Whitesburg is a town in Carroll County, Georgia, United States. The population was 596 in 2020.
History
This area was long occupied by indigenous peoples. In the historic period after European encounter, it was occupied by members of the Creek Confederacy, a loose grouping of related peoples, and was known as the area of the Lower Towns by the early nineteenth century. William McIntosh, a mixed-race leader of the Creek, established a modest house and plantation here. He was executed in 1825 on order of the Creek National Council for having negotiated and signed the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs, which ceded all remaining lands in Georgia and Alabama to the United States. He had violated tribal law, the Code of 1818 that protected communal property.
After Creek removal, American settlers entered the area from the east. Many became subsistence farmers. Whitesburg was established by European-American settlers in 1873. The community was named after A.J. White, a railroad official. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Whitesburg in 1874.
Geography
Whitesburg is located at (33.493434, -84.913492).
Whitesburg is located along the Chattahoochee River in southeastern Carroll County. U.S. Route 27 Alternate and Georgia State Route 5 are the main routes through the town. U.S. Route 27 Alternate runs from northwest to southeast through the town, leading northwest to Carrollton, the county seat, and southeast to Newnan. GA-5 leads northeast from the town to Douglasville and west to Roopville.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km), of which 2.8 square miles (7.2 km) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km) (1.07%) is water.
Acorn Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochee River, originates just west of Whitesburg. It takes its name from Acorn Town, a Creek Indian settlement and plantation which stood near its mouth.
Demographics
At the census of 2000, there were 596 people, 224 households, and 165 families residing in the town.