Tift

Formed August 17, 1905 (139^th county)

Tift County (41,347), Tifton (17,056)

The brown brick Beaux Arts structure was built in 1912.  W. A. Edwards provided the designs.  It is situated on 2^nd Street between Tift and Main streets.  The location is on United States Highway 41.  In 1974 the county converted a high school into the Administrative Center.  The courthouse building features columns and an eternal flame and veteran memorials on the grounds.  The county was established on August 17, 1905 from parts of Berrien, Irwin, and Worth counties as the 139^th county.  Tifton has been the only county seat.  The county and county seat are named for Congressman Nelson Tift.  The county center is in Tifton 1.1 miles Northwest of the city center. 

Tift County government consists of a manager, a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Sixteen Superior Court Judges serve Tift, Atkinson, Baker, Berrien, Brooks, Calhoun, Clay, Clinch, Colquitt, Cook, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Grady, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Miller, Mitchell, Quitman, Randolph, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas, Turner, and Worth counties and a State Judge and Four County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Tift County (judicial.) Tift County is in south central Georgia between Macon and Valdosta.  The Alapaha River forms its northeast border.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Irwin, Berrien, Cook, Colquitt, Worth, and Turner counties. 

The area of the county is 265 square miles.  It is 114 out of 159 counties in the state.  It ranks 51 out of 159 in population in the state.  It has a density of 156.0 persons per square mile making it 41 out of 159 in the state.  Tift County has 45.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 75 crosses the county north to south from Turner County to Cook County.  United States Highway 41 parallels Interstate Highway 75 from Turner County to Cook County.  United States Highway 82 goes east to west through the county from Berrien to Worth counties.  United States Highway 319 goes diagonally from northeast to southwest from Irwin County to Colquitt County.  The county’s shape looks like a capital letter D.  Tifton is near the center of the county.  Tifton is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 41.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Tifton Micropolitan Statistical Area.