Paulding

Formed December 3, 1832 (87^th county)

Paulding County (168,660), Dallas (14,049)

A Modern style red brick and concrete courthouse built in 2008 replaced the classic brick and stone building built in 1892.  It is on Constitution Boulevard and John Paulding Avenue.  United States Highway 278 is one block east of the site.  Facility Group are the building designers.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds.  The county was formed on December 3, 1832 from Cherokee County as the 87^th county.  Van Wert was the first county seat until 1851 when Dallas assumed the role.  Polk County was later cut out of Paulding County.  Revolutionary War hero James Paulding is the namesake of the county.  Vice President George M. Dallas inspired the county seat’s name.  The county center is 3.9 miles West of Dallas. 

The area of the county is 314 square miles.  It is 95 out of 159 counties in the state.  It ranks 13 out of 159 in population in the state.  It has a density of 537.1 persons per square mile making it 18 out of 159 in the state.  Paulding County has 11.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 278 crosses the county east to west from Cobb County to Polk County.  The county looks like a very fat capital letter J.  Dallas is slightly east of center in the county.  Dallas is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 8.3% of the county population. 

Paulding County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Thirty-two Superior Court Judges serve Paulding, Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cobb, Dade, Douglas, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties and Seven County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Paulding County (judicial.) The county is in northeast Georgia immediately northwest of Atlanta, Georgia yet it remains a part of the metropolitan area.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Bartow, Cobb, Douglas, Carroll, Haralson, and Polk counties.  This county is in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area.