Brantley

Formed November 2, 1920 (154^th county)

Brantley County (18,021), Nahunta (1,012)                

The red brick courthouse was built in 1930 and sits at Main and Brantley streets.  United States Highway 82 is on Main Street.  T. J. Darling designed this Colonial Revival building.  The facility was renovated and enlarged in 1978.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds.  The county center is in Nahunta 1 mile West-Southwest of the city center.  The county was founded on November 2, 1920 from Charlton, Pierce, and Wayne counties as the 154^th county.  Hoboken was the first county seat with Nahunta taking over in 1921.  The county is named for settler Benjamin D. Brantley.  The county seat name is derived from the Native American word for “tall trees.” 

Brantley County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-one Superior Court Judges serve Brantley, Appling, Bacon, Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Coffee, Effingham, Evans, Glynn, Jeff Davis, Jenkins, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Pierce, Screven, Tattnall, Ware, and Wayne counties and Seven County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Brantley County (judicial.) The county is located in southeast Georgia with the Satilla River flowing through the county.  Jacksonville, Florida is south and Savannah, Georgia is north.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wayne, Glynn, Camden, Charlton, Ware, and Pierce counties. 

The area of the county is 444 square miles.  The county is 41 of 159 in the state.  It ranks 99 out of 159 in population in the state.  It has a density of 40.6 persons per square mile making it 101 out of 159 in the state.  Brantley County has 8.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highways 1/23 cross the extreme southwest corner from Ware County, north, to Charlton County, south.  United States Highway 82 goes east to west from Glynn County to Ware County.  United States Highway 301 enters from Wayne County, north, and exits into Charlton County, south.  The county is shaped like a rabbit.  Nahunta is near the geographical center of the county.  Nahunta is county seat and the largest city.  It is 5.6% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced NA-HUN-TA.  This county is in the Brunswick Metropolitan Statistical Area.