Telfair County, Georgia
Location in the state of Georgia
Georgia's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 10, 1807
Named for	Edward Telfair
Seat	McRae
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	444.08 sq mi (1,150 km²) 441.09 sq mi (1,142 km²) 2.99 sq mi (8 km²),
Population  - (2010)  - Density	16,500
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	telfaircounty.georgia.gov/

Telfair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,500.^[1] The county seat is McRae.^[2]

  History

  Chevron beads

Archaeologists associated with Atlanta's Fernbank Museum of Natural History have been excavating a 2,000-acre (8.1 km²) plot near McRae, approximately a mile away from the Ocmulgee River. They have found evidence of a Spanish settlement dating back to the first half of the 16th century.^[3] The archaeologists suspect that the artifacts originated from a settlement founded by Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón in 1526.^[4]

Additional research suggested that the site was one visited by the de Soto Expedition of 1541. They recovered Murano glass beads, which would have been brought for trading with Native Americans; pottery fragments, and iron weapons. Some of the beads bear a chevron pattern, which is believed to be a hallmark of the de Soto expedition, due to the limited timespan in which such beads were produced. Excavations have also produced six metal objects, including three iron tools and a silver pendant.^[5] This is further west than scholars had earlier believed that the de Soto expedition had traveled.

^[5]

Telfair County was established on December 10, 1807, and is named for Edward Telfair, the sixteenth governor of Georgia and a member of the Continental Congress.

  Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 444.08 square miles (1,150.2 km²), of which 441.09 square miles (1,142.4 km²) (or 99.33%) is land and 2.99 square miles (7.7 km²) (or 0.67%) is water.^[6] The county contains at least 50 artesian wells.

  Major highways

• U.S. Highway 23
• U.S. Highway 280
• U.S. Highway 319
• U.S. Highway 441
• U.S. Highway 341
• Georgia State Route 132
• Georgia State Route 165
• Georgia State Route 117
• Georgia State Route 149
• Georgia State Route 165
• Georgia State Route 134
• Georgia State Route 30
• Georgia State Route 27
• Georgia State Route 31
• Georgia State Route 132

  Adjacent counties

• Wheeler County (northeast)
• Jeff Davis County (southeast)
• Coffee County (south)
• Ben Hill County (southwest)
• Wilcox County (west)
• Dodge County (northwest)

  Demographics

As of the census^[7] of 2000, there were 11,794 people, 4,140 households, and 2,873 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 5,083 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 59.71% White, 38.44% Black or African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 1.16% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. 1.82% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,140 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.40% were married couples living together, 16.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 28.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.50% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 30.10% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 110.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,097, and the median income for a family was $32,513. Males had a median income of $26,444 versus $19,970 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,197. About 17.30% of families and 21.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.40% of those under age 18 and 23.70% of those age 65 or over.

  Cities and towns

• Helena
• Jacksonville
• Lumber City
• McRae
• Scotland
• Milan

  See also

State of Georgia portal

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

  See also

• List of sites and peoples visited by the Hernando de Soto Expedition

	Dodge County		Wheeler County
	Wilcox County
		Telfair County, Georgia
	Ben Hill County	Coffee County	Jeff Davis County

Municipalities and communities of Telfair County, Georgia, United States County seat: McRae Cities Helena‡ Lumber City McRae Milan‡ Scotland‡ Town Jacksonville Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

State of Georgia Atlanta (capital) Topics Index Geology History Delegations Government Governors Culture People Music Elections Politics Geography State Parks Demographics Economy Sports Transportation Visitor Attractions Regions Atlantic coastal plain Blue Ridge Central Georgia Cumberland Plateau The Golden Isles Historic South Lower Coastal Plain Metro Atlanta North Georgia North Georgia Mountains Northeast Georgia Piedmont Ridge and Valley Sea Islands Southern Rivers Southeast Georgia Southwest Georgia Tennessee Valley Wiregrass Region Largest cities Albany Atlanta Athens Augusta Columbus Johns Creek Macon Marietta Roswell Valdosta Savannah Warner Robins Counties Appling Atkinson Bacon Baker Baldwin Banks Barrow Bartow Ben Hill Berrien Bibb Bleckley Brantley Brooks Bryan Bulloch Burke Butts Calhoun Camden Candler Carroll Catoosa Charlton Chatham Chattahoochee Chattooga Cherokee Clarke Clay Clayton Clinch Cobb Coffee Colquitt Columbia Cook Coweta Crawford Crisp Dade Dawson Decatur DeKalb Dodge Dooly Dougherty Douglas Early Echols Effingham Elbert Emanuel Evans Fannin Fayette Floyd Forsyth Franklin Fulton Gilmer Glascock Glynn Gordon Grady Greene Gwinnett Habersham Hall Hancock Haralson Harris Hart Heard Henry Houston Irwin Jackson Jasper Jeff Davis Jefferson Jenkins Johnson Jones Lamar Lanier Laurens Lee Liberty Lincoln Long Lowndes Lumpkin Macon Madison Marion McDuffie McIntosh Meriwether Miller Mitchell Monroe Montgomery Morgan Murray Muscogee Newton Oconee Oglethorpe Paulding Peach Pickens Pierce Pike Polk Pulaski Putnam Quitman Rabun Randolph Richmond Rockdale Schley Screven Seminole Spalding Stephens Stewart Sumter Talbot Taliaferro Tattnall Taylor Telfair Terrell Thomas Tift Toombs Towns Treutlen Troup Turner Twiggs Union Upson Walker Walton Ware Warren Washington Wayne Webster Wheeler White Whitfield Wilcox Wilkes Wilkinson Worth (Campbell) (Milton)

Coordinates: 31°56′N 82°56′W / 31.93°N 82.94°W / 31.93; -82.94

  References

1. ^ United States Census Bureau. "2010 Census Data". United States Census Bureau. http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/. Retrieved 6 March 2012. 
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ "Archaeologists Track Infamous Conquistador Through Southeast". Science Daily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105084838.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
4. ^ Davis, Mark, "What Lies Beneath," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 17, 2007, page C1.
5. ^ ^{a b} Pousner, Howard, "Fernbank archaeologist confident he has found de Soto site," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 6, 2009.
6. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
7. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.