Baldwin County

History

For centuries, the land was occupied by the Creek Nation, and for thousands of years before them, varying cultures of indigenous peoples.

Part of the land ceded by the Creek people in the Treaty of Fort Wilkinson in 1802 was used to create Baldwin County on May 11, 1803, by the Georgia General Assembly, the state's legislative body.

The land west of the Oconee River was organized as Baldwin and Wilkinson Counties. The Treaty of Washington with the Creek in 1805 extended the state's western boundary to the Ocmulgee River. A legislative act on June 26, 1806, added some of this additional land to both counties.

The state legislature subsequently passed an act on December 10, 1807, that created four new counties from Baldwin County's 1806 borders. It expanded Baldwin to the east with land from Hancock and Washington Counties. The new counties were Morgan, Jones, Putnam, and present-day Jasper (originally named Randolph County at the time of the act).

The county is named for Abraham Baldwin, a signer of the United States Constitution, U.S. congressman representing Georgia, and the founder of the University of Georgia. White settlers moved into the area and developed large cotton plantations, made possible by the labor of slaves. Since the invention of the cotton gin, short-staple cotton could be profitably processed, and it was well-suited to the uplands of Georgia. What became known as the Black Belt of Georgia, an arc of fertile soil, was one of the destinations for slaves being sold from the Upper South, as well as from the Low Country.

The county seat of Milledgeville, formerly the state capital of Georgia (1804–1868), is one of only 3 planned capital cities in the United States along with Washington, D.C. and Indianapolis, IN.

Because of its central location within the state and its abundant supply of water from the Oconee River, Milledgeville grew rapidly into a bustling frontier town. On November 2, 1807, the state legislature held its first session in the newly completed statehouse in Milledgeville. Georgia's first state penitentiary was also built within the historic city limits of Milledgeville in 1817. This site is now used as the main campus of Georgia College and State University. In 1837, the General Assembly provided for the establishment of the state's first mental asylum, today known as Central State Hospital.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 267 square miles (690 km2), of which 9.6 square miles (25 km2) (3.6%) is covered by water.

The county is located along the fall line of the Eastern United States. The city of Milledgeville, which is located along the Oconee River, is an important city in the region. Because of its location, the northern part of the county tends to be more hilly due to its location in the Piedmont than the southern part of the county, which is in the far northern part of the Atlantic coastal plain.

Most of Baldwin County, south of Lake Sinclair, is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The northern portion of the county is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin.

Adjacent counties

Putnam County, Georgia - north

Hancock County, Georgia - northeast

Washington County, Georgia - east

Wilkinson County, Georgia - south

Jones County, Georgia - west

Communities

City

Milledgeville (county seat)

Census-designated place

Hardwick

Unincorporated community

Scottsboro

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, the Milledgeville μSA (at the time, larger than just Baldwin County) had a population of 54,776 (though a July 1, 2009 estimate placed the population at 55,556). There were 54,776 people, 17,995 households, and 12,154 families residing within the μSA.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, 43,799 people, 16,511 households, and 9,568 families lived in the county. Of the residents, 18.4% were under the age of 18 and 17.3% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 38.4 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.2 males. 51.2% of residents lived in urban areas and 48.8% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 51.7% White, 42.0% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.5% from some other race, and 3.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.6% of the population.

There were 16,511 households in the county, of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 36.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 19,988 housing units, of which 17.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 57.9% were owner-occupied and 42.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 14.5%.

Government

Members of the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners are responsible for administering the government to residents. Five members serve on the board, elected from single-member districts. Commissioners served 4 year terms up until 2024 when legislation allowed for staggered elections. The 2024 Election will be the last in which all commissioners are up for election simultaneously. Now, Districts 1-2 will share the ballot every 4 years beginning in 2028, and commissioners elected in 2024 to represent districts 3, 4 and 5 will serve a 2-year term, to end in 2026, and thereafter terms will be 4 years. The members of the board elect the chair from amongst themselves.

Politics

Baldwin County has been a highly competitive swing county in recent presidential elections, with no candidate receiving more than 52.9% of the vote in any election from 1992 onward. The county was the only one in Georgia that failed to give a majority to either major-party candidate in the 2018 gubernatorial election, with Democrat Stacey Abrams winning the county by only 58 votes over Republican Brian Kemp. Baldwin County, along with neighboring Washington County, was one of 2 counties that gave a plurality of votes to Herschel Walker in the first round of the 2022 Senate election but then gave a majority of votes to Raphael Warnock in the subsequent run-off.

As recently as 2018, Democrats held all county constitutional offices with the exception of Surveyor (R). Since then, the Sheriff, Superior Court Clerk and Tax Commissioner have registered as Independents, and a Republican now serves as Solicitor General. Democrats still hold the Coroner's Office and Chief Magistrate.

Baldwin County voted for the Republican candidate in all eight statewide executive offices in 2022. In the Georgia General Assembly, the state's legislature, Republican Rick Williams represents the county in the Georgia State Senate. Democrats Mack Jackson, and Floyd Griffin represent the county in the Georgia House of Representatives.

For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Baldwin County is part of District 25. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Baldwin County is divided between districts 128 and 149.

Transportation

Notable people

Carl Vinson, who served for 50 years in the U.S. Congress, was born in Baldwin County.

Oliver Hardy, comedian and film director, began his career in the Milledgeville Opera House.

Flannery O'Connor, novelist and short-story writer, lived in Milledgeville.

Lisa Cook, Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.