Gilmer County, Georgia

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Template:Infobox U.S. county

Gilmer County is a county in the Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,353.[1] The county seat is Ellijay.[2] named for a historic Cherokee town also spelled as Elejoy in the 18th century. The county was created on December 3, 1832, and was named for George Rockingham Gilmer, a politician who served two nonconsecutive terms as governor of the state.[3][4] Gilmer County is home of the annual Apple Festival, which is held in mid-October. About 90% of the land area is in cropland and forest. Poultry raising and processing make up the largest portion of the agricultural economy, which generates 33.2% of the total revenues. Manufacturing is about 20%.

History

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The area was long inhabited by cultures of indigenous peoples. It was part of the homeland of the Cherokee. They had a village, Elatseyi, meaning "new ground".[5] Other sources say it means "green place".[6] It was sometimes spelled "Elejoy" on 18th-century colonial maps. It was located at the confluence of the Ellijay and Cartecay Rivers, which create the Coosawattee River. The later European-American town of Ellijay developed at this site.

In 1832, Gilmer County was organized as Georgia started to encroach on Cherokee territory.[7] Ellijay was designated as the county seat in 1834.

On January 12, 1854, parts of Gilmer County, as well as parts of neighboring Union County, were taken to form the newly created Fannin County, Georgia.[8]

The area was an infamous hotbed for illegal moonshine operations in the Prohibition era. ATF agent Duff Floyd patrolled both Gilmer County and nearby Dawson County for many years.[9]

File:CartecayRiverGA panorama.jpg
Blackberry Falls rapid on the Cartecay River near Ellijay

This is still a primarily rural county, with agriculture and forests supporting the economy. It also has a growing tourist sector, some based on whitewater kayaking and canoeing on the rivers in the area.

Economy

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Farming is still important, although, by 2002, the area of land in the county devoted to agriculture had declined to 24,700 acres. Most farms are sized at 10-49 acres, or 50-179 acres. Poultry raising and processing make up the largest portion of the agricultural economy. Agriculture and directly related businesses, such as landscape services, generate $565.1 million, or 33.2% of the county's economic output. Manufacturing generates $351.4 million, or 20.6%.[10]

Geography

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File:Coosaheadwatersmap.png

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 431 square miles (1,120 km2), of which 4.7 square miles (12 km2) (1.1%) are covered by water.[11] The county is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The vast majority of Gilmer County is located in the Coosawattee River sub-basin in the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin). Three very small parts of the eastern and northern edges of the county are located in the Conasauga River sub-basin of the ACT River Basin, while slightly larger portions of the northern and eastern border areas of Gilmer County are located in the Ocoee River sub-basin of the Middle Tennessee-Hiwassee basin.[12]

Adjacent counties

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National protected area

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Transportation

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Major highways

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Secondary highways

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  • Old S.R. 5
  • Yukon Road
  • Burnt Mountain Road (Old S.R. 108)
  • Boardtown Road
  • Big Creek Road
  • Doublehead Gap Road
  • Whitestone Road
  • Conasauga Road

Demographics

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Template:US Census population

Racial and ethnic composition

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Gilmer County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 1980[13] Pop 1990[14] Pop 2000[15] Pop 2010[16] Pop 2020[17] % 1980 % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 10,999 13,193 21,287 25,078 26,365 99.00% 98.69% 90.75% 88.64% 84.09%
Black or African American alone (NH) 22 37 51 98 127 0.20% 0.28% 0.22% 0.35% 0.41%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 6 15 81 72 62 0.05% 0.11% 0.35% 0.25% 0.20%
Asian alone (NH) 5 20 35 65 131 0.05% 0.15% 0.15% 0.23% 0.42%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) x [18] x [19] 18 15 0 x x 0.08% 0.05% 0.00%
Other race alone (NH) 0 1 3 18 82 0.00% 0.01% 0.01% 0.06% 0.26%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) x [20] x [21] 166 269 987 x x 0.71% 0.95% 3.15%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 78 102 1,815 2,677 3,599 0.70% 0.76% 7.74% 9.46% 11.48%
Total 11,110 13,368 23,456 28,292 31,353 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2020 census

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As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 31,353, 12,832 households, and 8,028 families residing in the county.[22] The median age was 49.4 years, 18.9% of residents were under the age of 18, and 26.4% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.3 males age 18 and over; 21.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 78.5% lived in rural areas.[23]

The racial makeup of the county was 86.0% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 6.5% from some other race, and 5.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 11.5% of the population.[24]

Of the 12,832 households in the county, 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[22]

There were 17,717 housing units, of which 27.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 79.4% were owner-occupied and 20.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.5%.[22]

2010 census

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As of the 2010 United States census, 28,292 people, 11,314 households, and 8,000 families lived in the county.[25] The population density was 66.3 inhabitants per square mile (25.6/km2). There were 16,564 housing units at an average density of 38.8 units per square mile (15.0 units/km2).[26] The racial makeup of the county was 92.3% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 5.2% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin, of any race, made up 9.5% of the population.[25] In terms of ancestry, non-Hispanic people identified as 18.7% being Irish, 17.3% American, 16.3% English ancestry, and 13.4% German.[27]

Of the 11,314 households, 29.2% had children under 18 living with them, 57.2% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.3% were not families, and 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age was 43.4 years.[25]

The median income for a household in the county was $36,741 and for a family was $45,317. Males had a median income of $32,177 versus $27,288 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,439. About 12.4% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.1% of those under 18 and 8.0% of those 65 or over.[28]

2000 census

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As of the census[29] of 2000, 23,456 people, 9,071 households, and 6,694 families were living in the county. uncited estimate The population density was 55 people per square mile (21 people/km2). The 11,924 housing units had an average density of 28 units per square mile (11 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 93.63% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.46% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 3.76% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. About 7.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 9,071 households, 30.9% had children under 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were not families. Around 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the age distribution was 24.3% under18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 28.50% from 25 to 44, 25.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.10% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.00 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 101.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,330, and for a family was $41,805. Males had a median income of $31,217 versus $24,020 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,117. About 17.8% of families and 23.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.6% of those under 18 and 10.6% of those 65 or over.[30]

Government and politics

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Gilmer County is governed by a three-member board of commissioners. The current[when?] board chairman is Charlie Paris. The Post 1 commissioner is Hubert Parker and the Post 2 commissioner is Karleen Ferguson. Other current government officials include: Sheriff, Stacy Nicholson; Probate Judge, Scott Chastain; Magistrate Judge, Kevin Johnson; Clerk of Court, Amy Johnson; Tax Commissioner, Rebecca Marshall; Coroner, Jerry Hensley. All are members of the Republican Party.

Some of the past chairmen of the board of commissioners include J.C. Sanford (2011–2014), Mark Chastain (2009–2010), Jerry Farist (2005–2008), and Rayburn Smith (1997–2004). Merle Howell served as the first chairman of the three-member board starting on January 1, 1996. She was recalled by the voters of Gilmer County, who elected Rayburn Smith in July 1997.

Until 1988, Gilmer County was governed by a sole commissioner. Cicero Logan served as commissioner from 1946 until 1959. Harold Hefner was elected in 1958 and served from 1959 until 1972. Gilmer County's last sole commissioner was Benjamin N. Whitaker, who served from 1973 until 1988.

In 1988, Gilmer County changed to a five-member board of commissioners, who then hired a “county manager” to run day-to-day operations of the county. The first five-member board included Mack Logan, Ruel Reece, Garvin Davis Jr., John Penland, and Charles Aaron. Jim Bailey served as county manager.

Politics

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The voters of Gilmer, like neighboring Rabun, Towns, Pickens, and Fannin Counties, were different in their historic partisan preferences from other parts of Georgia. Since the post-Civil War period, it had a competitive Republican party. At the turn of the 20th century, the disfranchisement of most Blacks in Georgia resulted in the state's White conservatives voting mostly for Democratic candidates at the state and national level. In contrast, these northern Georgia counties voted for Republican presidential candidates in several early 20th-century elections.[citation needed]

As of the 2020s, Gilmer County is a strongly Republican voting county, voting 81% for Donald Trump in 2024. For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Gilmer County is part of Georgia's 9th congressional district, currently represented by Andrew Clyde. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Gilmer County is part of District 51.[31] For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Gilmer County is part of District 7.[32]

United States presidential election results for Gilmer County, Georgia[33]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
1912 52 7.93% 488 74.39% 116 17.68%
1916 258 16.54% 742 47.56% 560 35.90%
1920 662 54.80% 546 45.20% 0 0.00%
1924 912 54.03% 776 45.97% 0 0.00%
1928 1,012 65.67% 529 34.33% 0 0.00%
1932 616 33.73% 1,210 66.27% 0 0.00%
1936 1,047 48.14% 1,128 51.86% 0 0.00%
1940 653 42.93% 865 56.87% 3 0.20%
1944 793 47.29% 884 52.71% 0 0.00%
1948 1,203 47.36% 1,275 50.20% 62 2.44%
1952 1,324 49.35% 1,359 50.65% 0 0.00%
1956 1,857 59.29% 1,275 40.71% 0 0.00%
1960 1,850 55.69% 1,472 44.31% 0 0.00%
1964 2,167 50.09% 2,159 49.91% 0 0.00%
1968 2,074 51.55% 690 17.15% 1,259 31.30%
1972 2,729 78.04% 768 21.96% 0 0.00%
1976 1,261 33.54% 2,499 66.46% 0 0.00%
1980 2,170 47.83% 2,246 49.50% 121 2.67%
1984 2,972 70.66% 1,234 29.34% 0 0.00%
1988 3,353 70.65% 1,363 28.72% 30 0.63%
1992 2,661 45.19% 2,311 39.25% 916 15.56%
1996 3,121 49.06% 2,464 38.74% 776 12.20%
2000 4,941 67.04% 2,230 30.26% 199 2.70%
2004 7,414 73.97% 2,510 25.04% 99 0.99%
2008 8,408 75.17% 2,614 23.37% 164 1.47%
2012 8,926 80.76% 1,958 17.71% 169 1.53%
2016 10,477 81.55% 1,965 15.29% 406 3.16%
2020 13,429 81.25% 2,932 17.74% 166 1.00%
2024 14,976 80.95% 3,413 18.45% 111 0.60%
2016 1 33.33% 1 33.33% 1 33.33%


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Attractions

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Gilmer County is home to an impressive specimen of yellow poplar known colloquially as "the big poplar". This particular specimen is 100 feet tall and about 20 feet in circumference at its base. The tree can be accessed via Bear Creek Trail in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

Communities

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Cities

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Census-designated place

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Unincorporated communities

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Education

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The Gilmer County School District has five schools, including the Gilmer High School.

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James Dickey's novel Deliverance was set on a fictional river modeled on the Coosawattee, prior to the construction of the dam producing Carters Lake. It was adapted as a 1972 thriller movie of the same name. It was filmed further north in the state, in Rabun County.[34][35][36]

Dickey's 'The Selected Poems' (1998), edited by Robert Kirschten, begins with a ten-page poem entitled 'May Day Sermon to the Women of Gilmer County, Georgia, by a Woman Preacher Leaving the Baptist Church', taken from his book 'Poems 1957 - 67'.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Census - Geography Profile: Gilmer County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Gilmer County". Georgia.gov. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  4. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 137.
  5. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 117.
  6. ↑ "The Names Stayed". Calhoun Times and Gordon County News. August 29, 1990. p. 64. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 94. ISBN 0-915430-00-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 17, 2003.
  8. ↑ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 76. ISBN 0-915430-00-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 17, 2003.
  9. ↑ Dabney, Joseph E., Mountain Spirits: A Chronicle of Corn Whiskey from King James' Ulster Plantation to America's Appalachians and the Moonshine Life, pp. 183-84 (Bright Mountain Books, 1974), ISBN 978-0914875024
  10. ↑ "GCeconomy">Boatright, Sue; Flanders, Archie (March 2008). "Gilmer County Economy" (PDF). University of Georgia, Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development. Retrieved January 28, 2021.[permanent dead link]
  11. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission Interactive Mapping Experience". Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  13. ↑ "1980 Census of Population - General Social and Economic Characteristics - Georgia - Table 58 - Race by Sex: 1980 and Table 59 - Persons by Spanish Origin, Race, and Sex: 1980" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. p. 12-52. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 18, 2026 – via Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Georgia: Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Origin" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. p. 15-65. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 1, 2025 – via Wayback Machine.
  15. ↑ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Gilmer County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
  16. ↑ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Gilmer County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
  17. ↑ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Gilmer County, Georgia". United States Census Bureau.
  18. ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
  19. ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
  20. ↑ not an option in the 1980 Census
  21. ↑ not an option in the 1990 Census
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  23. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  24. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  27. ↑ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  28. ↑ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  29. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  30. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  31. ↑ "Georgia General Assembly". www.legis.ga.gov. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Georgia General Assembly". www.legis.ga.gov. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
  33. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  34. ↑ Gatling, William (June 30, 2010). "Deliverance and the Coosawattee". Georgia Canoeing Association. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Filming Locations for Deliverance (1972), in Georgia". The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Brown's Guide to Georgia". December 22, 2010. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
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Template:Geographic Location Template:Gilmer County, Georgia Template:Georgia (U.S. state) Coordinates: 34°41′N 84°28′W / 34.69°N 84.46°W / 34.69; -84.46

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