Hancock County, Georgia


Hancock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,429. The county seat is Sparta. The county was created on December 17, 1793 and named for John Hancock.
Hancock County is included in the Milledgeville, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Before the Civil War, Hancock County's economy was based on growing cotton, and labor was done by slaves. This area is classified as part of the Black Belt of the United States, due to its fertile soil and association with the slave society. Slaves made up 61% of the total county population in the 1850 Census. Unusually for such a plantation-dominated society, the county's representatives at the Georgia Secession Convention, overwhelmingly white and Democratic, voted against secession in 1861.
The secession conventions were dominated by men who voted for separation, and Georgia soon seceded and entered the war.

Race relations

According to the 2010 census estimate, the racial makeup of the county seat of Sparta was 84% African American, 15% White, 0.50% from two or more races, 0.30% Asian, and 0.10% Native American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population. Most African Americans support the Democratic Party and whites support the Republican Party.
In August 2015, the majority-white Hancock County Board of Elections initiated an effort to purge African-American voters from the rolls. They directed deputy sheriffs to the homes of more than 180 African Americans residing in the county seat of Sparta to inform them they would lose their voting rights unless they appeared in court to prove their residency. A total of 53 voters were removed the voting rolls, but a federal judge overturned the Board's actions.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
The western portion of Hancock County, which is defined by a line running southeast from White Plains to the intersection of State Route 22 and Springfield Road, then running southwest along State Route 22, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The southern portion of the county, defined by a triangle made of State Route 22 and State Route 15, with Sparta at its apex, is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin. The northeastern portion of Hancock County is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin.

Major highways

No Interstate Highway

2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 10,076 people, 3,237 households, and 2,311 families living in the county. The population density was 21 people per square mile. There were 4,287 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 77.76% Black or African American, 21.46% White, 0.16% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 0.38% from two or more races. 0.54%. were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 3,237 households 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.00% were married couples living together, 28.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 26.10% of households were one person and 10.80% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.22.
The age distribution was 24.10% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 31.00% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.00% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 114.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.20 males.
The median household income was $22,003 and the median family income was $27,232. Males had a median income of $26,062 versus $19,328 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,916. About 26.10% of families and 29.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.40% of those under age 18 and 25.30% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 9,429 people, 3,341 households, and 2,183 families living in the county. The population density was. There were 5,360 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 74.1% black or African American, 24.4% white, 0.5% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, and 25.1% were American.
Of the 3,341 households, 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% were married couples living together, 23.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.7% were non-families, and 31.3% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age was 43.0 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $22,283 and the median family income was $27,168. Males had a median income of $26,837 versus $21,223 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,925. About 26.7% of families and 26.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.3% of those under age 18 and 21.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Hancock County has arguably been the most consistent Democratic county in the entire nation since the Civil War. It has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1852 except that of 1972, when George McGovern lost every county in Georgia – and even then it was easily McGovern's best county in the state and he lost by only 93 votes. Apart from Richard Nixon in that election, Barry Goldwater is the only Republican since at least 1912 to reach 30 percent of the county's vote, and Goldwater did so when the enfranchisement of the county's African-American majority was highly incomplete and the white minority's traditional Democratic loyalties were being broken. In 1980 it was Georgia "favorite son" Jimmy Carter's second best county in the nation, whilst in 1984 Walter Mondale, who went within 3,819 votes of losing all fifty states, won over 76.6 percent of Hancock County ballots to make it his fourth-best county outside the District of Columbia.

Notable people