Gwinnett County, Georgia

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Contents 1 Introduction 2 People 2.1 Native American Heritage 2.2 Important Dates 2.3 Slavery, Free People of Color, and Emancipation 2.4 Notables and Interesting Citizens 2.5 Population Statistics 3 Activities 3.1 Commerce and Agriculture 3.2 Education 3.3 Military 3.4 Religion 4 Geography 4.1 Adjacent Georgia Counties 4.2 Maps 4.3 Communities 5 Stickers and Categories 5.1 Stickers 5.2 Categories 6 Useful Project and Category Links 7 Genealogy and History Resources 8 General Maintenance Task List 9 Research Notes and Page Updates 10 Timeline 11 Resources 12 Sources

Introduction

Located in northern Georgia, part of the Atlanta Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, Gwinnett County is in the Southern Appalachia Region.^[1]Gwinnett County is named for Button Gwinnett, a state legislator and one of the Declaration of Independence signatories from Georgia.^[2]

People

Native American Heritage

As the river bottom lands were home to mastodons and saber tooth tigers during the Late Ice Age, and Clovis and Folsom points (used by big game hunters of that era) have been found in the Chattahoochee River Valley, it is likely humans have lived in the area that is now Gwinnett County for at least 12,000 years. ^[3]Agriculture, specifically the cultivation of gardens, came early to the Etowah and Chatahoochee River Valleys so these were home to some of the earliest permanent villages in North America (between 1000 BC and 900 AD). Prior to the American Revolution, there is archaeological evidence suggesting Southern Siouans, Catawba, and also groups from Mesoamerica such as the Itza Maya and the Yuchi settled in Gwinnett, leaving numerous earthen burial mounds like the Summerour Mounds near Buford Dam. ^[3]Spanish gold-hunting expeditions from Florida ranging to the mountains of northern Georgia encountered the Apalachee people ("Appalachian" place name being the fourth-oldest surviving European place name in the United States thanks to the regional chiefdoms in the territory between the Florida panhandle and northern Georgia)^[4] The Cherokee Nation and the Creek Confederacy controlled the land that is now Gwinnett County until 1818 when it was ceded to the Federal Government.^[3]

Important Dates

• 1818, Dec 15: Gwinnett County formed from a portion of Jackson County and land ceded to the state by the Cherokee and Creek Nations
• 1821: Lawrenceville incorporated, designated county seat
• 1914: NE part of Gwinnett County removed to form part of Barrow County

Slavery, Free People of Color, and Emancipation

Gwinnett's (3) representatives to the secession convention in Milledgeville voted against secession but were outnumbered and Georgia officially seceded 19 Jan 1861^[5]. Georgia was the 27th (and deciding) state to ratify the 13th Amendment officially ending slavery on 18 Dec 1865.^[6]Loving Aid Society founded in Gwinnett in the 19th century "provided dignified burials for former slaves and people of color in the days before burial insurance was widely available."^[7]Black entrepreneur Robert Livsey bought a former plantation house in Gwinnett in the 1920s and formed a farm and business hub known as "The Promised Land" which is now being made into a museum.^[7]

Notables and Interesting Citizens

• Elisha Winn was among the first Inferior Court Justices and was instrumental in early Gwinnett County government
• Sam Flint Prolific actor in over 230 films
• Ezzard Charles Professional boxer born in Lawrenceville

Population Statistics

Historical Population Data ^[8]

Census Population % Change ± Census Population % Change ± 1820 4,589 — 1930 27,853 -8.2% 1830 13,289 189.6% 1940 29,087 4.4% 1840 10,804 -18.7% 1950 32,320 11.1% 1850 11,257 4.2% 1960 43,541 34.7% 1860 12,940 15.0% 1970 72,349 66.2% 1870 12,431 -3.9% 1980 166,903 130.7% 1880 19,531 57.1% 1990 352,910 111.4% 1890 19,899 1.9% 2000 588,448 66.7% 1900 25,585 28.6% 2010 805,321 36.9% 1910 28,824 12.7% 2020 957,062 18.8% 1920 30,327 5.2%

Activities

• Harlem Globetrotters exhibition basketball team headquartered in Peachtree Corners
• Gwinnett Stripers International League Baseball team at Coolray field (Triple-A affiliate of Atlanta Braves)
• Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth
• Gwinnett History Museum and Lawrenceville Female Seminary from National Register for Historic Places
• Gas South Arena home to basketball, gymnastics, and hockey

Commerce and Agriculture

Historically, gold mining, cotton textiles, and leather tanning^[9]Farming switched from mainly cotton to dairy in the early 20th century^[10]

Education

• Largest school district in Georgia (21 high schools, 29 middle schools, 80 elementary schools, 13 specialty schools)
• University of Georgia satellite campus in Lawrenceville
• Georgia Gwinnett College (Lawrenceville)
• Gwinnett Technical College (Lawrenceville)

Military

Religion

According to the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB), Gwinnett County is 24.3% Evangelical Protestant, 8.4% Catholic, and 8.3% Mainline Protestant with Southern Baptist having the highest number of congregations by a significant margin.^[11]

Geography

The county has a total area of 437 square miles, of which 430 square miles is land and 6.4 square miles (1.5%) is water according to the U.S. Census Bureau. ^[12]

Adjacent Georgia Counties

Northwest {{{NW Location}}}		North Forsyth County, Georgia	Northeast Hall County, Georgia
West Fulton County, Georgia		Gwinnett County Georgia [[]]		East Barrow County, Georgia
Southwest DeKalb County, Georgia		South Rockdale County, Georgia	Southeast Walton County, Georgia

Maps

Communities

• Cities: Auburn / Berkeley Lake / Buford / Dacula / Duluth / Grayson / Lawrenceville / Lilburn / Loganville / Norcross / Peachtree Corners / Snellville / Sugar Hill / Suwanee

• Towns: Braselton / Rest Haven

• Census-designated places: Mountain Park

• Unincorporated communities: Allendale / Centerville / Five Forks / Mechanicsville / Mountain Park / Rockbridge / Rosebud / Tucker

Stickers and Categories

Stickers

US Southern Colonies Stickers
	For US Southern Colonist Sticker ^^^^
... ... ... was a Georgia colonist.	{{US Southern Colonist Sticker|Georgia}} (adds category)
Appalachia Stickers
	For Appalachians ^
... ... ... was an Appalachian. ... ... ... was born in Appalachia, in Georgia. ... ... ... lived in Appalachia, in Georgia.	{{Appalachia Sticker}} {{Appalachia Sticker|born|state=Georgia}} (adds category) {{Appalachia Sticker|lived|state=Georgia}} (adds category)
	For decendants of Appalachians ^^
... ... ... has Appalachian roots. ... ... ... has Appalachian roots, in Georgia.	{{Appalachian Roots}} {{Appalachian Roots|state=Georgia}}
... ... ... was a Georgian. ... ... ... was born in Georgia. ... ... ... was part of Georgia's history.	{{Georgia Sticker}} {{Georgia Sticker|born in Georgia}} {{Georgia Sticker|part of Georgia's history}}

^ Appropriate for pre-USA and post-1776 people profiles. Using the born or lived parameter with "state= Georgia" adds Category: Georgia Appalachians, which should only be used on profiles whose roots are in Georgia.

^^ See Template: Appalachian Roots for details about "born in" and "lived in" (and "lives in") options.

^^^ See Template: Georgia Sticker for details of parameters & use (it is used on both pre-USA and post-1776 profiles).

^^^^ Appropriate for pre-USA people profiles. See Template: US Southern Colonist Sticker for details of parameters & use (it must include a colony parameter and is used only on pre-USA profiles).

Categories

Gwinnett County

• preceded by Jackson County
• Gwinnett County (created in 1818 from Jackson County and lands ceded from the Creek Confederacy)
• Barrow County created from NE Gwinnett County in 1914

What this means for categorizing profiles of people connected to land that is today Gwinnett County ...

• If they are post-1776, they should be in Jackson County after 1784 depending on location and Gwinnett County or Barrow County after 1914, and because Georgia did secede from the union, drop USA/United States from 1861 through reconstruction.

• If they are pre-USA, they should not be in Jackson County (which was created in 1784) or Gwinnett County (which was created in 1818) but instead should probably be categorized by settlement rather than county.

Useful Project and Category Links

• https://www.arc.gov/appalachian-counties-served-by-arc/

Genealogy and History Resources

• http://gwinnetths.org/
• https://georgia.gov/organization/georgia-civil-war-commission
• https://thegagenweb.com/gagwinnett/gwinhistory2.html

General Maintenance Task List

Research Notes and Page Updates

Timeline

• 1812: War of 1812 brings Fort Daniel which brings more trade and commerce to early Gwinnett^[2]
• 1818, Dec 15: Gwinnett County created from a portion of Jackson County and land ceded to the state by the Cherokee and Creek Nations^[2]
• 1821: City of Lawrenceville incorporated, designated county seat^[2]
• 1836: Creek Indian War (Captain Hammond Garmany's Mounted Volunteers) ^[2]
• 1861: Gwinnett's (3) representatives to secession convention in Milledgeville voted against secession but were outnumbered^[5]

• 1861,19 Jan: Georgia secedes from the Union^[5]

• 1871: courthouse fire destroyed most early records and deeds (KKK attempt to avoid prosecution for their crimes)^[13]
• 1871-1891: railroad lines built through county inducing founding of new cities

• 1871 Atlanta and Richmond Air Line Railway (now Norfolk Southern)^[5]
• 1891 Georgia, Carolina, and Northern Railway (merged with Seaboard, now CSX)^[5]

• 1914 NE Gwinnett County removed to form new Barrow County^[2]
• 1956, Feb: Lake Lanier formed by building of Buford Dam^[14]

Resources

Links from Category:Gwinnett County, Georgia

• County website
• Wikipedia: Gwinnett County
• Wikidata Gwinnett County

See also:

• WikiTree's Georgia Project
• WikiTree's Appalachia Project
  • Space: Southern Appalachia Team (space page)
  • Category: Southern Appalachia Team
  • Category:Georgia Appalachians (landing level for people profiles)
• The GA GenWeb Project
  • Gwinnett County

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Sources

Footnotes

1. ↑ See the Appalachian Regional Commission's list of counties served by ARC (accessed 5 July 2022). See also the Appalachia Project's Southern Appalachia Team page, which includes a map of the five Regions of Appalachia.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Early history of Gwinnett http://www.oldplaces.org/gwinnettga/history.html (accessed 20 Jan 2023)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Native American History of Gwinnett County https://accessgenealogy.com/georgia/native-american-history-of-gwinnett-county-georgia.htm#content (accessed 21 Jan 2023)
4. ↑ Stewart, George (1945). Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States. New York: Random House. p. 17.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4} http://gwinnetths.org/history.html (accessed 22 Jan 2023)
6. ↑ Thirteenth Amendment GA History https://www.todayingeorgiahistory.org/tih-georgia-day/thirteenth-amendment/ (Accessed 22 Jan 2023)
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Black History in Gwinnett https://gwinnettmagazine.com/black-history-in-gwinnett/ (Accessed 22 Jan 2023)
8. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Gwinnett County, Georgia," Wikipedia, Demographics, (accessed Oct 9, 2022).
9. ↑ Gagnon, Michael (2018). Gwinnett County: A Bicentennial Celebration. Gwinnett Historical Society: Gwinnett Historical Society.
10. ↑ Gwinnett County in New Georgia Encyclopedia https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/counties-cities-neighborhoods/gwinnett-county/ (Accessed 22 Jan 2023)
11. ↑ Association of Religion Data Archives https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/census/congregational-membership?y=2010&y2=0&t=0&c=13135 (Accessed 22 Jan 2023)
12. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files" United State Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile/Gwinnett_County,_Georgia?g=0500000US13135 (accessed 11 Oct 2022)
13. ↑ Holman, Tyler (2018). "A Destructive Conflagration". Georgia Backroads. 17 (4): 39–43.
14. ↑ Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area https://www.nps.gov/places/buford-dam-place.htm (Accessed 22 Jan 2023)