Wilkinson County, Georgia

Wilkinson County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,877.US 2020 Census Bureau report, Wilkinson County, Georgia The county seat is Irwinton. The county was created on May 11, 1803, and named for General James Wilkinson (1757–1825).

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water. The county is located mainly in the upper Atlantic coastal plain region of the state, but does have some rolling hills due to its close proximity to the fall line.

The entirety of Wilkinson County is located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.

Major highways

U.S. Route 80 U.S. Route 441 State Route 18 State Route 18 Spur State Route 19 State Route 29 State Route 57 State Route 96 State Route 112 State Route 243 State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)

Adjacent counties Baldwin County (north) Bleckley County (south) Washington County (northeast) Johnson County (east) Laurens County (southeast) Twiggs County (southwest) Jones County (northwest)

Communities

Cities Allentown Gordon Irwinton (county seat) Danville Ivey McIntyre Toomsboro

Towns

Unincorporated communities Nicklesville Stephensville

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Wilkinson County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)5,6795,8865,8935,5295,11054.77%57.55%57.66%57.82%57.56%Black or African American alone (NH)4,5844,3004,1533,6643,16344.21%42.04%40.64%38.31%35.63%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)352020300.03%0.05%0.20%0.21%0.34%Asian alone (NH)26731220.02%0.06%0.07%0.32%0.25%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census013xx0.00%0.01%0.03%Other race alone (NH)11214130.01%0.01%0.02%0.15%0.15%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census4490297xx0.43%0.94%3.35%Hispanic or Latino (any race)99301012142390.95%0.29%0.99%2.24%2.69%Total10,36810,22810,2209,5638,877 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 8,877. The median age was 44.9 years. 20.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.4 males age 18 and over. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 58.2% White, 35.8% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.3% from some other race, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.7% of the population.

There were 3,588 households and 2,079 families in the county, of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 31.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 4,288 housing units, of which 16.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 76.7% were owner-occupied and 23.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.8%.

Politics Wilkinson County voted for every Democratic presidential nominee from 1828 to 1960; note that 1828 was the first year in which Georgia held a popular vote for presidential electors and also the first year in which the Democratic Party ran a presidential candidate. However, there was at least one example of Republican success in the county during Reconstruction: in the 1868 gubernatorial election, which was held in April, the Republican ticket swept the county, with Rufus Bullock receiving 59% of the vote; the Republican candidate for county ordinary won by just 1.7%. Decades later, in the 1948 presidential election Harry Truman only won the county by one vote from States’ Rights candidate Strom Thurmond.

In 1964, Wilkinson County voted overwhelmingly for Barry Goldwater, the first Republican presidential nominee to win the county. It also delivered large victories to segregationist American Independent Party candidate George Wallace and Republican Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972 respectively. In the presidential elections of both 1976 and 1980, former Georgia governor Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, won the county easily.

In 1984, Democrat Walter Mondale won the county by a 9% margin, which was only the second presidential result in the county within 30% since 1912. This was also the first time since 1848, when Whig Zachary Taylor narrowly won Georgia, that the county voted for a presidential candidate who did not win the state. In the following three presidential elections, Wilkinson continued to give Democratic candidates between 53% and 59% of the vote.

In 2000, Al Gore won Wilkinson County by a margin of 1.3%, or 84 votes, receiving 50.4% to George W. Bush's 48.1%. The county then voted for all three Republican nominees from 2004 to 2012, each time by a margin of less than 1.5%. In 2016, it voted for Donald Trump by a margin of just over 10%. Wilkinson was thus one of many counties in Georgia's historic black belt that demonstrated a significant swing in favor of Republican presidential candidates from 2012 to 2016. Similarly, the county swung from a 0.25% victory for the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial nominee to an 11.63% victory for the 2018 Republican gubernatorial nominee.

Even as it has become more favorable to Republicans at the state and federal level, Wilkinson's county government continued to be dominated by Democrats up until the 2020s. For most of this century the Democratic primary was often tantamount to election. In 2016, Democrats won all six county executive offices without Republican opposition, as well as the three school board seats up for election that year. While the Republican district attorney for the district that includes Wilkinson was also unopposed, he received only 65.6% of ballots cast, compared to at least 72.4% for each unopposed Democratic countywide official. In 2018, Democratic incumbents were reelected unopposed to two of the county's five commission seats unopposed and to a third seat by a 25% margin, as well as winning the race for commission chair unopposed. The Democratic candidate in the open first commission district lost, but by just 2.7%. Both school board members up that year were unopposed Democratic incumbents.

Similarly, the overwhelming majority of primary voters in Wilkinson have chosen Democratic ballots even in recent years, presidential primaries excepted. In 2014, 2,022 of 2,174 primary voters (93.0%) chose Democratic ballots. In 2016, 1,726 of 2,033 primary voters (84.9%) did so, and in 2018, 1,186 of the 1,862 primary voters (63.7%) did so, even in the context of a competitive statewide Republican primary for governor. Three incumbent county commissioners faced opponents in their 2018 primaries; the incumbent county commission chair lost, and the District 2 incumbent won by just one vote.

Prior to the November 2022 elections, Democrats held a majority or 4 out of 5 seats on the County Commission. On election night, a Republican defeated the incumbent Democratic chairman by nearly 20 percentage points. Republicans were also able to flip an additional seat on the commission previously held by a Democrat, and in doing so captured a 3–2 majority. Republicans also captured a seat on the local Board of Education, in which they had none prior to the election.

Representation For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Wilkinson County is part of Georgia's 8th congressional district, currently represented by Austin Scott. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Wilkinson County is part of District 26. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Wilkinson County is part of District 133.

Government Current county officials: Category Specific office Name Party Year of last election Executive or judicial office Clerk of Superior Court Cinda Sloan Bright D 2020 Executive or judicial office Coroner William “Billy” Matthews R 2020 Executive or judicial office Probate/Magistrate Judge Sarah "Amanda" Holder R 2025 Executive or judicial office Sheriff Richard Chatman D 2020 Executive or judicial office County Surveyor Donald D. Brooks D 2020 Executive or judicial office Tax Commissioner Jemesha Anderson D Board of Commissioners Chairman Anthony Bentley R 2024 Special Board of Commissioners District 1 Zachery Shepherd R 2022 Board of Commissioners District 2 James Hagins D 2022 Board of Commissioners District 3 Robert Dames R 2022 Board of Commissioners District 4 Anderson Ford D 2022 Board of Education Chairman Roger Smith D 2020 Board of Education District 1 Leigh Scott R 2022 Board of Education District 2 Kimberly S. Watkins D 2022 Board of Education District 3 Leroy Strange D 2020 Board of Education District 4 Charles Pitts D 2020

Education The only school district is the Wilkinson County School District. - Text list

Wilkinson County, Georgia

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