Taylor County, Georgia Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Taylor County
U.S. county
Taylor County Courthouse in Butler
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	January 15, 1852; 172 years ago (1852-01-15)
Named for	Zachary Taylor
Seat	Butler
Largest city	Butler
Area
• Total	380 sq mi (1,000 km²)
• Land	377 sq mi (980 km²)
• Water	3.0 sq mi (8 km²) 0.8%%
Population (2020)
• Total	7,816
• Density	21/sq mi (8/km²)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Taylor County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,816. The county seat and largest city is Butler.

History
Geography
- Major highways
- Adjacent counties
Communities
See also

History

Taylor County was created on January 15, 1852, by an act of the Georgia General Assembly from portions of Macon, Marion and Talbot counties.

The County is named for Zachary Taylor, twelfth President of the United States.

The land for building the courthouse was purchased from Andrew McCants, John T. Gray, John Sturdivant, John L. Parker, and a Mr. Covington. (from a meeting minutes March 8, 1852)

Militia districts in the county included Prattsburg 737, Hall 743, Reynolds 741, Butler 757, Cedar Creek 1071, and Whitewater 853.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 380 square miles (980 km²), of which 377 square miles (980 km²) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²) (0.8%) is water.

Taylor County is dissected by the Fall Line geological formation. The upper half of the county is located in the Piedmont region and consists of gently rolling hills and clay-based soils. The lower half of the county is located in the Upper Atlantic Coastal Plain and is markedly flatter and the soil more sandy. The Flint River marks the entirety of the county's northeastern border.

The county is driven by a largely agricultural economy. Peaches, strawberries, pecans, peanuts, watermelons, and cotton are the most commonly raised crops. Lumbering is also important to the local economy. The county is heavily forested in most areas due in part to the many large plantation pine farms. There are also many desirable hardwood forests, especially along the Flint River basin and tributary streams. The southwestern portion of the county is covered with large sandhills that have given rise to several stable sand mining operations.

The county supports a very healthy population of animals, including white-tailed deer, wild turkey, eastern cottontail, raccoon, coyote, bobcat, nine-banded armadillo, Virginia opossum, red-tailed hawk, and the federally endangered Florida gopher tortoise. Taylor County is home to five of North America's venomous snakes (eastern diamondback rattlesnake, timber rattlesnake, Carolina pigmy rattlesnake, eastern coral snake, water moccasin, and copperhead), representing every North American family of venomous snake.

The dominant tree species are southern red oak, post oak, longleaf pine, loblolly pine, sweetgum, and red maple. Taylor County contains the largest stands of Atlantic white cedar in the state of Georgia. These stands can be found along much of Whitewater and Little Whitewater creeks and are at the heart of a growing movement to conserve these unique plant communities for posterity.

The vast majority of Taylor County is located in the Upper Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin), with the exception of a tiny corner of the county just north of Georgia, which is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.