Oconee, Georgia
Oconee is a city in Washington County, Georgia, United States. The population was 197 in 2020.
History
The city's name derives from the Oconee, a Hitchiti-speaking tribe who inhabited central Georgia from 1692 until 1715. The Oconee lived in present-day Baldwin County, Georgia at a settlement known as Oconee Old Town, later moving to the Chattahoochee River in the early 18th century. The name exists in several variations, including Ocone, Oconi, Ocony, and Ekwoni.The city of Oconee was named after the river that bears the tribe's name. It was founded in the early 1840s, when the railroad was extended to that point.
The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Oconee as a town in 1876.
Notable natives
- Berry Gordy Sr. and wife, Bertha Fuller Gordy, the parents of legendary music producer and Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr., left Oconee in 1922.