Formed December 14, 1837 (90th county)
Dade County (16,246), Trenton (2,188)
A Modern style red brick and concrete courthouse was built in 2010 and sits at Crabtree and Case streets. United States Highway 11 is one block east of the site. Frank McDonald Architects are the building designers. There is also a Justice Building built in 1989 and an Administration Building built in 2001. There was a 1927 courthouse in Trenton, the only county seat. Veteran memorials are at the old courthouse. The county center is in Trenton 1 mile Southeast of the city center.
Dade 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 Dade, Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cobb, Douglas, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties and Four County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Dade County (judicial.) The county is located in the northwest corner of Georgia on the border with both Alabama and Tennessee. Chattanooga, Tennessee is northeast. The county is surrounded clockwise by Tennessee and Walker County and Alabama. The county was organized on December 14, 1837 from Cherokee County as the 90th county. Major Francis Langhorne Dade is the source for the county’s name. The county seat is named for Trenton, New Jersey.
The area of the county is 174 square miles. It is 149 of 159 in size in the state. It ranks 104 out of 159 in population in the state. It has a density of 93.4 persons per square mile making it 59 out of 159 in the state. Dade County has 13.5% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 24 dips into Georgia from Tennessee in Dade County before returning to Tennessee. Interstate Highway 59 enters from Tennessee, northeast, and exits into Alabama, west. United States Highway 11 parallels Interstate Highway 59 from Tennessee to Alabama. The county is shaped like a funnel. Trenton is in the northern third of the county. Trenton is the county seat and the largest city since it is the only incorporated city. It is 13.5% of the county population. This county is in the Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Trenton
