Clarke County, Georgia

Clarke County, Georgia
Location in the state of Georgia
Georgia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1801
Seat	Athens
Largest city	Athens
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	121.28 sq mi (314 km²) 120.79 sq mi (313 km²) 0.49 sq mi (1 km²), 0.40%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	116,714 840/sq mi (324/km²)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.athensclarkecounty.com

Clarke County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 116,714. Its county seat is Athens, with which it is a consolidated city-county.

The Athens-Clarke County (balance) is the principal city of and is included in the Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Clarke County was created in 1801 by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 5. The county was named after Revolutionary War hero Elijah Clarke and included 250 square miles (647.5 km²) of land that was originally part of Jackson County. Clarke was most recognized for being credited with the 1779 victory at the Battle of Kettle Creek in Wilkes County. The Elijah Clarke Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a monument in his name in the middle of Broad Street in Athens that still stands today.

As the population of the county grew alongside the University of Georgia in the early 19th century, its agricultural and cotton industries prospered. The adjacent plantation harvests flowed through city mills and were bolstered by the natural resources of the Oconee River. These early manufacturing and textile production operations were big industries in Clarke County and in Athens, particularly so once the railroad came to the area beginning in 1841. Athens and Clarke County were second only to Savannah and Chatham County in capital invested in manufacturing during the 1840s.

Two skirmishes took place in Clarke County during the American Civil War in 1864, one near Barber's Creek and the other off of Mitchell's Road. An occupation garrison arrived in Athens on May 29 and a provost-marshal government was set up temporarily. Formal military occupation of the area ended before the end of 1864, although federal occupation continued until early 1866.

The original Clarke County Commission had selected Watkinsville, now in Oconee County, as the county seat. All county offices and county business, including the courts and jail, later moved north to Athens when the seat was moved on November 24 of 1871. For four years, county meetings were held in the old town hall in Athens until 1876 when a new courthouse was constructed in the area bounded by Prince Avenue, Hill Street and Pope Street. The current courthouse in use today was later erected on the corner of Washington and Jackson Streets downtown in 1914.

On February 12, 1875, to placate county residents still angry over the relocation of the county seat to Athens three years earlier, the state legislature created Oconee County from the southwest section of Clarke County and named Watkinsville as its seat. Oconee gained one-third of Clarke's population and three-fifths of its land.

During this time, the title of "commissioner of roads and revenue" was proscribed by the legislature to what would be known as county commissioners. The county, as an extension of the state, would operate welfare and health programs, build and maintain roads and conduct courts of law that were part of the state justice system.

In 1973, the Georgia legislature passed legislation on March 29 increasing the number of county commissioners from three to five and allocating a position for a county administrator.

In 1990, the citizens of Athens and Clarke County voted to unify the two governments creating Athens-Clarke County, becoming only the second unified city-county government in the state of Georgia after Columbus-Muscogee County. The citizens of Augusta and Richmond County voted likewise to join their governments in 1996, creating the Augusta-Richmond County unified government.

Geography

Clarke County is located at 33°57′19″N 83°22′59″W (33.955464, -83.383245).

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 121.28 square miles (314.1 km²), the smallest county in Georgia, of which 120.79 square miles (312.8 km²) (or 99.60%) is land and 0.49 square miles (1.3 km²) (or 0.40%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Route 29
• U.S. Route 78
• 
  U.S. Route 78 Business
• U.S. Route 129
• U.S. Route 441
• State Route 8
• State Route 10
• State Route 10 Loop/State Route 422
• State Route 15
• State Route 15 Alternate
• State Route 72

The following highways direct traffic toward Clarke County but end shortly before reaching the county line:

• State Route 24
• State Route 106
• State Route 316
• State Route 330

Adjacent counties

• Madison County, Georgia - northeast
• Oglethorpe County, Georgia - east/southeast
• Oconee County, Georgia - south/southwest
• Barrow County, Georgia - west
• Jackson County, Georgia - northwest

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1810	7,628		—
1820	8,767		14.9%
1830	10,176		16.1%
1840	10,522		3.4%
1850	11,119		5.7%
1860	11,218		0.9%
1870	12,941		15.4%
1880	11,702		−9.6%
1890	15,186		29.8%
1900	17,708		16.6%
1910	23,273		31.4%
1920	26,111		12.2%
1930	25,613		−1.9%
1940	28,398		10.9%
1950	36,550		28.7%
1960	45,363		24.1%
1970	65,177		43.7%
1980	74,498		14.3%
1990	87,594		17.6%
2000	101,489		15.9%
2010	116,714		15.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 101,489 people, 39,706 households, and 19,694 families residing in the county. The population density was 840 people per square mile (324/km²). There were 42,126 housing units at an average density of 349 per square mile (135/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 64.89% White, 27.25% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 3.13% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.08% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. 6.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 39,706 households out of which 22.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.60% were married couples living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.40% were non-families. 29.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county the population was spread out with 17.80% under the age of 18, 31.30% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 15.40% from 45 to 64, and 8.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 95.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males.

The per capita income in the county was $20,948 in 2008, and the median income for a family was $36,039. Males had a median income of $30,482 versus $23,069 for females. In 2008, 32.2% of the county's population were living below the poverty line. As a result, Clarke ranked #4 on City Data's list of "Top 101 cities with the highest percentage of residents living in poverty in 2007"

Education

Main article: Athens, Georgia#Education

Cities and towns

• Athens
• Winterville
• Bogart

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Clarke County, Georgia

External links

• Athens - Clarke County Guide
• Athens Historic Newspapers Archive in the Digital Library of Georgia
• Documents from Clarke County at the Digital Library of Georgia