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Tift County, Georgia

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Tift County is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,344.[1] The county seat is Tifton.[2]

Tift County
County
Tift County Courthouse, (Built 1912), Tifton
Tift County Courthouse, (Built 1912), Tifton
Map of Georgia highlighting Tift County
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Map of the United States highlighting Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°28′N 83°32′W / 31.46°N 83.53°W / 31.46; -83.53
Country United States
State Georgia
FoundedAugust 17, 1905; 119 years ago (1905)
Named forNelson Tift
SeatTifton
Largest cityTifton
Area
 • Total
269 sq mi (700 km2)
 • Land259 sq mi (670 km2)
 • Water9.9 sq mi (26 km2)  3.7%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
41,344
 • Density160/sq mi (60/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district8th
Websitewww.tiftcounty.org

Tift County comprises the Tifton, Georgia micropolitan statistical area.

History

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The county was created on August 17, 1905, and is named for Henry Harding Tift, who founded Tifton in 1872. Tift purchased about 65,000 acres of virgin pine timberland there in the Wiregrass Region of South Georgia, and established a sawmill and a village for his workers. Tift eventually expanded into turpentine and barrel-making operations, and turned his barren timberlands into farms for cotton, corn, livestock, fruit, tobacco, pecans and sweet potatoes. When the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway intersected the Brunswick and Western Railroad near Tift's mill in 1888, the settlement was connected to Atlanta and became a boom town. It was incorporated as Tifton by the Georgia Legislature in 1890.

Tift provided employment and financial growth opportunities for his flourishing market center by founding the Tifton Cotton Mill, the Bank of Tifton, and other types of businesses in which he had a leading interest. These included fruit growing, groceries and general merchandise, cottonseed oil, lumber, brick and stone, and several railroads, all essential for the development of a region. Tift also established a model farm north of town and donated a large parcel of acreage for an agricultural experiment station; these enterprises led eventually to the development of Abraham Baldwin College and the Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Tifton.

Tift's civic commitment was most evident in his donation of lands for churches (Methodist, Baptist, and Episcopal) and Fulwood Park, and in his decades of service as a city councilman and mayor. Through a variety of business and civic undertakings, Tift contributed significantly to the economic and social development of south central Georgia. Though a captain of industry, agriculture, and finance, he is best remembered for his civic service and generosity.

Tift County was created on August 17, 1905, by an act of the General Assembly.[3] Because Georgia law in 1905 did not allow a new county to be named after a living person, the legislature voted to name Tift County after Nelson Tift of Albany, Georgia, who was an uncle of Henry Harding Tift.

In 2013, John Edward (Edd) Dorminey a native of Tifton, author and historian drafted resolutions and presented them to the Tifton and Tift County Commissions which were passed unanimously. Soon after with assistance from Representative Jay Roberts the Georgia House of Representatives and the Senate voted to approve the submitted resolution establishing the naming of Tift County after its rightful founder, Henry Harding Tift.[4]

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 269 square miles (700 km2), of which 259 square miles (670 km2) is land and 9.9 square miles (26 km2) (3.7%) is water.[5]

The western portion of Tift County, roughly west of Interstate 75, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The county's southeastern third, from north of Tifton heading southeast, is located in the Withlacoochee River sub-basin of the same Suwannee River basin. The northeastern portion of the Tift County, east of Chula, is located in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the same larger Suwannee River basin.[6]

Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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Communities

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Cities

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Census-designated places

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Unincorporated communities

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
191011,487—
192014,49326.2%
193016,06810.9%
194018,59915.8%
195022,64521.8%
196023,4873.7%
197027,28816.2%
198032,86220.4%
199034,9986.5%
200038,4079.7%
201040,1184.5%
202041,3443.1%
2023 (est.)41,554[7]0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1790-1880[9] 1890-1910[10]
1920-1930[11] 1930-1940[12]
1940-1950[13] 1960-1980[14]
1980-2000[15] 2010[16]
Tift County racial composition as of 2020[17]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 22,189 53.67%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 12,049 29.14%
Native American 56 0.14%
Asian 650 1.57%
Pacific Islander 2 0.0%
Other/Mixed 1,179 2.85%
Hispanic or Latino 5,219 12.62%

At the 2020 United States census, there were 41,344 people, 15,144 households, and 10,703 families residing in the county.

Education

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Tift County School District headquarters

Tift County School District operates public schools.

Politics

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United States presidential election results for Tift County, Georgia[18]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 10,784 66.24% 5,318 32.67% 178 1.09%
2016 9,584 67.13% 4,347 30.45% 345 2.42%
2012 9,185 65.88% 4,660 33.42% 97 0.70%
2008 9,431 66.09% 4,749 33.28% 89 0.62%
2004 8,619 68.75% 3,864 30.82% 54 0.43%
2000 6,678 64.66% 3,547 34.34% 103 1.00%
1996 5,613 53.07% 4,198 39.69% 766 7.24%
1992 4,485 46.87% 3,930 41.07% 1,154 12.06%
1988 4,760 65.80% 2,446 33.81% 28 0.39%
1984 4,429 61.81% 2,736 38.19% 0 0.00%
1980 3,280 40.89% 4,572 56.99% 170 2.12%
1976 2,162 29.43% 5,185 70.57% 0 0.00%
1972 4,591 84.91% 816 15.09% 0 0.00%
1968 1,692 24.81% 1,187 17.40% 3,942 57.79%
1964 4,650 67.04% 2,286 32.96% 0 0.00%
1960 1,423 32.44% 2,964 67.56% 0 0.00%
1956 960 23.51% 3,123 76.49% 0 0.00%
1952 1,318 30.85% 2,954 69.15% 0 0.00%
1948 637 13.72% 3,158 68.00% 849 18.28%
1944 396 19.55% 1,630 80.45% 0 0.00%
1940 226 13.21% 1,463 85.51% 22 1.29%
1936 161 8.95% 1,627 90.49% 10 0.56%
1932 65 4.43% 1,394 95.09% 7 0.48%
1928 511 40.98% 736 59.02% 0 0.00%
1924 33 5.55% 522 87.73% 40 6.72%
1920 154 21.10% 576 78.90% 0 0.00%
1916 42 3.36% 1,034 82.79% 173 13.85%
1912 0 0.00% 305 94.43% 18 5.57%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Tift County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Ga. Laws 1905, p. 60
  4. ^ "HR 281 2013-2014 Regular Session". www.legis.ga.gov.
  5. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  6. ^ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  7. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  8. ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". United States Census Bureau.
  9. ^ "1880 Census Population by Counties 1790-1800" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1880.
  10. ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1910.
  11. ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1930.
  12. ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1940.
  13. ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia -" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1950.
  14. ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 1980.
  15. ^ "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - Georgia" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000.
  16. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  17. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  18. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org.
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31°28′N 83°32′W / 31.46°N 83.53°W / 31.46; -83.53

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