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Jackson County
	Jackson County, Georgia
	Map
	; Location in the state of Georgia
	; Georgia's location in the U.S.
	Statistics
Founded	1796
Seat	Jefferson
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 343 sq mi (888 km²); 342 sq mi (886 km²); 1 sq mi (3 km²), 0.19%
Population; - (2000); - Density	; 41,589; Expression error: Unrecognised word "km"/sq mi (47/km² (122/sq mi)/km²)
Congressional district	10th
	Website: www.jacksoncountygov.com
	Jackson County courthouse in Jefferson, Georgia

Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population in 2000 was 41,589. Explosive growth is evident with a population of 59,254 in the 2007 Census estimates.^[1] The county seat is Jefferson.^[2]

[edit] History

On February 11, 1796, Jackson County was split off from part of Franklin County, Georgia. The new county was named in honor of Revolutionary War Lieutenant Colonel, Congressman, Senator and Governor James Jackson. The county originally covered an area of approximately 1,800 sq mi (4,662 km²), with Clarkesboro as its first county seat.

In 1801, the Georgia General Assembly granted 40,000 acres (160 km²) of land in Jackson County for a state college. Franklin College (now University of Georgia) began classes the same year, and the city of Athens was developed around the school. Also the same year, a new county was developed around the new college town, and Jackson lost territory to the new Clarke. The county seat was moved to an old Indian village called Thomocoggan, a location with ample water supply from Curry Creek and four large springs. In 1804, the city was renamed Jefferson, after Thomas Jefferson.

Jackson lost more territory in 1811 in the creation of Madison County, in 1818 in the creation of Walton, Gwinnett, and Hall counties, in 1858 in the creation of Banks County, and in 1914 in the creation of Barrow County.

The first county courthouse, a log and wooden frame building with an attached jail, was built on south side of the public square; a second, larger, two-story brick courthouse with a separate jailhouse was built in 1817. In 1880, a third was built on a hill north of the square. This courthouse was the oldest continuously operating courthouse in the United States until 2004, when the current courthouse was constructed north of Jefferson.

[edit] Law and government

**Jackson County Board of Commissioners**
Commission post	Office holder
Chairman	Hunter Bicknell
District 1 - central Jackson	Tom Crow
District 2 - north Jackson	Chas Hardy
District 3 - west Jackson	Bruce Yates
District 4 - east Jackson	Dwain Smith

[2]

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 343 square miles (888 km²), of which, 342 square miles (887 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (2 km²) of it (0.19%) is water.

[edit] Rivers and creeks

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Notable festivals and parades

Daisy Festival - May (first full weekend) (Nicholson)
Mule Days - May (Shields-Etheridge Farm)
Annual City Lights Festival - mid-June (Commerce)
Celebrate Braselton - July 4 (Braselton)
Art in the Park - mid-September (Hurricane Shoals)
Annual Fall Festival - September (last weekend) (Hoschton)
Jefferson High School and Jefferson Middle School Band Concerts - Throughout the year (Jefferson)
Jackson County Comprehensive High School, East Jackson Comprehensive High School, East Jackson Middle, and West Jackson Middle School Band Concerts - Throughout the year

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 41,589 people, 15,057 households, and 11,488 families residing in the county. The population density was 122 people per square mile (47/km²). There were 16,226 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.00% White, 7.78% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 1.07% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. 3.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,057 households out of which 36.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.70% were non-families. 19.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.60% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 31.80% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,349, and the median income for a family was $46,211. Males had a median income of $34,063 versus $22,774 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,808. About 9.90% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.30% of those under age 18 and 17.90% of those age 65 or over.