Dooly County, Georgia

Dooly County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,208. The county seat is Vienna. The county was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on May 15, 1821, and named for Colonel John Dooly, a Georgia American Revolutionary War fighter. It was one of the original landlot counties created from land ceded from the Creek Nation.

The entire county of Crisp and parts of Macon, Pulaski, Turner, Wilcox and Worth counties were formed from Dooly's original borders.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 397 square miles (1,030 km2), of which 392 square miles (1,020 km2) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km2) (1.3%) is water. The county is located in the upper Atlantic coastal plain region of the state.

The western two-thirds of Dooly County, from west of Unadilla south to Pinehurst, then to the southeastern corner of the county, is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The northeastern and eastern portion of Dooly County is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The very southeastern corner of the county is located in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin.

Major highways

• Interstate 75
• U.S. Route 41
• State Route 7
• State Route 27
• State Route 90
• State Route 215
• State Route 230
• State Route 230 Connector
• State Route 257
• State Route 329
• State Route 401 (unsigned designation for I-75)

Adjacent counties

• Houston County - northeast
• Pulaski County - east
• Wilcox County - southeast
• Crisp County - south
• Sumter County - west
• Macon County - northwest

Communities

Cities

• Lilly
• Byromville
• Pinehurst
• Unadilla
• Vienna (county seat)

Towns

• Dooling
• Drayton
• Findlay

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 11,208. The median age was 43.4 years. 18.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 122.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 127.9 males age 18 and over. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 41.9% White, 49.6% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 5.0% from some other race, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.1% of the population.

There were 4,047 households in the county, of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 36.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 4,762 housing units, of which 15.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 66.9% were owner-occupied and 33.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.1%.

Economy

The Big Pig Jig, Georgia's official State Barbecue Cooking Championship, is held annually in Fall in Dooly County and attracts a national audience.[citation needed] The county is also notable for cotton and peanut production.[citation needed]

Education

Politics

As of the 2020s, Dooly County is a swing county, voting 53.7% for Donald Trump in 2024. The county flipped in 2016 after voting for every Democratic Party presidential candidate since 1976. For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Dooly County is part of Georgia's 2nd congressional district, currently represented by Sanford Bishop. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Dooly County is part of District 20. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Dooly County is part of District 150.

Notable people

• John Dooly after whom the county was named
• Rooney L. Bowen, Georgia businessman and politician
• George Busbee, governor of Georgia
• Walter F. George, U.S. Senator
• Jody Powell, press secretary and aide to Jimmy Carter
• Roger Kingdom, Olympic gold medalist in track and field
• David Ragan, NASCAR driver
• Keith Mumphery, NFL player
• Julian Webb, judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals and member of the Georgia State Senate.
• Myron Mixon, mayor of Unidilla and Barbequer

See also

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

Further reading

• John P. Campbell, ed. (1854). . Southern Business Directory. Charleston, SC: Press of Walker & James – via HathiTrust.
• Adiel Sherwood (1860), , A Gazetteer of Georgia (4th ed.), Georgia – via HathiTrust{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Allen D. Candler; Clement A. Evans, eds. (1906). . Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Vol. 1. Atlanta: State Historical Association. p. 611 – via HathiTrust.

External links

• March 2, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
• historical marker
• , New Georgia Encyclopedia, Georgia Humanities Council
• Digital Public Library of America. Assorted items related to

32°10′N 83°48′W/32.16°N 83.80°W/ 32.16; -83.80