Gordon County was created on February 13, 1850 by an act of the
Georgia General Assembly. The new county was formed from portions of Cass (later renamed
Bartow) and
Floyd counties. All lands that would become Gordon County were originally occupied by the
Cherokee Indians -- and, in fact, the area was home of
New Echota, the last seat of the
Cherokee Nation.
It was not until December 29, 1835 that Georgia had an official basis for claiming Cherokee lands that included the future location of Gordon County. In the
Treaty of New Echota, a faction of the Cherokees agreed to give up all Cherokee claims to land in Georgia,
Alabama,
Tennessee, and North Carolina and move west in return for $5 million. Though a majority of Cherokees opposed the treaty and refused to leave, the
U.S. and Georgia considered it binding. In 1838, the last of 15,000 Cherokees in Georgia marched west in what came to be known as the "Trail of Tears".
Gordon County's original 1850 boundaries were changed numerous times between 1852 to 1877, during which time the legislature transferred portions of Cass (Bartow), Floyd, Murray,
Pickens, and
Walker counties to Gordon County, while transferring land from Gordon to Floyd and Murray counties.
Georgia's 94th county was named for
William Washington Gordon (1796–1842), the first Georgian to graduate from
West Point and first president of the
Central of Georgia Railroad(See a monument to William Gordon in
Savannah,
Georgia).
Economy
In addition to service industries, the economy of Gordon County is rooted in manufacuturing and both heavy and light industry.
Mohawk Industries, a leading manufacturer of flooring, is headquartered in Gordon County. In addition,
Shaw Industries,
Beaulieu International Group,
LG Chem, and
Kobelco Construction Machinery America - a division of
Kobe Steel - have significant presences in Gordon, County.
Culture
Gordon County was the home of the
Georgia Yellow Hammers, an
old-time music group from the 1920s. The Yellow Hammers, chiefly composed of Bill Chitwood, Clyde Evans, Bud Landress, Charles Ernest Moody, and Phil Reeve were one of the most important bands during the heyday of old-time music. They have left their mark on the community. The
Calhoun High School (Calhoun, Georgia) Yellow Jackets football team play in Phil Reeve Stadium. Mr. Moody was the author of songs which are today
Southern Gospel standards including "Drifting Too Far From the Shore" which has been covered and recorded by such artists as
Jerry Garcia,
Emmylou Harris,
Phil Lesh,
Hank Williams and many others.
Rail Accidents
Two fatal rail accidents took place in Gordon County in the late 20th century. The first one was in 1981 when Southern Railway train #160 collided with a log truck near the community of Oostanaula. The engineer and the driver of the log truck were fatally injured. In 1990, Train #188 ran a stop signal at the north end of the siding at Davis, Georgia and collided with Train #G38 on the same line. The engineer and conductor on #G38 and the conductor on #188 died in this collision. A monument stands at the site of the collision near the Georgia Highway 136 crossing.
Politics
Bert Lance, an advisor to
Jimmy Carter's successful presidential campaign, served as Chairman of the Board of Calhoun First National Bank, now owned by
BB&T.
In recent years, the Republicans have had a strong base in Gordon County.
2004 President Bush (R): 11671 (73.98%) Kerry (D): 4028 (25.53%) Badnarik (L): 76 (0.48%)
2004 US Senate Isakson (R): 11051 (72.18%) Majette (D): 3930 (25.67%) Buckley (L): 330 (2.16%)
2002 Governor Perdue (R): 6074 (62%) Barnes (D): 3468 (35.4%) Hayes (L): 254 (2.59%)
Education
Gordon County public schools
High Schools
Middle Schools
- Sonoraville Middle School
- Ashworth Middle School
Elementary Schools
- Fairmount Elementary School
- Belwood Elementary School
- W.L. Swain Elementary School
- Max V. Tolbert Elementary School
- Red Bud Elementary School
- Sonoraville Elementary School
Private Schools
Calhoun City Schools
- Calhoun Primary School - formerly known as Eastside Primary School
- Calhoun Elementary School
- Calhoun Middle School
- Calhoun High School
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, Gordon County has a total area of 358 square miles (927.2 km2), of which 356 square miles (922.0 km2) is land and 2 square miles (5.2 km2) (0.69%) is water.
Major highways
Adjacent counties
See also:
List of counties bordering eight or more counties
National protected area
Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 44,104 people, 16,173 households, and 12,259 families residing in the county. The
population density was 124 people per square mile (48/km²). There were 17,145 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile (19/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.69%
White, 3.46%
Black or
African American, 0.27%
Native American, 0.53%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander, 4.98% from
other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. 7.41% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 16,173 households out of which 35.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.40% were
married couples living together, 11.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.20% were non-families. 20.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 31.40% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,831, and the median income for a family was $43,184. Males had a median income of $29,761 versus $22,256 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $17,586. About 7.50% of families and 9.90% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 12.10% of those under age 18 and 14.30% of those age 65 or over.
Cities and towns
Recreational Complexes
-
The Sonoraville Recreational Complex in Sonoraville, Georgia