Formed August 17, 1905 (137th county)
Grady County (26,237), Cairo (10,182)
The 1982 Modern Classical Revival courthouse of Grady County replaced the 1908 courthouse. It is located on Broad Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues. Georgia State Highway 93 is Broad Street in the town. The red brick courthouse was designed by Jinright and Ryan. It features columns and a small bell structure with a working clock in front. The grounds have veteran memorials, an eternal flame, and rocking chairs on the porch. The county was created from Decatur and Thomas counties on August 17, 1905 as the 137th county with Cairo as the only county seat. Publisher Henry W. Grady was the inspiration for the county’s name. The county seat is named for Cairo, Egypt. The county center is 2.7 miles Northwest of Cairo.
Grady County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Sixteen Superior Court Judges serve Grady, Atkinson, Baker, Berrien, Brooks, Calhoun, Clay, Clinch, Colquitt, Cook, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Miller, Mitchell, Quitman, Randolph, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas, Tift, Turner, and Worth counties and a State Judge and Four County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Grady County (judicial.) The county is in southwest Georgia on the border with Florida. The Ochlockonee River crosses the southeast corner of the county. The county is surrounded clockwise by Mitchell and Thomas counties and Florida and Decatur County.
The area of the county is 458 square miles. It is 37 out of 159 in the state. It ranks 72 out of 159 in population in the state. It has a density of 57.3 persons per square mile making it 89 out of 159 in the state. Grady County has 40.4% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 84 crosses the county east to west from Thomas County to Decatur County. United States Highway 319 cuts the southeast tip of the county from Thomas County, east, to Florida, south. The county is a rectangle with the northeast corner sliced off. Cairo is located slightly east of center in the county. Cairo is the county seat and the largest city. It is 38.8% of the county population. The county seat is pronounced KAE-ROE.
Cairo
Whigham
