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Gwinnett County, Georgia
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Gwinnett County is a suburban county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on December 15, 1818. As of the 2000 census, the population was 588,448. The 2007 Census Estimate placed the population at 776,380. It is estimated to be the 9th fastest growing county in the country in terms of numeral increase. The county seat is Lawrenceville.
The county was named for Button Gwinnett, one of the delegates to have signed the United States Declaration of Independence on behalf of Georgia.
This county is a part of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area).
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Encyclopedia
Gwinnett County is a suburban county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on December 15, 1818. As of the 2000 census, the population was 588,448. The 2007 Census Estimate placed the population at 776,380. It is estimated to be the 9th fastest growing county in the country in terms of numeral increase. The county seat is Lawrenceville.
The county was named for Button Gwinnett, one of the delegates to have signed the United States Declaration of Independence on behalf of Georgia.
This county is a part of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area). It contains many suburbs of Atlanta, many of whose residents commute using Interstate 85. Despite recent efforts of forming a public bus system, the average commute time in Gwinnett County is 30.8 minutes, ranking it the highest in metro Atlanta and 18th highest nationwide (2003 census).
Gwinnett County's population is approximately 14 percent of the total Atlanta region population and has captured 26% of the region's growth since 2000, growing faster numerically than any other county in the region for the past 25 years running. It is the fourth-largest county on the list of 100 fastest-growing counties in the nation; for populous counties to have a high percentage growth rate is uncommon.
Gwinnett County Public Schools is the largest school system in Georgia and the fastest-growing in the Southeastern United States, with 113 total school facilities and a projected 2007—2008 enrollment of 159,258 students.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 437 square miles (1,131 kmē), of which, 433 square miles (1,121 kmē) of it is land and 4 square miles (10 kmē) of it (0.91%) is water.
Adjacent counties
Major highways
Secondary highways
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 588,448 people, 202,317 households, and 152,344 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,360 people per square mile (525/kmē). There were 209,682 housing units at an average density of 485 per square mile (187/kmē). The racial makeup of the county is currently 52.2% White non-Hispanic, 19.8% Black, 0.2% Native American, 9.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.32% from other races, and 2.15% from two or more races. 17.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Gwinnett County has the largest Latino and Asian populations in the state of Georgia.
There were 202,317 households out of which 42.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.20% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.70% were non-families. 18.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.28.
In the county the population was spread out with 28.20% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 37.50% from 25 to 44, 20.30% from 45 to 64, and 5.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 101.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $60,537, and the median income for a family was $66,693. Males had a median income of $42,343 versus $31,772 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,006. About 3.80% of families and 5.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.90% of those under age 18 and 5.50% of those age 65 or over.
History
With the Chattahoochee River forming its northwest boundary, Gwinnett County was home to both Cherokee and Creek Indians. From the Chattahoochee, which forms a portion of Gwinnett's northern county line, the land rises to a ridge line about two or three miles south of the river. This ridge was the dividing line between the Creek and Cherokee Nations. Unlike further west, where a "green zone" existed, neither the Creek or the Cherokee were permitted to cross this boundary without the threat of a full-scale war.
The earliest settlements started in the vicinity of Hog Mountain, toward the northern end of the county. It was here, during the War of 1812, that Major Tandy Key built Fort Daniel to protect the frontier residents from unwanted Indian intrusions. Following the ridge that divided the two Indian Nations future governor George Gilmer built a road from the fort to Standing Peachtree the same year.
The state house and senate in 1818 opted to create three counties in Georgia to honor of the three men from the state who signed the Declaration of Independence. Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall and George Walton had counties named after them. (It was Walton's second county). By the time the state formally recognized the county significant commercial development had begun, including a store own by William Maltbie. Andy Jackson, preparing for his upcoming presidential bid four years later visited Gwinnett County in 1820.
As with most rural communities agriculture was the major business. When the county was organized, the first court was held in Elisha Winn's home. Winn would later purchase 250 acres in what shortly would be the city of Lawrenceville, Georgia, for the purpose of establishing a county government. A temporary courthouse and jail were quickly constructed, with permanent buildings to be completed two years later. By the end of the 1820s population had increased to more than 13,000, a level it would not see again for 50 years.
In 1831 these buildings played host to the most famous trial in Georgia to that time. Reverend Samuel Worcester, a Cherokee missionary was brought to the county, tried and convicted for illegally working in Indian country without a permit, along with 11 other men of the cloth. The law requiring a permit had been passed by the state legislature to force Georgia law on the Cherokee. This landmark case was eventually heard the Supreme Court and led to the recognition of the Cherokee Nation as sovereign.
Relatively untouched by the Civil War, the county prospered in the early 1870s with the building of a railroad from Atlanta to Gainesville and further north. In 1885 the county built a new courthouse in the city of Lawrenceville, the county seat, to replace the courthouse that had been burned in 1871 by a faction of a secret society seeking to destroy papers that were actually housed elsewhere.
When cotton was no longer a viable crop because of falling prices and the boll weevil Gwinnett turned to dairy farming. While dairy cattle had been raised in the area for a number of years, the dramatic growth of Atlanta and the cotton bust combined to make the area one of the largest and fastest growing dairy regions in the United States. Farmers in the area formed a co-op called Atlanta Dairies, selling their goods throughout the northern tier of counties. An expanding poultry market also helped to offset the losses of the cotton bust, although Hall and Cherokee counties were larger producers.
With the creation of Lake Lanier in 1957, recreational tourism became a major industry in the region, and two years later Interstate 85 was completed to Pleasant Hill Road, bisecting the county. The 1960s brought Gwinnett in the national spotlight again with another dark incident. Millionaire heiress Barbara Jane Mackle was buried alive in box not much bigger than a coffin in the county. Federal and state agents, working closely with local authorities, found the grave before the heiress perished. She had been there for 83 hours, waiting for her family to pay a $500,000 ransom. Ruth Eiseman-Schier, one of Barbara Mackle's kidnappers (the other was Gary Steven Krist), was the first woman to appear on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. She was captured on December 17, 1968.
On March 6, 1978, Larry Flynt was shot by Joseph Paul Franklin on his way back to the Lawrenceville Courthouse from a nearby cafeteria.
During the 1980s the county wrested the title of "Fastest Growing County in the United States" from Orange County, Florida. With the advent of Gwinnett Place Mall in 1984, the county had shifted from the rural, agricultural area to a booming metropolis in its own right with major manufacturing and service employers.
Transportation
By Road
Gwinnett County is accessible by major interstates as well as several US Highways. Interstate 85 runs through Gwinnett from DeKalb County at its southwestern entry point, and Barrow County in the northeast. Interstate 985 branches off Interstate 85 at Exit 113 near Suwanee.
Several U.S. Highways run through Gwinnett County as well. US Route 23 runs through Duluth and Suwanee. US Route 29 runs through Central Gwinnett through Lawrenceville. US Route 78 runs through the Southern portion of Gwinnett County. All of the U.S. Highways are east-west throughout Gwinnett County (although U.S. Routes 23 and 29 run north-south throughout most of its route).
Gwinnett County is served by several Georgia State Routes. State Route 316 branches off Interstate 85 at Exit 106 after the Pleasant Hill Exit 104. This highway connects metropolitan Atlanta with Athens, where the University of Georgia is located. A second route is State Route 124, also known as Scenic Highway. This serves as the main route between Lawrenceville and Snellville. A third highly used route is State Route 120, which runs from Tallapoosa (west of Atlanta) to Lawrenceville. A fourth major route is State Route 20, which runs Northwest to Southeast in Gwinnett County through Grayson, Lawrenceville, Buford, Sugar Hill, and Cumming (in Forsyth County). And a fifth major route is State Route 8, which parallels State Route 316, connects East to West between Auburn, Dacula, Lawrenceville (where it merges with US Route 29) and continues through Lilburn and eventually into Atlanta and Austell.
By Air
Gwinnett County is primarily reached through Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The county also has its own airport, the Gwinnett County Briscoe Field. This is Gwinnett's municipal airport near Lawrenceville, accessible by GA Route 316.
Public Transportation
Gwinnett also operates its own public transportation. The Gwinnett County Transit (GCT), formed in 2000 and starting local service in 2002, serves much of central and north Gwinnett, and provides easy access to the Doraville MARTA station in northeastern DeKalb County, as well as transportation between major commercial and residential areas.
At present, Gwinnett County is not connected to the Atlanta Area's MARTA rail system. Several proposals have been made regarding rail transit that would pass through Gwinnett, most recently a "university link" system that would link Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and the University of Georgia in Athens. Potential stops within Gwinnett County include Lilburn, Lawrenceville and Dacula, among other possibilities.
Government and Elections
Under Georgia's "home rule" provision, county governments have free rein to legislate on all matters within the county, provided that such legislation does not conflict with state or federal law, or the state or federal Constitutions.
Gwinnett County is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners, which has both legislative and executive authority within the county. The chairman of the Board is elected county-wide and serves in a full-time position. The other four Commissioners are elected from single-member districts and serve in part-time positions. The Board hires a County Administrator who oversees day-to-day operations of the county's 11 executive departments. Gwinnett County also has a separate police department under the authority of the Board of Commissioners.
In addition to the Board of Commissioners, county residents also elect a Sheriff, District Attorney, Probate Court Judge, Clerk of State/Superior Court,Tax Commissioner, State Court Solicitor, Chief Magistrate Judge (who then appoints other Magistrate Court judges), Chief Superior Court Judge and Superior Court Judges, and a Chief State Court Judge and State Court Judges.
Gwinnett County has the in the State of Georgia.
United States Congress
Georgia General Assembly
Georgia State Senate
| District | Name | Party | First Elected | Area(s) of Gwinnett County Represented |
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| | 5 | Curt Thompson | Democratic | 2004 | Norcross, Lilburn, Tucker | | | 9 | Don Balfour | Republican | 1992 | Grayson, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Loganville, Mountain Park, Snellville | | | 41 | Steve Henson | Democratic | 2002 | Lilburn, Tucker | | | 45 | Renee Unterman | Republican | 2002 | Buford, Dacula, Grayson, Lawrenceville, Loganville, Sugar Hill, Suwanee | | | 48 | David Shafer | Republican | 2001 | Berkeley Lake, Duluth, Peachtree Corners | | | 55 | Gloria Butler | Democratic | 1999 | Centerville, Stone Mountain |
Georgia House of Representatives
| District | Name | Party | First Elected | Area(s) of Gwinnett County Represented |
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| | 51 | Tom Rice | Republican | 1996 | Berkeley Lake and Peachtree Corners | | | 95 | Toney Collins | Democratic | 2008 | Centerville and Stone Mountain | | | 96 | Pedro Marin | Democratic | 2002 | Norcross | | | 97 | Brooks Coleman | Republican | 1992 | Duluth | | | 98 | Bobby Reese | Republican | 2004 | Buford, Rest Haven, Sugar Hill, Suwanee | | | 99 | Hugh Floyd | Democratic | 2002 | Lilburn and Norcross | | | 100 | Brian Thomas | Democratic | 2004 | Duluth, Lawrenceville, Lilburn | | | 101 | Mike Coan | Republican | 1996 | Lawrenceville | | | 102 | Clay Cox | Republican | 2004 | Lilburn, Mountain Park, Tucker | | | 103 | David Casas | Republican | 2002 | Five Forks, Lawrenceville, Lilburn | | | 104 | John Heard | Republican | 2002 | Lawrenceville | | | 105 | Donna Sheldon | Republican | 2002 | Braselton, Dacula, Hamilton Mill, Hog Mountain | | | 106 | Melvin Everson | Republican | 2005 | Five Forks, Lilburn, Snellville | | | 107 | Len Walker | Republican | 1994 | Snellville and Loganville |
Healthcare
Gwinnett County is home to three hospitals: Gwinnett Medical Center (Lawrenceville), Gwinnett Medical Center - Duluth and Emory Eastside Medical Center.
GMC (which also operates Gwinnett Medical Center - Duluth) is the largest healthcare provider in the county. It is a non-profit, 500-bed healthcare network located in Gwinnett County, Georgia. GMC consists of two hospitals, plus several supporting medical facilities, with more than 4,300 employees and more than 800 affiliated physicians. GMC provided care to more than 400,000 patients in 2007.
Libraries
The Gwinnett County Public Library system has 14 branch locations spread throughout Gwinnett County. The newest branch library opened October 28, 2006, in Grayson, Georgia. Construction started on the Hamilton Mill branch in Dacula, Georgia in the fall of 2008; this branch is scheduled to open in the winter of 2010 and will be the fifteenth branch location. The library system was named Library of the Year in 2000 by Library Journal magazine.
Parks
Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation (GCPR) manages 39 parks and facilities. In all, the park system comprises more than 8,000 acres. As of fall 2008, eight parks are under construction, and the county is planning several others for future development.
One reason GCPR can aggressively pursue and purchase park property is the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). Gwinnett county voters approved the $0.01 sales tax in 1996 (extending it in 2000, 2004, and 2008). The county uses the sales tax proceeds for park purchases, transportation improvements, library construction, and public safety expenses.
On May 2008, the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) announced that GCPR was a finalist for the Gold Medal award, recognizing "Excellence in Park and Recreation Management" (Class 1 category, pop. 250,000+). GCPR went on to win this award on October 15, 2008, beating out three other finalists. The NRPA Gold Medal is widely considered the most prestigious award of its kind.
Sports
The minor-league affiliates of the NHL Atlanta Thrashers and the MLB Atlanta Braves all play home games in the area, which has created a cost-saving move, since the parent clubs' scouts can observe the players' home games nearby. Furthermore, call-ups to the top league are much cheaper for the teams.
The AFL Georgia Force also call Gwinnett home, their second stint in the county. The team initially played their games at Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta in 2001 and 2002, but moved to Gwinnett in 2003-04. The team moved back to Philips when Arthur Blank purchased the Force in 2005. The team would return to Gwinnett in 2007.
Cities and towns
See also
External links
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