood
Dixie Union
Manor
Millwood
Sunnyside
Waresboro

Unincorporated communities

Bickley
Ruskin
Jamestown
Telmore

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

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

|+Ware 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)

|28,473

|25,912

|24,434

|23,583

|style='background: #ffffe6; |22,275

|76.58%

|73.05%

|68.86%

|64.95%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |61.45%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|8,284

|9,193

|9,907

|10,662

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,703

|22.28%

|25.92%

|27.92%

|29.36%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |29.52%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|63

|55

|62

|97

|style='background: #ffffe6; |77

|0.17%

|0.16%

|0.17%

|0.27%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.21%

|Asian alone (NH)

|87

|120

|166

|278

|style='background: #ffffe6; |333

|0.23%

|0.34%

|0.47%

|0.77%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.92%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|11

|style='background: #ffffe6; |18

|0.03%

|0.02%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.05%

|Other race alone (NH)

|23

|35

|style='background: #ffffe6; |112

|0.00%

|0.06%

|0.10%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.31%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|192

|443

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,121

|0.54%

|1.22%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.09%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|273

|190

|688

|1,207

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,612

|0.73%

|0.54%

|1.94%

|3.32%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.45%

|Total

|37,180

|35,471

|35,483

|36,312

|style='background: #ffffe6; |36,251

|100.00%

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

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 36,251 and 8,909 families residing in the county. The median age was 39.8 years. 23.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.5 males age 18 and over. 67.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 32.1% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 62.4% White, 29.7% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.4% from some other race, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.4% of the population. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Ware County is part of districts 174 and 176.

References

External links

Official Ware County website
Ware County Community Website & Community Calendar
History of Ware County, Georgia - Laura S. Walker
Doctors of Primitive Times and Horse and Buggy Days of Ware County - Laura S. Walker
Georgia GenWeb Ware County site
Okefenokee Swamp Park homepage
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service