Morgan County, Georgia

Morgan County is a county located in the north central Piedmont region and the lake country region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,097.^[1] The county seat is Madison.^[2]

Morgan County
County
Morgan County Courthouse in Madison
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°35′N 83°29′W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	December 10, 1807; 217 years ago (1807-12-10)
Seat	Madison
Largest city	Madison
Area
• Total	361 sq mi (930 km2)
• Land	345 sq mi (890 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (40 km2)  4.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	20,097
• Density	58/sq mi (22/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	10th

Since the early 21st century, the county has had a housing boom. It has proximity to Lake Oconee, a recreation site, as well as to major employment centers such as Atlanta, Athens, Augusta and Macon.

History

Morgan County was created on December 10, 1807. It was named for renowned Revolutionary War commander Daniel Morgan. During the American Civil War, the county provided the Panola Guards, which was a part of Cobb's Legion.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 355 square miles (920 km²), of which 347 square miles (900 km²) is land and 7.3 square miles (19 km²) (2.1%) is water.^[3] The entirety of Morgan County is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.^[4]

Major highways

• Interstate 20
• U.S. Route 129
• 
  U.S. Route 129 Bypass
• U.S. Route 278
• 
  U.S. Route 278 Truck
• U.S. Route 441
• 
  U.S. Route 441 Bypass
• State Route 12
• 
  State Route 12 Truck
• State Route 24
• State Route 24 Bypass
• State Route 83
• State Route 186
• State Route 402 (unsigned designation for I-20)

Adjacent counties

• Oconee County (north)
• Greene County (east)
• Putnam County (southeast)
• Jasper County (southwest)
• Newton County (west)
• Walton County (northwest)

National protected area

• Oconee National Forest (part)

Communities

Cities

• Bostwick
• Madison (county seat)
• Rutledge

Town

• Buckhead

Census-designated place

• Godfrey

Unincorporated communities

• Apalachee
• Pennington

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1810	8,369		—
1820	13,520		61.5%
1830	12,046		−10.9%
1840	9,121		−24.3%
1850	10,744		17.8%
1860	9,997		−7.0%
1870	10,696		7.0%
1880	14,032		31.2%
1890	16,041		14.3%
1900	15,813		−1.4%
1910	19,717		24.7%
1920	20,143		2.2%
1930	12,488		−38.0%
1940	12,713		1.8%
1950	11,899		−6.4%
1960	10,280		−13.6%
1970	9,904		−3.7%
1980	11,572		16.8%
1990	12,883		11.3%
2000	15,457		20.0%
2010	17,868		15.6%
2020	20,097		12.5%
2023 (est.)	21,460	[5]	6.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790-1880[7] 1890-1910[8] 1920-1930[9] 1930-1940[10] 1940-1950[11] 1960-1980[12] 1980-2000[13] 2010[14]

Morgan County racial composition as of 2020^[15]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	14,487	72.09%
Black or African American	4,105	20.43%
Native American	42	0.21%
Asian	122	0.61%
Pacific Islander	1	0.0%
Other/Mixed	628	3.12%
Hispanic or Latino	712	3.54%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,097 people, 6,942 households, and 5,250 families residing in the county.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Morgan County, Georgia^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	9,589	72.75%	3,533	26.80%	59	0.45%
2020	8,231	70.29%	3,353	28.63%	126	1.08%
2016	6,559	69.22%	2,663	28.11%	253	2.67%
2012	6,186	68.42%	2,753	30.45%	102	1.13%
2008	5,987	65.32%	3,091	33.73%	87	0.95%
2004	4,902	67.64%	2,304	31.79%	41	0.57%
2000	3,524	59.71%	2,238	37.92%	140	2.37%
1996	2,118	45.92%	2,111	45.77%	383	8.30%
1992	1,797	40.34%	2,057	46.17%	601	13.49%
1988	2,108	58.10%	1,508	41.57%	12	0.33%
1984	2,301	57.31%	1,714	42.69%	0	0.00%
1980	1,323	36.04%	2,276	62.00%	72	1.96%
1976	904	28.45%	2,274	71.55%	0	0.00%
1972	2,007	75.03%	668	24.97%	0	0.00%
1968	616	20.67%	973	32.65%	1,391	46.68%
1964	1,485	47.31%	1,654	52.69%	0	0.00%
1960	373	20.04%	1,488	79.96%	0	0.00%
1956	246	14.15%	1,492	85.85%	0	0.00%
1952	247	13.03%	1,649	86.97%	0	0.00%
1948	115	8.18%	1,147	81.58%	144	10.24%
1944	51	4.18%	1,166	95.50%	4	0.33%
1940	24	4.72%	484	95.28%	0	0.00%
1936	37	3.17%	1,130	96.66%	2	0.17%
1932	74	7.36%	923	91.75%	9	0.89%
1928	208	20.57%	803	79.43%	0	0.00%
1924	126	16.41%	598	77.86%	44	5.73%
1920	176	28.12%	450	71.88%	0	0.00%
1916	58	7.63%	643	84.61%	59	7.76%
1912	37	6.19%	537	89.80%	24	4.01%

See also

• State of Georgia portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Morgan County, Georgia
• List of counties in Georgia