Walton County, Georgia

Walton County, Georgia
Location in the state of Georgia
Georgia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1818
Seat	Monroe
Largest city	Monroe
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	330.05 sq mi (855 km²) 329.18 sq mi (853 km²) 0.87 sq mi (2 km²), 0.26%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	83,768
Website	www.waltoncountyga.org

Walton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2010, the population was 83,768. The county seat is Monroe.

This county is a part of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area).

Walton County, Georgia courthouse in City of Monroe, Georgia

History

Walton County was created on December 15, 1818. It is named for George Walton, one of the three men from Georgia who signed the United States Declaration of Independence. The other two were Button Gwinnett and Lyman Hall.

Walton County is located about 50 miles east of the city of Atlanta. Monroe is the county seat, with other major towns being Loganville, Social Circle, Jersey, Between, Good Hope, and Walnut Grove.

Walton County has been home to,the birthplace of, or claim to seven Georgia governors: James Boynton, Howell Cobb, Alfred Colquitt, Wilson Lumpkin, Henry McDaniel, Richard Russell, Jr., Clifford Walker.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 330.05 square miles (854.8 km²), of which 329.18 square miles (852.6 km²) (or 99.74%) is land and 0.87 square miles (2.3 km²) (or 0.26%) is water.

Walton County is mostly agricultural and wooded with encroachment by development.

Major highways

• Interstate 20
• U.S. Highway 78
• Georgia State Route 11
• Georgia State Route 20
• Georgia State Route 81
• Georgia State Route 83
• Georgia State Route 138
• State Route 10

Adjacent counties

• Barrow County, Georgia – north
• Oconee County, Georgia – northeast
• Morgan County, Georgia – southeast
• Newton County, Georgia – south
• Rockdale County, Georgia – southwest
• Gwinnett County, Georgia – northwest

Demographics

According to 2000 data the county comprised 329.18 square miles with 254.5 persons per square mile.

As of the census of 2010, there were 83,768 people, 28,503 households, with 7.25% of persons under the age of 5, 26. 8% under 18, and 12.1% over 65. The female segment of the population accounted for 51.3% of the population.

The racial makeup of the county was 80.1% White, 15.6% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.1% Asian, and 1.5% from two or more races. 3.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The high school graduate rate for persons over 25 was 78.4%, Bachelors degree or higher for those over 25 was 16.8%, and the statistical number of veterans of the county was 5,982. The average travel time commute to work, for workers over 16 was 32.2 minutes. The per capita income was $22,624, and the household average income was $50,321. The median household market value in 2009 was $162,000. About 12% of the county's population existed below the poverty level.

An example of new home subdivision construction in rural central Walton County, Georgia

Cities and towns

• Between
• Bold Springs (unincorporated)
• Campton (unincorporated)
• Good Hope
• Gratis (unincorporated)
• Jersey
• Loganville
• Monroe (county seat of government)
• Mt. Vernon (unincorporated)
• Pannell (unincorporated)
• Social Circle
• Walnut Grove
• Windsor (unincorporated)
• Youth (unincorporated)

See also

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

References

• Camp, Lynn Robinson, and Jennifer E. Cheek-Collins. Walton County, Georgia (Black America Series; Charleston, S.C., 2003) (ISBN 0-7385-1528-0).
• Sams, Anita B. Wayfarers in Walton: A History of Walton County, Georgia, 1818–1967 (Monroe, Ga., 1967).

External links

• Mark Auslander "Holding on to Those Who Can't be Held": Reenacting a Lynching at Moore's Ford, Georgia" Southern Spaces, November 8, 2010.
• Georgia.gov on Walton County
• http://www.negrdc.org/counties/walton/default.asp