Webster County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census reflected a population of 2,348, making it the third-least populous county in Georgia. The county seat is Preston.
History
Webster County was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 16, 1853, as Kinchafoonee County. A subsequent legislative act on February 21, 1856, changed the name to Webster.
The county is named for Daniel Webster, U.S. representative of New Hampshire and U.S. representative and U.S. senator of Massachusetts. Webster County's original name of Kinchafoonee came from the Kinchafoonee Creek which runs through the county.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.
The majority of Webster County, bordered to the southwest by State Route 520, is located in the Kinchafoonee-Muckalee sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The southwestern corner of the county is located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin. A tiny edge of the southwestern border, just south of State Route 520, is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.
Major highways
- 23px U.S. Route 280
- 20px State Route 27
- 20px State Route 41
- 20px State Route 45
- 23px State Route 153
- 23px State Route 520
Adjacent counties
- Marion County – north
- Sumter County – east
- Terrell County – south
- Randolph County – southwest
- Stewart County – west
Communities
None of these places are incorporated, instead Webster county acts as a unified county. Preston is the county seat, despite being unincorporated.
- Archery
- Preston (county seat)
- Weston
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Webster 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)
|1,145
|1,126
|1,186
|1,492
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,136
|48.91%
|49.76%
|49.62%
|53.30%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |48.38%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|1,159
|1,132
|1,123
|1,177
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,063
|49.51%
|50.02%
|46.99%
|42.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |45.27%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|9
|4
|2
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.38%
|0.18%
|0.08%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|2
|0
|0
|7
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12
|0.09%
|0.00%
|0.00%
|0.25%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.51%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6
|x
|x
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|1
|0
|0
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3
|0.04%
|0.00%
|0.00%
|0.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.13%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|13
|24
|style='background: #ffffe6; |69
|x
|x
|0.54%
|0.86%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.94%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|25
|1
|66
|98
|style='background: #ffffe6; |59
|1.07%
|0.04%
|2.76%
|3.50%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.51%
|-
|Total
|2,341
|2,263
|2,390
|2,799
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,348
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 2,348 and 724 families residing in the county. The median age was 45.5 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.0 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 48.8% White, 45.3% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.9% from some other race, and 4.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.5% of the population.
There were 991 households in the county, of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 32.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Webster County is part of District 151.
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See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Webster County, Georgia
- List of counties in Georgia
References
External links
- Consolidated Government of Webster County Including the City of Preston, Weston, and Webster County
- Webster County Board of Education a School system serving the City of Preston and Weston
- Webster County Sheriff's Department is the primary law enforcement agency for the entire county, and is an integral part of the county's system of justice.
- GeorgiaInfo Webster County Courthouse history
- County's Official Site
- Webster County in the New Georgia Encyclopedia.