Liberty County, Georgia

Liberty County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 61,610. The 2005 Census Estimate shows a population of 57,544. The is. It is a part of the Hinesville-

History
Liberty County, located on the Georgia coast, was one of the seven Georgia counties created from the original colonial parishes on,. The Indians inhabited that area from prehistoric times, and in the eighteenth century the tribe became a part of the Muskogee or Creek Confederation. The Spanish placed a mission on St. Catherines Island in the late sixteenth century among the Guale Indians. In the early 1750s English settlers, including a group of Congregationalists from, located in the area between the Medway and Newport rivers.

Shortly before the (1775-83), a number of people who later became prominent in the new state and republic settled there, including, , , , , , , , and. In the 1770s traveled through the area during his famous expedition.

In 1775, one of three parishes that would eventually make up Liberty County, was the first area in Georgia to send a representative to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. In that year the citizens of St. John's Parish gathered in the Congregational Church in Midway, where they elected Lyman Hall to represent them in the. They sent several wagonloads of rice with him to feed the Continental troops surrounding Boston. Because St. John's Parish was the first in Georgia to vote for liberty, the new county created from this parish was given the name Liberty.

The seaport of was established in 1758 and was the county seat of Liberty until 1798. During the Revolution, Sunbury and adjacent were captured by the British in 1779. The British remained in control of Sunbury and the surrounding area until the end of the war. At the time of their evacuation, British troops burned both Sunbury and Fort Morris. In 1798 the seat of Liberty County moved to and in 1836 to its present location,. During the antebellum period Liberty County was the site of many rice and cotton plantations. Prominent citizens included, , and brothers and.

During the Civil War (1861-65) Liberty County and Sunbury again became the back door to the conquest of when Union troops under General  arrived in December 1864. After the war, timber and turpentine industries replaced cotton and rice plantations, and continue to be the mainstays of the economy. Educational institutions for both whites and former slaves  sprang up in the county. Bradwell Institute remains as one of the two county high schools. Dorchester Academy operated as a school for African Americans until the period (1941-45). The structure was used in 1963 by and other civil rights leaders to coordinate their efforts to end segregation in.

In 1940 a large section of northern Liberty County was purchased by the U.S. government for use as a military base. , home of the Army's, remains the largest Liberty County employer and has a major economic impact on this area.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,561 (603 ). 1,344 km² (519 sq mi) of it is land and 216 km² (83 sq mi) of it (13.85%) is water.

Major Highways

 * [[Image:I-95.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 17.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 84.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 25.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 119.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 129.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 144.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 196.svg|20px]]

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - south
 * - west
 * - northwest
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 61,610 people, 19,383 households, and 15,138 families residing in the county. The was 46/km² (119/sq mi). There were 21,977 housing units at an average density of 16/km² (42/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 46.64%, 42.84% or , 0.52% , 1.76% , 0.43% , 4.43% from , and 3.37% from two or more races. 8.15% of the population were or  of any race.

According to 2005 Census Estimates Liberty County had a population that was 44.5% African-American, 44.4% Non-Hispanic white, 7.2% Latino, 3.1% non-Hispanics who reported multiple races, 1.9% Asian and 0.5% of both Native Americans and Pacific Islanders.

There were 19,383 households out of which 50.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.60% were living together, 14.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.90% were non-families. 16.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the county the population was spread out with 32.00% under the age of 18, 17.90% from 18 to 24, 33.90% from 25 to 44, 12.20% from 45 to 64, and 3.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 111.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,477, and the median income for a family was $35,031. Males had a median income of $25,305 versus $20,765 for females. The for the county was $13,855. About 13.50% of families and 15.00% of the population were below the, including 19.20% of those under age 18 and 19.90% of those age 65 or over.