Bryan County, Georgia

Bryan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,738.^[1] The county seat is Pembroke.^[2]

Bryan County
County
Bryan County Courthouse in Pembroke
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32.02°N 81.44°W / 32.02; -81.44
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	1793; 232 years ago (1793)
Named after	Jonathan Bryan
Seat	Pembroke
Largest city	Richmond Hill
Area
• Total	454 sq mi (1,180 km2)
• Land	436 sq mi (1,130 km2)
• Water	18 sq mi (50 km2)  4.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	44,738
• Density	103/sq mi (40/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.bryancountyga.org

Bryan County is part of the Savannah, Georgia metropolitan statistical area.

The Bryan County Courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Bryan County was created on December 19, 1793, named after Jonathan Bryan (1708–1788), an American Revolutionary War partisan.^[3]

South Bryan County is home to the earthen Civil War installation Fort McAllister (now Fort McAllister Historic Park) which Gen. William Sherman captured on his March to the Sea.

The colonial town of Hardwick, laid out in 1755, served as the initial county seat. In 1797, the Georgia General Assembly moved the county seat to Cross Roads near modern Richmond Hil. On November 18, 1814, the county seat was moved to Mansford on the Canoochee River.^[4] In 1860, the seat was known as Eden. By the 1880s the county seat was known as Bryan. By 1895 it was in Clyde, which may have been the same location formerly known as Eden and Mansford. Clyde served as the seat to 1935; in 1937 Pembroke took on that role. The only remaining sign of Clyde is a cemetery on the Fort Stewart U.S. Army installation.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 454 square miles (1,180 km²), of which 436 square miles (1,130 km²) is land and 18 square miles (47 km²) (4.1%) is water.^[5]

A triangular area in the northeast of Bryan County, from northwest of Pembroke to north of Richmond Hill, is located in the Lower Ogeechee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin, as is the northern half of the remaining area in the county south of Richmond Hill. The northwestern portion of the county, from east of Daisy to Richmond Hill, is located in the Canoochee River sub-basin of the Ogeechee River basin. The rest of Bryan County is located in the Ogeechee Coastal sub-basin of the same Ogeechee River basin.^[6] The Ogeechee River forms the northeastern border of the country, while the Jerico River forms the southeast border.

Bryan County is unique in that it is totally divided by the military installation at Ft. Stewart. Pembroke is in more rural north Bryan, while Richmond Hill in south Bryan County is a suburb of Savannah. To travel between the two on public roads, it is necessary to leave the county.

Major highways

• I-16 (Interstate 16)
• I-95 (Interstate 95)
• US 17
• US 80
• US 280
• SR 25
• SR 26
• SR 30
• SR 67
• SR 119
• SR 144
• SR 144 Spur
• SR 196
• SR 204
• SR 404 (unsigned designation for I-16)
• SR 405 (unsigned designation for I-95)

Adjacent counties

• Effingham County, Georgia - north
• Chatham County, Georgia - northeast
• Liberty County, Georgia - south/southwest
• Evans County, Georgia - west
• Bulloch County, Georgia - northwest

Communities

Cities

• Pembroke (County Seat)
• Richmond Hill (Biggest City)

Census-designated place

• Buckhead

Unincorporated communities

• Black Creek
• Blitchton
• Ellabell
• Keller
• Lanier

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1800	2,836		—
1810	2,827		−0.3%
1820	3,021		6.9%
1830	3,139		3.9%
1840	3,182		1.4%
1850	3,424		7.6%
1860	4,015		17.3%
1870	5,252		30.8%
1880	4,929		−6.2%
1890	5,520		12.0%
1900	6,122		10.9%
1910	6,702		9.5%
1920	6,343		−5.4%
1930	5,952		−6.2%
1940	6,288		5.6%
1950	5,965		−5.1%
1960	6,226		4.4%
1970	6,539		5.0%
1980	10,175		55.6%
1990	15,438		51.7%
2000	23,417		51.7%
2010	30,233		29.1%
2020	44,738		48.0%
2024 (est.)	51,105	[7]	14.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790-1880[9] 1890-1910[10] 1920-1930[11] 1930-1940[12] 1940-1950[13] 1960-1980[14] 1980-2000[15] 2010[16]

Bryan County racial composition as of 2020^[17]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	31,321	70.01%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	6,330	14.15%
Native American	102	0.23%
Asian	1,032	2.31%
Pacific Islander	53	0.12%
Other/Mixed	2,631	5.88%
Hispanic or Latino	3,269	7.31%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 44,738 people, 13,048 households, and 10,140 families residing in the county.

Economy

Bryan County is the location of Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), a large production site for electric vehicles (EV), which became operational in 2024. It is by far the largest employer of the county.^[18]

Education

Main article: Bryan County School District

Bryan County School District is the designated school district for grades K-12 for the county, except parts in Fort Stewart. Fort Stewart has the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) as its local school district,^[19] for the elementary level.^[20] Students at the secondary level on Fort Stewart attend public schools operated by county school districts.^[21]

Politics

United States presidential election results for Bryan County, Georgia^[22]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	16,738	67.87%	7,779	31.54%	146	0.59%
2020	14,240	66.70%	6,738	31.56%	371	1.74%
2016	10,529	68.95%	4,014	26.29%	728	4.77%
2012	9,560	70.94%	3,707	27.51%	209	1.55%
2008	9,112	70.82%	3,636	28.26%	119	0.92%
2004	7,363	73.67%	2,590	25.92%	41	0.41%
2000	4,835	68.49%	2,172	30.77%	52	0.74%
1996	3,577	57.06%	2,152	34.33%	540	8.61%
1992	2,789	47.05%	2,031	34.26%	1,108	18.69%
1988	2,802	66.16%	1,423	33.60%	10	0.24%
1984	2,265	61.83%	1,398	38.17%	0	0.00%
1980	1,212	37.47%	1,966	60.77%	57	1.76%
1976	761	27.12%	2,045	72.88%	0	0.00%
1972	1,409	84.27%	263	15.73%	0	0.00%
1968	381	16.08%	560	23.64%	1,428	60.28%
1964	1,433	62.58%	857	37.42%	0	0.00%
1960	428	24.44%	1,323	75.56%	0	0.00%
1956	331	21.04%	1,242	78.96%	0	0.00%
1952	331	25.42%	971	74.58%	0	0.00%
1948	135	7.67%	1,147	65.21%	477	27.12%
1944	90	11.57%	688	88.43%	0	0.00%
1940	49	5.30%	874	94.49%	2	0.22%
1936	63	9.01%	632	90.41%	4	0.57%
1932	17	4.56%	353	94.64%	3	0.80%
1928	151	40.81%	219	59.19%	0	0.00%
1924	9	4.33%	196	94.23%	3	1.44%
1920	21	10.71%	175	89.29%	0	0.00%
1916	17	5.30%	295	91.90%	9	2.80%
1912	114	17.98%	400	63.09%	120	18.93%

Notable people

• Gregg Allman, musician, Allman Brothers Band
• Mattie Belle Davis, first woman judge of Metropolitan Court of Dade County, Florida
• Justin Smiley, pro football player, All-American at University of Alabama
• John Smoltz, MLB pitcher, owned a summer home here while playing for the Atlanta Braves

See also

• State of Georgia portal

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