Banks County, Georgia

Banks County
	Banks County, Georgia
	Banks County courthouse in Homer, Georgia
	; Seal
	; Seal
	; Location in the state of Georgia
	; Georgia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1859
Named for	Richard Banks
Seat	Homer
Largest city	Baldwin
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 233.87 sq mi (606 km²); 233.67 sq mi (605 km²); 0.20 sq mi (1 km²), 0.09%
PopulationEst.; - (2010); - Density	; 18,395; 78.7/sq mi (30.4/km²)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.bankscountyga.org

Banks County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2010, the population is 18,395.¹ The county seat is Homer.²

History

The Georgia General Assembly passed legislation to create Banks County on February 1, 1859, from Franklin and Habersham Counties.
The county is named for Richard Banks, a prominent 19th century physician in Gainesville, Georgia.
Ty Cobb, a Baseball Hall of Famer, was born in Banks County in 1886 in an area of the county knows as The Narrows - a small farming community consisting of fewer than 100 people. The area and birthplace are on State Highway 105 in the northern part of the county near the Broad River.
The legal organ for the county is The Banks County News, a member of Mainstreet News, Inc.
One of the county's oldest church sites is the Hebron Presbyterian Church, established in 1796.
Banks County is the home of the Atlanta Dragway, located near Banks Crossing.
Also known for being the home of the former World's largest Easter Egg Hunt. (The 50th annual egg hunt in 2009 was the finale.)

Law and government

The County's commission is made up of a five-member group, with one being the Chairman of the Commission and four districts.

Jimmy Hooper is the Commission Chairman.
David Duckett, Charles Turk, Danny Maxwell and Sammy Reece are the other commissioners representing Districts 1-4.
The Sheriff is Carlton Speed
The Coroner is Bobby Eubanks
The Probate Judge is Betty Thomas
The Clerk of Court is Timothy Harper
The Magistrate Judge is Ivan Mote.
The Fire Chief is Brian Eubanks.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 233.87 square miles (605.7 km²), of which 233.67 square miles (605.2 km²) (or 99.91%) is land and 0.20 square miles (0.52 km²) (or 0.09%) is water.³

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Chattahoochee National Forest (part)

Demographics

As of the census⁴ of 2000, there were 14,422 people, 5,364 households, and 4,162 families residing in the county. The population density was 62 people per square mile (24/km²). There were 5,808 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.16% White, 3.22% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.96% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 3.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,364 households out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.40% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.40% were non-families. 19.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 10.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 102.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,523, and the median income for a family was $43,136. Males had a median income of $29,986 versus $21,698 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,424. About 9.80% of families and 12.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.00% of those under age 18 and 16.30% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Main article: Homer, Georgia#Education

Cities and towns

Alto
Baldwin
Gillsville
Homer
Lula (most of Lula is in Hall County)
Maysville

References

^ [1]
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
^ "Banks County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". United States Census. Retrieved 2011-10-11.
^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

Coordinates: 34°21′N 83°30′W / 34.35°N 83.50°W / 34.35; -83.50 in the USA and GA

[1] [1]

[GR6-2] "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.

[3] "Banks County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau". United States Census. Retrieved 2011-10-11.

[GR2-4] "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

1

2

3

4