Heard County, Georgia

Heard County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. At the 2020 census, the population was 11,412, down from 11,834 in 2010.^[1] The county seat is Franklin.^[2] The county was created on December 22, 1830.

Heard County
County
Heard County courthouse in Franklin
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°18′N 85°08′W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	December 22, 1830; 194 years ago (1830-12-22)
Named after	Stephen Heard
Seat	Franklin
Largest city	Franklin
Area
• Total	301 sq mi (780 km2)
• Land	296 sq mi (770 km2)
• Water	5.1 sq mi (13 km2)  1.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	11,412
• Density	38/sq mi (15/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	heardcountyga.com

Heard County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell MSA.

History

Heard County was created by Act of the Legislature on December 22, 1830.^[3] It was named for Stephen Heard,^[4] elected President of the Council on February 18, 1781, thus, in the absence of Governor Howley, becoming Governor de facto. Heard moved to Wilkes County from Hanover County, Virginia, and fought in the American Revolutionary War where he distinguished himself at Kettle Creek. The first sheriff, Jonathan Mewsick, was commissioned in 1832.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 301 square miles (780 km²), of which 296 square miles (770 km²) is land and 5.1 square miles (13 km²) (1.7%) is water.^[5]

The vast majority of Heard County is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Lake Harding sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin), with just a very small northwestern corner of the county, west of Ephesus, located in the Upper Tallapoosa River sub-basin of the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin).^[6]

Major highways

• U.S. Route 27
• State Route 1
• State Route 34
• State Route 100
• State Route 219

Adjacent counties

• Carroll County (north)
• Coweta County (east)
• Troup County (south)
• Randolph County, Alabama (west/Central Time border)

Communities

Cities

• Ephesus
• Franklin (county seat)

Towns

• Centralhatchee

Census-designated places

• Glenn

Unincorporated communities

• Corinth (part)
• Texas

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	5,329		—
1850	6,923		29.9%
1860	7,805		12.7%
1870	7,866		0.8%
1880	8,769		11.5%
1890	9,557		9.0%
1900	11,177		17.0%
1910	11,189		0.1%
1920	11,126		−0.6%
1930	9,102		−18.2%
1940	8,610		−5.4%
1950	6,975		−19.0%
1960	5,333		−23.5%
1970	5,354		0.4%
1980	6,520		21.8%
1990	8,628		32.3%
2000	11,012		27.6%
2010	11,834		7.5%
2020	11,412		−3.6%
2023 (est.)	12,034	[7]	5.5%
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[1] 2020[16]

Heard County racial composition as of 2020^[17]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	9,589	84.03%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	930	8.15%
Native American	33	0.29%
Asian	53	0.46%
Pacific Islander	4	0.04%
Other/Mixed	550	4.82%
Hispanic or Latino	253	2.22%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,412 people, 4,502 households, and 3,254 families residing in the county.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Heard County, Georgia^[18]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	5,335	85.70%	859	13.80%	31	0.50%
2020	4,519	83.78%	824	15.28%	51	0.95%
2016	3,370	79.41%	743	17.51%	131	3.09%
2012	3,160	75.63%	948	22.69%	70	1.68%
2008	3,133	74.05%	1,042	24.63%	56	1.32%
2004	2,788	70.48%	1,148	29.02%	20	0.51%
2000	1,947	60.88%	1,178	36.84%	73	2.28%
1996	1,170	41.14%	1,248	43.88%	426	14.98%
1992	1,190	36.36%	1,456	44.49%	627	19.16%
1988	1,551	63.77%	874	35.94%	7	0.29%
1984	1,492	64.81%	810	35.19%	0	0.00%
1980	875	38.33%	1,348	59.05%	60	2.63%
1976	433	21.37%	1,593	78.63%	0	0.00%
1972	1,239	81.78%	276	18.22%	0	0.00%
1968	303	16.72%	356	19.65%	1,153	63.63%
1964	807	43.18%	1,061	56.77%	1	0.05%
1960	181	12.88%	1,224	87.12%	0	0.00%
1956	194	14.92%	1,106	85.08%	0	0.00%
1952	184	13.40%	1,189	86.60%	0	0.00%
1948	77	9.63%	670	83.75%	53	6.63%
1944	185	24.93%	557	75.07%	0	0.00%
1940	221	25.40%	647	74.37%	2	0.23%
1936	155	17.55%	725	82.11%	3	0.34%
1932	24	2.36%	989	97.34%	3	0.30%
1928	390	44.17%	493	55.83%	0	0.00%
1924	35	9.49%	327	88.62%	7	1.90%
1920	14	2.95%	461	97.05%	0	0.00%
1916	11	2.15%	439	85.74%	62	12.11%
1912	11	1.83%	526	87.38%	65	10.80%

See also

• State of Georgia portal

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