Wayne County, Georgia
Wayne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 26,565. The 2005 Census Estimate shows a population of 28,390 [1]. The county seat is Jesup, Georgia6.
History
Seventy years after General James Oglethorpe settled the colony of Georgia and 27 years after that colony became one of the 13 original states, Wayne County came into being. It was created by an Act of the Legislature in 1803 after the Wilkinson Treaty was signed with the Creek Indians on January 16, 1802, which ceded part of the Tallassee Country and part of the lands within the forks of the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers to the United States. As originally laid out, the new county – the 28th Georgia county – was a long narrow strip of land approximately 100 miles in length but with varying measures of width along the way. It was six miles as it stood just south of the Altamaha, eight miles wide near the Satilla and five miles wide at a location about 27 miles south of the Altamaha. All counties organized prior to 1802 were head right counties – no surveys were ever made of those counties. It was found that under the head right system more land was given away than actually existed and this was the case for Wayne County. Although created in 1803, no valid lottery was done for the county until the Land Lottery Act of 1805. The 1805 Act divided the half million acres of Wayne County, formed the Tallassee Strip, and set the stage for the land lottery that would result in more formal settlement of the area. It is the second date, December 7, 1805, that the county chose to observe as the creation date. The area was not a popular one for lottery draws as the straws were drawn sight unseen and the winner was as likely to draw swampland as he was prime agricultural lots. Being close to the coast and bordered by the Altamaha River, Wayne County's history includes occupation by Spanish missionaries at the time of the settlement of Saint Augustine as well as short lived French occupation. The flags of France, Spain, England, and the Confederate States of America have all had a time of flying over our land. The county was named for Mad Anthony Wayne whose military career had made him a well known hero. When he surprised the British garrison at Stony Point on July 15, 1779, he acquired the nickname “Mad” Anthony. From one siege to another, he was a vital member of General George Washington’s staff serving well under General Nathaniel Greene and coming to Georgia in 1781 in his service during the American Revolution. The county was slow in developing and those settling the area were in no hurry to be concerned with matters governmental. It was not until 1829 that legislative action even created a county seat. Wayne County’s first official county seat was Waynesville, then considered to be a central location in the long and narrow county for settlers to travel for court and other primary government functions. Waynesville was the site of Wayne County’s first school called Mineral Springs Academy. It was named for the famous mineral springs which were a short distance east of the residential section of the town. The county seat remained at Waynesville until 1873 when the Courthouse Committee reported the courthouse complete at Jesup. The first post office in Wayne County was established at Tuckersville - sometime Tuckerville - January 29, 1814 and Tuckersville acted as the county seat until Waynesville was so designated. John Tucker was the first postmaster and his service was followed by William A. Knight and Robert Stafford, Jr. before the mail service was discontinued in 1827. Tuckersville disappears from maps by 1850 and its exact location remains a mystery although it is known it was north of Waynesville on the Post Road near the Buffalo Swamp. Although there is some doubt about whom the City of Jesup is named for, there is no doubt it became Jesup on October 24, 1870. Ambling along as Station Number 6 on the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad, the town grew into a city primarily due to the efforts of its first mayor, Willis Clary. Clary had first moved to Wayne County in 1868 and was elected mayor shortly after moving into the town at a meeting held December 3, 1870. Clary is credited with convincing the Macon and Brunswick Railroad to locate its tracks so that they crossed the Atlantic and Gulf rails at Jesup. From its beginning, Jesup has been a railway town and as early as 1891, the town’s population was essentially connected to the railroads in some way. Although not formally incorporated until 1907, the cities of Screven and Odum are also historic railroad towns. Screven ranks as the oldest established town being formally established in 1854 when the town became a terminus on the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad. The rail line connected Screven and Thomasville which at the time was a resort city popular with Europeans and wealthy Americans. It is not known exactly when Station Number 7 became known as Screven but the town bears the name of the family of Dr. James Proctor Screven and his son, John Bryan Screven of Savannah who were operating the railroad at the time of its inception. Screven’s first businessman and landowner, C. C. Grace helped to build the community. Likewise, Godfrey Odum used real estate to build his fortune and to improve the community into a town. Odum became a stop on the Macon and Brunswick Railroad and later became a part of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. Odum was known as Satilla on an 1870 timetable from the Macon and Brunswick and before that it was known as Haslum. Rail access made it easier for Odum’s turpentine and sawmills products to be shipped to larger markets. Henry W. Grady once said South Georgia was only suited for pine trees and cows and it is the pine that has made Wayne County prosper. Through the years, turpentine and naval stores made communities, schools and churches spring up along the paths of the railroads and the streams and creeks that dot the countryside. Agriculture kept many a family fed and able to earn a dollar. Places like Mount Pleasant, Gardi, McKinnon, Doctortown, Manningtown, Brentwood, Ritch, O’Quinn, Madray Springs and Piney Grove were centers of family living. The pine tree so despised by Henry Grady carried the economy through the turpentine and sawmill era into the pulp and paper industry of the 21st century. It is the people and their history that we celebrate after 200 years and on into the future.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,680 km² (649 mi²). 1,670 km² (645 mi²) of it is land and 11 km² (4 mi²) of it (0.64%) is water.
Major Highways
Adjacent Counties
- Tattnall County (north)
- Long County (northeast)
- McIntosh County (east)
- Glynn County (southeast)
- Brantley County (south)
- Pierce County (southwest)
- Appling County (northwest)
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 26,565 people, 9,324 households, and 6,937 families residing in the county. The population density was 16/km² (41/mi²). There were 10,827 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (17/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 76.73% White, 20.32% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.31% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 3.81% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 9,324 households out of which 35.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.50% were married couples living together, 14.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.60% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.90% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 108.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,766, and the median income for a family was $39,442. Males had a median income of $31,977 versus $19,551 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,628. About 13.40% of families and 16.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.70% of those under age 18 and 14.40% of those age 65 or over.
The current Sheriff of Wayne County is John G. Carter who was elected in 2004.