McIntosh County, Georgia

McIntosh County is a located in the  of. It is part of the ' ' which encompasses all of McIntosh,, and counties. As of 2000, the population is 10,847. The 2005 Census Estimate shows a population of 11,068. The is.

History
McIntosh County was split off from in 1793. The new county was named McIntosh for its most famous family, which included, who was a general in the. The McIntosh clan in dates back to 1736.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,488 (575 ). 1,123 km² (433 mi²) of it is land and 365 km² (141 mi²) of it (24.56%) is water.

Major Highways

 * [[Image:I-95.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 17.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 57.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 99.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 131.svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 251.svg|23px]]

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (south)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 10,847 people, 4,202 households, and 3,012 families residing in the county. The was 10/km² (25/mi²). There were 5,735 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (13/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 61.34%, 36.81% or , 0.38% , 0.30% , 0.04% , 0.27% from , and 0.87% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 4,202 households out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.20% were living together, 14.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.30% were non-families. 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.00% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 26.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,102, and the median income for a family was $34,363. Males had a median income of $29,782 versus $19,598 for females. The for the county was $14,253. About 15.70% of families and 18.70% of the population were below the, including 24.10% of those under age 18 and 16.90% of those age 65 or over.

Civil rights
Despite its large number of black residents, McIntosh County politics continued to be dominated by whites well into the 1970s, even following the federal civil rights legislation of the decade previous. In September 1975, the, on behalf of local members, filed suit in US District Court, alleging that women and blacks were systematically excluded from grand juries responsible for appointing members to the McIntosh County Board of Education. The following May, plaintiffs and county officials reached an agreement providing for random jury selection.

In 1977, the NAACP filed separate suits against McIntosh County and the City of Darien, alleging improper districting for county and city commission seats. The county settled out of court, agreeing to redraw its commission boundaries to include a black-majority district. The NAACP lost its suit against the city, but this decision was remanded and reversed in 1979 by the.

Praying for Sheetrock: A Work of Nonfiction (ISBN 0-201-55048-2) by  narrates the events surrounding the civil rights movement in McIntosh County, particularly the demise of white Sheriff Thomas H. Poppell and the 1978 election of black rights activist Thurnell Alston to the county commission.

Famous residents
McIntosh County is home to the, a traditional performance group of the ethnic group, based in the town of. They perform the, an African tradition of counterclockwise movement performed to singing, chanting and percussive accompaniment utilizing the hands and feet, that has been passed down from African ancestors from generation to generation.