Muscogee County
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Columbus Consolidated Government Center
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Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
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Georgia's location within the U.S.
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| Coordinates: 32°31′N 84°52′W / 32.51°N 84.87°W / 32.51; -84.87 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Founded | June 9, 1826; 198 years ago (1826) |
| Named for | Muscogee people |
| Seat | Columbus |
| Largest city | Columbus |
| Area | |
| • Total | 221 sq mi (570 km2) |
| • Land | 216 sq mi (560 km2) |
| • Water | 4.6 sq mi (12 km2) 2.1% |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 206,922 |
| • Density | 958/sq mi (370/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional districts | 2nd, 3rd |
| Website | columbusga.gov |
Muscogee County is a county located on the central western border of the U.S. stateofGeorgia named after the Muscogee that originally inhabited the land with its western border with the state of Alabama that is formed by the Chattahoochee River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 206,922.[1] Its county seat and only city is Columbus,[2] with which it has been a consolidated city-county since the beginning of 1971.
Muscogee County is part of the Columbus, GA–AL, metropolitan statistical area.
The only other city in the county was Bibb City, a company town that disincorporated in December 2000, two years after its mill closed permanently. Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning), a large Army installation, takes up nearly one quarter of the county and extends into Chattahoochee County; it generates considerable economic power in the region.
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Find sources: "Muscogee County, Georgia" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2022) |
Inhabited for thousands of years by varying cultures of indigenous peoples, this area was territory of the historic Creek people at the time of European encounter.
The land for Lee, Muscogee, Troup, Coweta, and Carroll counties was ceded by a certain eight chiefs among the Creek people in the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs. The Creek Nation declared the land cession illegal, because it did not represent the will of the majority of the people. The United States Senate did not ratify it. The following year, the US government negotiated another treaty with the Creek, by which they ceded nearly as much territory under continued pressure from the state of Georgia and US land commissioners.
The counties' boundaries were created by the Georgia General Assembly on June 9, but they were not named until December 14, 1826. The county was originally developed by American Indians for cotton plantations. In many areas of what became known as the Black Belt for the fertility of soil and development of plantations, American Indians who were reclassified by the government as Colored/Negro made up the majority of population in many counties.
This county was named by American Indians for the native Muscogee or Creek people. Parts of the then-large county (which extended east to the Flint River) were later taken to create every other neighboring Georgia county, including Harris County to the north in 1827[3] and Chattahoochee County to the south in 1854.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 221 square miles (570 km2), of which 216 square miles (560 km2) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km2) (2.1%) is water.[4]
The county is located on the fall line between the Atlantic coastal plain to the south and the Piedmont to the north. As such, the newly constructed Fall Line Freeway runs across the northern portion of the county along JR Allen Parkway, and areas across the northern part of the county are hillier compared to the southern part of the county.
The majority of Muscogee County, from north of Columbus running northeast in the direction of Ellerslie, is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake subbasin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The northwestern corner of the county, south of Fortson, is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Lake Harding subbasin of the same ACF River Basin.[5]
Interstate 14 (Extension is coming)
Interstate 185
U.S. Route 27
U.S. Route 27 Alternate
U.S. Route 80
U.S. Route 280
State Route 1
State Route 22
State Route 22 Connector
State Route 22 Spur
State Route 85
State Route 219
State Route 411 (unsigned designation for I-185)
State Route 520
State Route 540 (Fall Line Freeway)| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1830 | 3,508 | — | |
| 1840 | 11,699 | 233.5% | |
| 1850 | 18,578 | 58.8% | |
| 1860 | 16,584 | −10.7% | |
| 1870 | 16,663 | 0.5% | |
| 1880 | 19,322 | 16.0% | |
| 1890 | 27,761 | 43.7% | |
| 1900 | 29,836 | 7.5% | |
| 1910 | 36,227 | 21.4% | |
| 1920 | 44,195 | 22.0% | |
| 1930 | 57,558 | 30.2% | |
| 1940 | 75,494 | 31.2% | |
| 1950 | 118,028 | 56.3% | |
| 1960 | 158,623 | 34.4% | |
| 1970 | 167,377 | 5.5% | |
| 1980 | 170,108 | 1.6% | |
| 1990 | 179,278 | 5.4% | |
| 2000 | 186,291 | 3.9% | |
| 2010 | 189,885 | 1.9% | |
| 2020 | 206,922 | 9.0% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 201,877 | [6] | −2.4% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790-1880[8] 1890-1910[9] 1920-1930[10] 1930-1940[11] 1940-1950[12] 1960-1980[13] 1980-2000[14] 2010[15] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 79,083 | 38.22% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 94,701 | 45.77% |
| Native American | 488 | 0.24% |
| Asian | 5,546 | 2.68% |
| Pacific Islander | 517 | 0.25% |
| Other/mixed | 10,074 | 4.87% |
| HispanicorLatino | 16,513 | 7.98% |
According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were 186,291 people, 69,819 households, and 47,686 families living in the county. The population density was 861 inhabitants per square mile (332/km2).[17] In 2010, there were 189,885 people, 74,081 households, and 47,742 families living in the county.[18] By the 2020 United States census, there were 206,922 people, 73,134 households, and 45,689 families residing in the city.
Muscogee County School District serves all parts of the county except Fort Moore for grades K-12. Fort Moore children are zoned to Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools for grades K-8.[25] However, high school students attend the public high schools in the respective counties they are located in.[26]
In regards to homeschooling, the Official Code of Georgia Annotated states the following:
Required Subjects: A basic academic educational program that includes, but is not limited to, reading, language arts, math, social studies, and science. [Ga. Code Ann. § 20-2-690(c)(4).]
Muscogee County has voted for Democratic candidates by increasing margins since 1992, although partisan leanings have become increasingly stratified by race, class, and in-county migration after 1965. The county has not supported a Republican for president since 1988, but broke free of Solid South voting patterns earlier than most counties in Georgia.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
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| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2020 | 30,107 | 37.39% | 49,446 | 61.40% | 975 | 1.21% |
| 2016 | 26,976 | 38.80% | 39,851 | 57.32% | 2,698 | 3.88% |
| 2012 | 27,510 | 38.90% | 42,573 | 60.20% | 632 | 0.89% |
| 2008 | 29,568 | 39.87% | 44,158 | 59.54% | 436 | 0.59% |
| 2004 | 30,850 | 48.16% | 32,867 | 51.31% | 335 | 0.52% |
| 2000 | 23,479 | 45.01% | 28,193 | 54.05% | 491 | 0.94% |
| 1996 | 19,360 | 41.86% | 24,867 | 53.77% | 2,021 | 4.37% |
| 1992 | 21,386 | 41.70% | 25,476 | 49.68% | 4,418 | 8.62% |
| 1988 | 23,058 | 54.90% | 18,772 | 44.70% | 170 | 0.40% |
| 1984 | 23,816 | 53.34% | 20,835 | 46.66% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 15,203 | 38.42% | 23,272 | 58.82% | 1,091 | 2.76% |
| 1976 | 13,496 | 35.91% | 24,092 | 64.09% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1972 | 28,449 | 77.55% | 8,234 | 22.45% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 11,193 | 32.36% | 7,593 | 21.95% | 15,804 | 45.69% |
| 1964 | 21,025 | 62.81% | 12,446 | 37.18% | 3 | 0.01% |
| 1960 | 9,578 | 52.83% | 8,553 | 47.17% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 8,176 | 50.05% | 8,160 | 49.95% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 7,814 | 41.05% | 11,220 | 58.95% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 2,443 | 23.94% | 5,920 | 58.02% | 1,840 | 18.03% |
| 1944 | 1,344 | 17.14% | 6,498 | 82.86% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 702 | 11.51% | 5,392 | 88.38% | 7 | 0.11% |
| 1936 | 455 | 8.32% | 5,009 | 91.56% | 7 | 0.13% |
| 1932 | 230 | 6.27% | 3,413 | 93.07% | 24 | 0.65% |
| 1928 | 1,574 | 42.86% | 2,098 | 57.14% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 218 | 9.03% | 2,067 | 85.59% | 130 | 5.38% |
| 1920 | 101 | 6.86% | 1,372 | 93.14% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 44 | 2.21% | 1,833 | 92.25% | 110 | 5.54% |
| 1912 | 102 | 5.18% | 1,817 | 92.23% | 51 | 2.59% |
| 1908 | 459 | 20.94% | 1,599 | 72.95% | 134 | 6.11% |
| 1904 | 164 | 9.51% | 1,522 | 88.28% | 38 | 2.20% |
| 1900 | 272 | 17.89% | 1,245 | 81.91% | 3 | 0.20% |
| 1896 | 501 | 25.06% | 1,365 | 68.28% | 133 | 6.65% |
| 1892 | 540 | 20.35% | 2,062 | 77.69% | 52 | 1.96% |
| 1888 | 611 | 35.24% | 1,107 | 63.84% | 16 | 0.92% |
| 1884 | 590 | 23.22% | 1,951 | 76.78% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1880 | 930 | 38.10% | 1,511 | 61.90% | 0 | 0.00% |
| Senators | Name | Party | Assumed office | Level | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate Class 2 | Jon Ossoff | Democratic | 2021 | Senior Senator | |
| Senate Class 3 | Raphael Warnock | Democratic | 2021 | Junior Senator | |
| Representatives | Name | Party | Assumed office | ||
| District 2 | Sanford Bishop | Democratic | 1993 | ||
| District 3 | Drew Ferguson | Republican | 2015 | ||
| District | Name | Party | Assumed office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Ed Harbison | Democratic | 2013 | |
| 29 | Randy Robertson | Republican | 2019 | |
| District | Name | Party | Assumed office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 133 | Vance Smith | Republican | 2019 | |
| 134 | Richard H. Smith | Republican | 2005 | |
| 140 | Teddy Reese | Democratic | 2023 | |
| 141 | Carolyn Hugley | Democratic | 1993 | |
| 137 | Debbie Buckner | Democratic | 2003 | |
Places adjacent to Muscogee County, Georgia
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Municipalities and communities of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States
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| Footnotes | ‡ This symbol represents that the indicated city is part of two or more counties. | |
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| Central cities/largest cities |
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Columbus, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area
Auburn, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area
Tuskegee, Alabama Micropolitan Statistical Area
(defunct)
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| Cities in Georgia |
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| Cities in Alabama |
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| Counties in Georgia |
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| Counties in Alabama |
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| International |
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| National |
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| Other |
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32°31′N 84°52′W / 32.51°N 84.87°W / 32.51; -84.87
