Jefferson

Formed February 20, 1796 (23^rd county)

Jefferson County (15,714), Louisville (2,387)

The domed Neo-Classical Revival courthouse for Jefferson County is right out of the book of what a county courthouse should look like.  It was built in 1904 and sits on a square surrounded by Broad, Green, 5^th and Screven streets.  United States Highway 1 Business is Broad Street.  Willis F. Denney provided the courthouse designs.  The building was renovated in 1990.  The tower has a working clock and veteran memorials are on the grounds.  The county center is 7.9 miles North of Louisville. 

Jefferson County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Fifteen Superior Court Judges serve Jefferson, Bleckley, Baldwin, Ben Hill, Candler, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Emanuel, Greene, Hancock, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Laurens, Montgomery, Morgan, Pulaski, Putnam, Telfair, Toombs, Treutlen, Twiggs, Washington, Wheeler, Wilcox, and Wilkinson counties and a State Judge, and Five County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Jefferson County (judicial.) The county is located in eastern Georgia.  Augusta, Georgia is northeast and Macon, Georgia is west of the county.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Richmond, Burke, Emanuel, Johnson, Glascock, Washington, Warren, and McDuffie counties.  The county was founded on February 20, 1796 from parts of Burke and Warren counties as the 23^rd county.  Louisville has always been the county seat.  President Thomas Jefferson provided his name to this county and the county seats of Jackson County and Twiggs County.  King Louis XVI of France is the source name for the county seat.  Although neither shows a relationship, Louisville, Kentucky is the county seat of Jefferson County, Kentucky and both have the same source names.  Jefferson County was the birthplace of 1 Georgia Governor, T. Howell Cobb. 

The area of the county is 528 square miles.  It is 18 out of 159 counties in the state.  It ranks 106 out of 159 in population in the state.  It has a density of 29.8 persons per square mile making it 124 out of 159 in the state.  Jefferson County has 44.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 1 goes north to south through the county from Richmond County to Emanuel County.  United States Highway 221 enters from McDuffie County, north, and exits into Johnson County, southwest.  United States Highway 319 begins in the county and travels southwest into Johnson County.  The county is shaped like a funnel.  Louisville is located in the southern third of the county.  Louisville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 15.2% of the county population.