Jenkins County, Georgia


Jenkins County is a county located in the southeastern area of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,674. The county seat is Millen. Historic and bountiful Magnolia Springs State Park is located between Millen and Perkins.

History

Jenkins County was created on August 17, 1905, from portions of Bulloch, Burke, Emanuel and Screven counties, and named after the 44th Governor of Georgia, Charles Jones Jenkins. The effort was spearheaded by Robert Gray Daniel, a director of the local Millen Bank, a 40-year member of the board of education and scion of the county's Daniel family who had large mercantile and farming enterprises. The effect was to place the county seat of Millen in a position where the town could become a safe place for economic growth. But the first decade after formation was difficult due to lack of realistic economic planning and implementation. Local people were leaving for jobs in larger cities, and there were few new business start-ups.
During the Red Summer of 1919, there was a race riot on April 13, 1919 in Jenkins County, in which white mobs attacked the black community. Prosperous and respected local farmer Joe Ruffin, whose family had historically been slaves working the plantations of the Daniel family, was almost impoverished by the costs of his legal defense and vindication.
Businesses in the county attract their workforce from throughout the area. Because the county population is relatively small, people notice that when jobs increase, the population increases. When an employer closes its business, the local population decreases as people seek opportunities elsewhere. For a number of years, the largest employer was Jockey International which employed manual and skilled laborers until reducing then closing operations in September 2007. MI Windows and Doors had a long presence in the county at its manufacturing plant, closing in December 2007.
Jenkins County owns the Millen Airport, which was established to increase local and regional transportation flexibility. Annual assessments show the airport has provided consistent benefit to the people and businesses in the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Most of the southern portion of Jenkins County, from southwest of Millen to west of Hiltonia, is located in the Lower Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin, with the exception of very small parts of the southwestern corner of the county, north and east of Garfield, which are located in the Canoochee River sub-basin of the same Ogeechee River basin. The northwestern portion of Jenkins County is located in the Upper Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin, with just the northeastern corner of the county located in the Brier Creek sub-basin of the Savannah River basin.

Major highways

City

  • Millen

    Census-designated place

  • Perkins

    Demographics

RaceNum.Perc.
White 4,61153.16%
Black or African American 3,53640.77%
Native American290.33%
Asian120.14%
Pacific Islander50.06%
Other/Mixed1782.05%
Hispanic or Latino3033.49%

The county reached its peak population in 1920.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 8,674. The median age was 42.5 years. 19.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 121.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 123.1 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 53.9% White, 40.9% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.1% from some other race, and 2.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.5% of the population.
There were 3,245 households, including 2,095 families, in the county, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 33.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 4,066 housing units, of which 20.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 66.4% were owner-occupied and 33.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.2%.

Politics

As of the 2020s, Jenkins County is a strongly Republican voting county, voting 64.88% for Donald Trump in 2024. For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Jenkins County is part of Georgia's 12th congressional district, currently represented by Rick Allen. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Jenkins County is part of District 23. For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Jenkins County is part of District 126.

Notable people

  • Farmer Brady, baseball player
  • Max Burns, politician and academic
  • Russell Davis III, football player
  • Nathan Deal, politician
  • Linda Schrenko, superintendent
  • Courtney Smith, football player
  • Melvin E. Thompson, educator and politician
  • Bennie Ward, physicist
  • Kountry Wayne, comedian