Oglethorpe County, Georgia

Oglethorpe County was originally part of a large tract of land surrendered by Creek and Cherokee Native Americans to the Colony of Georgia in the treaty of 1773. The county itself was founded on December 19, 1793, and is named for Georgia's founder, General James Oglethorpe.

On September 10, 1919, Obe Cox was accused of murdering a White farmer's wife. He was seized by a White mob taken to the scene of the crime, his body riddled with bullets and burned at the stake. Several thousand persons witnessed the scene. The lynching was controversial as the local black community "thanked" the mob for just killing Cox and not attacking their community.^[3][4] After an investigation the black media of the time reported that the blacks who wrote the letter thanking the lynching "do not stand for much in the town and are excused for their utter ignorance in condoning [lynching]."^[3]

In June 2018, Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office came under protest after a controversial hire was made of former Athens-Clarke County Police Officer Tyler Saulters.^[5] Saulters, who was fired from ACCPD, was involved in a controversial use of deadly force with his vehicle, striking a fleeing misdemeanor suspect^[6] while attempting to apprehend him in Athens, GA. Protestors were upset that Oglethorpe County Sheriff, David Gabriel, defended the hire and the use of force by the former ACCPD officer.^[5]

In April 2021, Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Davis was arrested and charged by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for two counts of aggravated assault.^[7] The arrest stemmed from an on-duty use-of-force, in Clarke County.^[7] Davis struck a vehicle he had already performed a traffic stop on.^[7] After striking the vehicle, Davis discharged his duty weapon at the vehicle.^[7] When the vehicle fled from the unprovoked and unjustified shooting by the Deputy, the deputy pursued and involved officers from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.^[7] ACCPD requested an investigation by the GBI, which is standard in most officer involved shootings in Georgia.^[7]

In August 2024, YouTuber DG Hamblin, produced interviews with a former Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Deputy about his experiences as a police officer.^[8][9] During the interviews excessive use of force by a Sheriff's commander and failure to report that use of force was discussed as well as Sheriff's commanders' interactions with the controversial Poulan Police Department.^[9]

On August 29, 2024, Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Deputies engaged in a pursuit with a motorcycle for a minor traffic violation (missing registration plate) inside Oglethorpe County.^{[10][11][12][13]} During the pursuit, speeds reached 100 mph (160 km/h).^[10][13] According to the Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office, the Deputy pursuing the motorcycle called the chase off inside Clarke County but continued to follow the motorcycle.^[11][13] The motorcyclist was involved in a collision with another vehicle at the intersection of Lexington Road and Woodgrove Road^[13][10] in Clarke County. The motorcyclist died on scene, according to the Georgia State Patrol, who investigated the collision and pursuit that led up to the fatal collision.^{[10][11][12][13]}

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 442 square miles (1,140 km²), of which 439 square miles (1,140 km²) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²) (0.7%) is water.^[14] The county is located in the Piedmont region of the state.

The majority of Oglethorpe County is located in the Broad River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. A narrow western portion of the county, in a line from just north of Woodville, through Crawford, to just south of Winterville, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. A small part of the southern portion of the county, from Maxeys east, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin.^[15]

There is one K-12 school district in the county: Oglethorpe County School District.^[38]

• White Water Rafting on the Broad and South Fork Broad Rivers
• ATV and Motor Bike Park
• Sportsman Hunting: Seasonal Whitetail Deer, Turkey and Rabbit

Historic Districts and Heritage Research, Antique Stores in Historic Lexington, Agriculture and Agritourism as well as Oglethorpe Fresh Produce

In 2016, the Oglethorpe County Recreation Department was named both the District 7 and State Agency of the Year for populations under 20,000 through the Georgia Recreation and Park Association.

As of the 2020s, Oglethorpe County is a strongly Republican voting county, voting 70.9% for Donald Trump in 2024. For elections to the United States House of Representatives, Oglethorpe County is part of Georgia's 10th congressional district, currently represented by Mike Collins. For elections to the Georgia State Senate, Oglethorpe County is part of District 24.^[39] For elections to the Georgia House of Representatives, Oglethorpe County is part of District 124.^[40]

^[42]

• Nathan Crawford Barnett, member of the Georgia House of Representatives and Georgia Secretary of State for more than 30 years. Raised in Lexington, and educated at the Lexington Academy
• William H. Crawford (1772–1834) - U.S. Minister to France, U.S. Secretary of War, and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
• George R. Gilmer (1790–1859) - Twice Governor
• Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809) - leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
• Wilson Lumpkin (1783–1870) - Governor
• Joseph H. Lumpkin (1799–1867) First Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and co-founder of the Lumpkin Law School
• George Mathews (1739–1812) - Revolutionary hero and twice Governor
• Kenny Rogers - Country music performer

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