Pickens County, Georgia

History

The Georgia General Assembly passed an act on December 5, 1853, to create Pickens County from portions of Cherokee and Gilmer Counties. Pickens received several more land additions from Cherokee (1869) and Gilmer Counties (1858 and 1863); however, several sections of Pickens County have also been transferred to other counties: Dawson County (1857), Gordon County (1860), and Cherokee County (1870).

Pickens County is named for American Revolutionary War General Andrew Pickens.

During the Civil War, Company D of the 1st Georgia Infantry Battalion of the Union Army was raised in Pickens County.

Most of Pickens County's early industry revolved around marble. Georgia Marble Company is located in Marble Hill near Tate. The Tate elementary school is built out of marble. The marble was also used to make the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial. Most of the marble is white, but Pickens County is one of the few places in the world where pink marble is found. The marble is also used for tombstones for the United States military.

Pickens County has seen very rapid growth with the building of Georgia State Route 515, locally referred to as the "four-lane". Many new businesses and residents continue to move to Pickens County.

Pickens County is home the Georgia Marble Festival.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 233 sqmi, of which 232 sqmi are land and 0.7 sqmi (0.3%) is covered by water.

The county is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The highest point in Pickens County is the 3,288-ft summit of Mount Oglethorpe, the southernmost peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and for a number of years, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Other notable peaks in Pickens County include Sharp Top Mountain and Sharp Mountain. One of the best viewpoints of Sharp Top Mountain is from Grandview Lake Dam on Grandview Road.

The eastern half of Pickens County is located in the Etowah River subbasin of the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin). The western half of the county is located in the Coosawattee River sub-basin of the same larger ACT River Basin.

Adjacent counties

• Gilmer County - north
• Dawson County - east
• Cherokee County - south
• Bartow County - southwest
• Gordon County - west

Communities

Cities

• Jasper
• Nelson (partially in Cherokee County)

Town

• Talking Rock

Unincorporated communities

• Tate
• Marble Hill
• Blaine

Private communities

A significant portion of the county population resides in gated master-planned communities that function similar to a municipality, with HOA fees to provide many municipal-type services independently from the county government.

• Bent Tree
• Big Canoe (partially in Dawson County)

Demographics

| align-fn = center 1790-1880 1890-1910 1920-1930 1930-1940 1940-1950 1960-1980 1980-2000 2010

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 33,216, and 19.2% of residents lived in urban areas while 80.8% lived in rural areas. Those residents comprised 13,120 households and 8,539 families.

The median age was 47.7 years, 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18, and 24.4% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.1 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 91.5% White, 0.9% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.4% from some other race, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.6% of the population.

Of the 13,120 households, 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 14,896 housing units, of which 11.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 80.6% were owner-occupied and 19.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%.

Politics

Politically, Pickens County is an outlier in Georgia, one of the few ancestrally Republican counties of the state, due to Unionist sentiment in the county during the American Civil War. As of the 2020s, Pickens County is a strongly Republican voting county, voting 82% for Donald Trump in 2024. For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Pickens County divided between Georgia's 11th congressional district, currently represented by Barry Loudermilk. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Pickens County is part of District 51. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Pickens County is part of District 11.

Transportation

Major highways

• [[File:I-575.svg|23px]] Interstate 575
• [[File:Georgia 5.svg|20px]] State Route 5
• [[File:Georgia 53.svg|20px]] State Route 53
• [[File:Georgia 53 Business.svg|20px]] State Route 53 Business
• [[File:Georgia 108.svg|23px]] State Route 108
• [[File:Georgia 136.svg|23px]] State Route 136
• [[File:Georgia 136 Connector.svg|23px]] State Route 136 Connector
• [[File:Georgia 372.svg|23px]] State Route 372
• [[File:Georgia 417.svg|23px]] State Route 417 (unsigned designation for I-575)
• [[File:Georgia 515.svg|23px]] State Route 515
• Burnt Mountain Road (Old Georgia State Route 108)
• Canton Highway (Old Georgia State Route 5)
• Church Street (Georgia State Route 53 Business)
• Cove Road
• Ellijay Road (Old Georgia State Route 5)
• Henderson Mountain Road (Old Georgia State Route 143/Georgia State Route 379)
• Jones Mountain Road
• Lumber Company Road
• Philadelphia Road
• Refuge Road (Old Georgia State Route 108)
• Steve Tate Highway
• Salem Church Road
• Sunrise Ridge Road (Old Georgia State Route 108)
• Talking Rock Road (Old Georgia State Route 5)
• Yellow Creek Road
• Whitestone Road --

Education

Main article: Pickens County School District (Georgia)

The Pickens County School District is the sole school district in the county.

Notable residents

• Farish Carter Tate, U.S. congressman
• John Bozeman, frontiersman; co-founder of Bozeman, Montana
• Chandler Smith, professional racecar driver

References

;General

;Specific The weekly newspaper for Pickens County is the Pickens Progress, a family-owned newspaper published since 1887 in Jasper.

• Encyclopedia of Georgia Pickens County article
• GeorgiaInfo Pickens County Courthouse info

References

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2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
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6. "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission.
7. "Bent Tree | North Georgia Mountains Real Estate Properties | 18-Hole Golf Course, Year-Round Tennis, and 110-Acre Lake | Buildable Real Estate Lots for Sale in Bent Tree. | Bent Tree Community".
8. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau.
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12. (1930). "1930 Census of Population - Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
13. (1940). "1940 Census of Population - Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
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26. Geography Division. (December 26, 2020). "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Pickens County, GA". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].