Formed August 18, 1905 (140th county)
Jeff Davis County (14,778), Hazlehurst (4,084)
The only courthouse for Jeff Davis County was built in 1905 of tan stucco and masonry. It is sited on Jeff Davis Street between Tallahassee and Cromartie streets. Tallahassee Street is United States Highway 23 in the city. W. Chamberlin provided the Neo-Classical Revival designs for the courthouse. The building was renovated in 1995. It features a dome with a working clock. Veteran memorials are on the grounds. The county was organized on August 18, 1905 from parts of Appling and Coffee counties as the 140th county. The county is named for Confederacy President Jefferson Davis. Railroad surveyor George H. Hazlehurst is the namesake of the county seat. The county center is 3.8 miles Southwest of Hazlehurst.
Jeff Davis County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive). It has 6 Commissioners (legislative.) Twenty-one Superior Court Judges serve Jeff Davis, Appling, Bacon, Brantley, Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Coffee, Effingham, Evans, Glynn, Jenkins, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Screven, Tattnall, Ware, and Wayne counties and a State Judge and Four County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Jeff Davis County (judicial.) The county is in southeast Georgia southeast of Macon, Georgia and northeast of Valdosta, Georgia. The county is surrounded clockwise by Montgomery, Toombs, Appling, Bacon, Coffee, Telfair, and Wheeler counties. The Ocmulgee River is the northwest border of the county.
The area of the county is 333 square miles. It is 86 out of 159 counties in the state. It ranks 108 out of 159 in population in the state. It has a density of 44.4 persons per square mile making it 98 out of 159 in the state. Jeff Davis County has 28.9% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 23 enters the county from the northwest and exits southeast, Telfair County to Bacon County. United States Highway 221 goes north to south in the county from Montgomery County to Coffee County. United States Highway 341 enters joined with United States Highway 23, splits, and exits east into Appling County. The county’s shape is like a pistol pointing east. Hazlehurst is in the northeast quarter of the county. Hazlehurst is the county seat and the largest city. It is 27.6% of the county population.
Denton
Hazlehurst
