Berrien County, Georgia

Establishment

The citizens of the area of Lowndes County and Irwin County that would become Berrien County had to travel long distances to get the county courthouse at Franklinville, Georgia and later Troupville, Georgia for those in Lowndes County, and Irwinville, Georgia for those in Irwin County. By at least June 1853, citizens had petitioned to form a new county.^[4] The 1853 attempt of a new county failed. By 1856, a renewed attempt at the creation of a new county was successful.

World War I

Berrien County lost a disproportionate number of men in World War I in part because companies at that time were organized by militia districts at home. Eight weeks before the Armistice, 25 Berrien County men were among the 200 recently enlisted soldiers who perished at sea off the coast of Scotland.^[5] Many of the bodies were returned to the soldiers' hometowns for burial, and the names of the dead were engraved on a memorial located on the courthouse grounds in Nashville. The memorial was the first in a series of pressed copper sculptures by artist E. M. Viquesney entitled The Spirit of the American Doughboy.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Irwin County - north
• Coffee County - northeast
• Atkinson County - east
• Lanier County - southeast
• Lowndes County - south
• Cook County - west
• Tift County - northwest

Communities

Racial and ethnic composition

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 18,160 and 5,055 families. Of the residents, 24.6% were under the age of 18 and 17.6% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 39.9 years. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.0 males. 26.7% of residents lived in urban areas and 73.3% lived in rural areas.^[29][30][31]

The racial makeup of the county was 80.6% White, 10.8% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.6% from some other race, and 5.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.8% of the population.^[31]

There were 7,118 households in the county, of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[30]

There were 7,991 housing units, of which 10.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 68.5% were owner-occupied and 31.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.7%.^[30]

2022 American Community Survey

According to the American Community Survey in 2022, its median household income was $48,670 with a per capita income of $25,100.^[32] Approximately 51% of its population made less than $50,000 a year; 30% from $50,000-100,000; 17% from $100,000-200,000; and 2% more than $200,000 annually. Of the county, 23.2% lived at or below the poverty line, and an estimated 30% of children under 18 years of age were at or below the poverty line. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $108,300.

Religion

The Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020 denoted the largest religion in the area is Christianity.^[33] The largest Christian groups within the county are Baptists and non or interdenominational Protestants, followed by Methodists and Pentecostals. Within Berrien County, the largest single Christian denomination as of 2020 has been the Southern Baptist Convention.