Fayette County: History

Fayette County was formed in 1821 from parts of the Creek Indian Territory. Georgia's 49th county and its county seat, Fayetteville, were named for the Marquis de LaFayette, one of General George Washington's commanders in the Revolutionary War.

The largest city in the county, Peachtree City, is a totally planned municipality, which features over 50 miles of pedestrian and golf cart pathways connecting all parts of the city.

The "world's largest courthouse bench" is located alongside the entrance walkway to the county's courthouse. Dr. Ferrol Sams, author of Run with the Horseman and other novels about the rural South, hails from Fayette County.

The Fayette County Courthouse in Fayetteville was built in 1825, making it the oldest courthouse in the state. Every Halloween children in the county fill the courthouse square with elaborately decorated jack-o-lanterns.

Housed in the former Margaret Mitchell Library in Fayetteville, the Fayette County Historical Society features historical collections concerning the civil war and local genealogical records.

Fayette County: Demographic Information

According to the 1990 Census, the population of Fayette County was 62,415 persons. The county's population grew between 1980 and 1990 at a rate of 114.9%, compared with a state average growth rate during the period of 13.2%. The county's projected population for the year 2000 is 102,356 persons.

In Fayette County, 92.5% of the residents were white and 5.4% were black, according to the 1990 Census. Hispanics, who may also be identified as either white or black in the Census data, constituted 1.6% of the county’s population. Statewide, 71% of residents were white, 27% were black and 1.7% were Hispanic.

In addition, 32% of the county’s residents were age 19 or younger, while 7.2% were age 65 or older. Statewide, 30% were age 19 or younger and 10% were age 65 or older.

In Fayette County, the 1990 Census reports 4% of households were headed by females and had children under 18 years of age, compared with 8% statewide. Total households with children under 18 comprised 46.9% of all households in the county and 36% of those in the state.

The 1990 Census indicates that 30.1% of the adult population in Fayette County had completed high school, which was greater than the state average of 29.6%. A total of 56.4% of the county’s population had at least some college level education compared with the 41.3% state average.

Between 1991 and 1995, an average of 4.5% of students in grades 8 to 12 dropped out of school each year in the county. Statewide, the average percentage of dropouts was 6.7% for the same time period.

Fayette County spent an average of $3,831 per pupil for public education each year between 1990 and 1994. This expenditure was less than the statewide average of $4,002.

Between 1989 and 1993, the infant mortality rate (infant deaths per 1,000 live births) was 7.2 for the county. The statewide rate was 11.3 during the same period.

In 1992, the number of physicians in the county per 1,000 population was 0.57, compared with the 0.8 state average. Fayette County had 0 hospital beds per 1,000 population in 1994, which was less than the statewide average of 3.6 beds per 1,000 population.

According to the 1990 Census, 80.8% of the housing units in the county were owner occupied. The median value of these units was $116,700. Across the state, 76% of housing units were owner occupied, with a median value of $70,700.

Between 1990 and 1994, the county’s index crime rate (crimes per 100,000 population) was 2,026. Statewide, when moving from the highest index crime rate to the lowest, Fayette County ranked number 104. Of this five year average, 9.3% were violent crimes, while 90.7% were non-violent crimes.

In 1992, 87.1% of the adult population in the county was registered to vote. Of those registered, 82.4% voted in the 1992 general election. Statewide, in 1992, 67% of eligible Georgians were registered to vote. Of those registered, 73% voted in the general election that year.

Fayette County: Economic Information

According to the Georgia Department of Labor, the largest non-government employers in the county include: Kroger Company, Matsushita Communication, and NCR Corporation.

Between 1990 and 1994, Fayette County’s annual unemployment rate was lower than the state’s mark, averaging 3% compared with the state’s average of 5.7%. Nationwide, unemployment for the same period averaged 6.5%.

In 1990, 33% of the county’s workforce was employed within the county while the balance, 67%, commuted out of Fayette County for employment.

The county per capita income in 1992 was greater than that of the state and was greater than that of the nation. Fayette County’s per capita income was $22,534, as compared with $18,549 for the state and $20,105 for the United States.

Fayette County’s median household income in 1989 was $50,167. This amount was greater than the state’s median household income of $29,021 in that same year. Nationally, the median household income in 1989 was $30,056.

In 1993, taxable sales in the county amounted to $7,266 per capita. This amount was less than the $10,636 per capita figure for the state as a whole.

Fayette County had 1,370 business establishments in 1991. In the six-year period of 1986-1991, the number of business establishments in the county increased by 45%. Statewide, the number of business establishments increased by 6% during the same period.

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue’s Net Property and Utility Digest, Fayette County’s assessed property value amounted to $1,199,405,961 in 1992, resulting in a per capita assessed property value of $19,217. At the state level, per capita assessed property value in 1992 equaled $16,112.

The newspaper with the largest daily circulation in Fayette County is the Atlanta Journal/Constitution. The county is considered part of the Atlanta television market.

During 1989, 3% of the county’s population lived below the poverty level, compared with a statewide level of 15% and a U.S. rate of 13%. In addition, 2% of the children under the age of 18 in the county lived in poverty and 7% of the elderly, persons over age 65, lived below the poverty level. Statewide, in 1989, 20% of all children and 20% of the elderly lived in poverty. Nationally, 19% of all children and 11% of the elderly were considered to be impoverished.

Residents of Fayette County received total government transfer payments amounting to $1,746 per capita in 1992, compared with $2,708 per capita statewide.

Fayette County: Government Information

From 1991 to 1995, Fayette County's average own source revenue per capita was $298. This amount was less than the average of $325 per capita reported by other counties of similar size and was less than the overall county average of $326.

Fayette County collected an average of $183 per capita in property tax during the past five years. This amount was greater than the average of $162 per capita for other similarly sized counties. For the same period, the average per capita amount of county property tax collected in Georgia was $155. On average, property taxes accounted for 61% of the county's own source revenue during the period of 1991 to 1995.

Between 1991 and 1995, Fayette County's yearly general operating expenditures averaged $220 per capita. This amount was less than the overall county average of $274 per capita during the same period. The average yearly general operating expenditures per capita for similarly sized counties was $254 between 1991 and 1995.

From 1991 to 1995, Fayette County had an average of $45,635,074 in long-term debt outstanding each year, resulting in an average per capita debt burden of $626. This amount was greater than the $84 per capita average among the 135 counties with outstanding debt during the period and greater than the $68 per capita average for the 20 similarly sized counties with outstanding debt.

In 1996, Fayette was designated as a tier three county under Georgia's Job Tax Credit Program. Under this classification, eligible companies may receive $500 in tax credits for each new job created in the county.

According to the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, Fayette County has a 5-member board of commissioners, with the chairman elected by the members of the board. The county seat of Fayette County is Fayetteville.