Butts

Formed December 24, 1825 (63^rd county)

Butts County (25,440), Jackson (5,529)

The dark red brick courthouse was built in 1898 following the founding of the county in 1825.  It is sited along United States Highway 23, on a square.  Third Street, Mulberry, 2^nd and Oak streets surround it.  Alexander C. Bruce and Thomas H. Morgan provided the High Victorian Eclectic with Colonial Revival designs for the building.  A County Administration building was built in 2008.  The courthouse features a tower with a working clock and the grounds have veterans memorials.  The county was created from Henry and Monroe counties on December 24, 1825 as the 63^rd county.  Jackson has been the only county seat.  The county was named for Captain Samuel Butts.  The county seat was named for President Andrew Jackson.  The county center is in Jackson .5 miles Northeast of the city center. 

Butts County government consists of a manager, a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Eighteen Superior Court Judges serve Butts, Carroll, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Heard, Henry, Lamar, Meriwether, Monroe, Pike, Spalding, Troup, and Upson counties and Five County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Butts County (judicial.) The county is located in western central Georgia southeast of Atlanta, Georgia and northeast of Columbus, Georgia.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Newton, Jasper, Monroe, Lamar, Spalding, and Henry counties. 

The area of the county is 187 square miles.  The county is 143 of 159 in the state.  It ranks 74 out of 159 in population in the state.  It has a density of 136.0 persons per square mile making it 46 out of 159 in the state.  Butts County has 25.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 75 crosses the southwest corner from Spalding County, northwest, to Lamar County, southwest.  United States Highway 23 goes north to south from Henry County to Monroe County.  The county is triangular shaped with Jackson in the center.  Jackson is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 21.7% of the county population.  This county is in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area.