Richmond County, Georgia
Richmond County | |
---|---|
Augusta-Richmond County | |
![]() Augusta-Richmond County Municipal Building | |
![]() Location within the U.S. state of Georgia | |
![]() Georgia's location within the U.S. | |
Coordinates: 33°22′N 82°04′W / 33.36°N 82.07°W | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
Founded | February 5, 1777[1] |
Named for | Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond |
Seat | Augusta |
Largest city | Augusta |
Area | |
• Total | 329 sq mi (850 km2) |
• Land | 324 sq mi (840 km2) |
• Water | 4.3 sq mi (11 km2) 1.3% |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 206,607 |
• Density | 638/sq mi (246/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
Congressional district | 12th |
Website | augustaga.gov |
Richmond County is located in the state of Georgia in the U.S. As of the 2020 census, the population was 206,607.[2] It is one of the original counties of Georgia, created on February 5, 1777. Following an election in 1995, Augusta (the county seat) consolidated governments with Richmond County. The consolidated entity is known as Augusta-Richmond County, or simply Augusta. Exempt are the cities of Hephzibah and Blythe, in southern Richmond County, which voted to remain separate. Richmond County is included in the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC metropolitan statistical area.
History
[edit]The county is named for Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, a British politician and office-holder sympathetic to the cause of the American colonies.[3] Richmond was also a first cousin to King George III.
Richmond County was established in 1777 by the first Constitution of the (newly independent) State of Georgia. As such, it is one of the original counties of the state. It was formed from a portion of the colonial Parish of St. Paul after the Revolution disestablished the Church of England in the (former) Royal Province of Georgia.
Geography
[edit]According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 329 square miles (850 km2), of which 324 square miles (840 km2) is land and 4.3 square miles (11 km2) (1.3%) is water.[4]
The vast majority of Richmond County is located in the Middle Savannah River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin, with just the southwestern corner of the county, from a line running north from Blythe through the middle of Fort Eisenhower, located in the Brier Creek sub-basin of the Savannah River basin.[5]
Adjacent counties
[edit]- Edgefield County, South Carolina (north)
- Aiken County, South Carolina (northeast)
- Burke County (south)
- Jefferson County (southwest)
- McDuffie County (west)
- Columbia County (northwest)
Pedestrians and cycling
[edit]- Augusta Canal Historic Trail
- New Bartram Trail
- Phinizy Swamp Constructed Wetlands Trail
- River Levee Trail
- Riverwalk Augusta Trail
Communities
[edit]Cities
[edit]Army installation
[edit]Demographics
[edit]Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1790 | 11,317 | — | |
1800 | 5,475 | −51.6% | |
1810 | 6,189 | 13.0% | |
1820 | 8,608 | 39.1% | |
1830 | 11,644 | 35.3% | |
1840 | 11,932 | 2.5% | |
1850 | 16,246 | 36.2% | |
1860 | 21,284 | 31.0% | |
1870 | 25,724 | 20.9% | |
1880 | 34,665 | 34.8% | |
1890 | 45,194 | 30.4% | |
1900 | 53,735 | 18.9% | |
1910 | 58,886 | 9.6% | |
1920 | 63,692 | 8.2% | |
1930 | 72,990 | 14.6% | |
1940 | 81,863 | 12.2% | |
1950 | 108,876 | 33.0% | |
1960 | 135,601 | 24.5% | |
1970 | 162,437 | 19.8% | |
1980 | 181,629 | 11.8% | |
1990 | 189,719 | 4.5% | |
2000 | 199,775 | 5.3% | |
2010 | 200,549 | 0.4% | |
2020 | 206,607 | 3.0% | |
2023 (est.) | 205,414 | [6] | −0.6% |
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790-1880[8] 1890-1910[9] 1920-1930[10] 1930-1940[11] 1940-1950[12] 1960-1980[13] 1980-2000[14] 2010[15] 2020[16] |
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000[17] | Pop 2010[15] | Pop 2020[16] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White alone (NH) | 88,660 | 76,236 | 68,397 | 44.38% | 38.01% | 33.10% |
Black or African American alone (NH) | 98,584 | 107,365 | 112,947 | 49.35% | 53.54% | 54.67% |
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 506 | 570 | 511 | 0.25% | 0.28% | 0.25% |
Asian alone (NH) | 2,949 | 3,278 | 3,907 | 1.48% | 1.63% | 1.89% |
Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 228 | 374 | 391 | 0.11% | 0.19% | 0.19% |
Other race alone (NH) | 361 | 310 | 905 | 0.18% | 0.15% | 0.44% |
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 2,942 | 4,209 | 8,100 | 1.47% | 2.10% | 3.92% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 5,545 | 8,207 | 11,449 | 2.78% | 4.09% | 5.54% |
Total | 199,775 | 200,549 | 206,607 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 206,607 people, 68,361 households, and 42,363 families residing in the county.
Politics
[edit]Similar to most urban counties in the state with majority African American populations, Richmond County has backed the Democratic Party candidate by increasing margins since 1992. However, in every presidential election from 1952 to 1988 which did not have Georgian Jimmy Carter on the ballot, the county backed the Republican candidate for president. In 1968 it was one of only eight counties in Georgia where George Wallace came in third. Prior to 1952, the county voted like a typical Solid South county, voting for Democratic presidential candidates by landslide margins until backing Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond in 1948. 1928 was an exception to this rule with Herbert Hoover beating Al Smith handily due to anti-Catholic sentiment.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 26,780 | 30.75% | 59,119 | 67.89% | 1,178 | 1.35% |
2016 | 24,461 | 32.17% | 48,814 | 64.21% | 2,750 | 3.62% |
2012 | 25,845 | 32.64% | 52,560 | 66.39% | 769 | 0.97% |
2008 | 26,842 | 33.80% | 52,100 | 65.60% | 480 | 0.60% |
2004 | 29,764 | 42.90% | 39,262 | 56.59% | 350 | 0.50% |
2000 | 25,485 | 44.29% | 31,413 | 54.60% | 640 | 1.11% |
1996 | 23,670 | 41.62% | 30,738 | 54.05% | 2,461 | 4.33% |
1992 | 24,227 | 40.70% | 28,910 | 48.57% | 6,386 | 10.73% |
1988 | 27,566 | 57.12% | 20,489 | 42.46% | 203 | 0.42% |
1984 | 29,869 | 58.48% | 21,208 | 41.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
1980 | 19,619 | 43.72% | 24,104 | 53.72% | 1,148 | 2.56% |
1976 | 17,893 | 42.67% | 24,042 | 57.33% | 0 | 0.00% |
1972 | 24,362 | 72.55% | 9,219 | 27.45% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 14,993 | 41.30% | 11,777 | 32.44% | 9,532 | 26.26% |
1964 | 21,481 | 61.32% | 13,545 | 38.67% | 3 | 0.01% |
1960 | 11,978 | 54.83% | 9,868 | 45.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 10,251 | 60.05% | 6,819 | 39.95% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 9,347 | 52.13% | 8,584 | 47.87% | 0 | 0.00% |
1948 | 1,528 | 11.89% | 2,450 | 19.07% | 8,868 | 69.03% |
1944 | 1,152 | 14.28% | 6,918 | 85.72% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 641 | 9.85% | 5,855 | 89.97% | 12 | 0.18% |
1936 | 551 | 7.06% | 7,239 | 92.69% | 20 | 0.26% |
1932 | 738 | 12.96% | 4,873 | 85.58% | 83 | 1.46% |
1928 | 5,104 | 70.99% | 2,086 | 29.01% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 1,296 | 33.71% | 2,169 | 56.43% | 379 | 9.86% |
1920 | 511 | 16.14% | 2,656 | 83.86% | 0 | 0.00% |
1916 | 238 | 6.86% | 2,708 | 78.04% | 524 | 15.10% |
1912 | 177 | 7.76% | 1,871 | 81.99% | 234 | 10.25% |
1908 | 267 | 10.91% | 1,727 | 70.55% | 454 | 18.55% |
1904 | 174 | 6.31% | 1,816 | 65.82% | 769 | 27.87% |
1900 | 215 | 9.34% | 2,045 | 88.84% | 42 | 1.82% |
1896 | 1,698 | 30.06% | 3,716 | 65.78% | 235 | 4.16% |
1892 | 3,224 | 25.59% | 8,301 | 65.89% | 1,073 | 8.52% |
1888 | 113 | 11.91% | 808 | 85.14% | 28 | 2.95% |
1884 | 1,945 | 37.13% | 3,293 | 62.87% | 0 | 0.00% |
1880 | 1,497 | 38.12% | 2,430 | 61.88% | 0 | 0.00% |
Transportation
[edit]Major highways
[edit]Interstate 20
Interstate 520
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 25
U.S. Route 25 Business
U.S. Route 78
U.S. Route 278
State Route 4
State Route 10
State Route 28
State Route 56
State Route 88
State Route 104
State Route 104 Connector
State Route 121
State Route 223
State Route 232
State Route 383
State Route 402 (unsigned designation for I-20)
State Route 415 (unsigned designation for I-520)
State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)
State Route 555 & 565 (Savannah River Parkway)
Notable person
[edit]See also
[edit]- National Register of Historic Places listings in Richmond County, Georgia
- Richmond County School System
- New Savannah, Georgia
- List of counties in Georgia
References
[edit]- ^ "Richmond County". New Georgia Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Richmond County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
- ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 188. ISBN 0-915430-00-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 17, 2003.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
- ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
- ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
- ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
- ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
- ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
- ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
- ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Richmond County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ a b "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Richmond County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Richmond County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
Further reading
[edit]- A. Ray Rowland (ed.), Historical Markers of Richmond County, Georgia. Augusta, GA: Richmond County Historical Society, 1966.
- Richmond County History. Augusta, GA: Richmond County Historical Society, 1969-date. —Journal, established Winter 1969.
External links
[edit]- Official website of Augusta-Richmond County consolidated government
- Documents from Richmond County in the Digital Library of Georgia
- Georgia Department of Transportation map of Richmond County (Note: map uses pre-consolidation city boundaries)