Cook County, Georgia

Cook County Education, Geography, and History

Cook County is a county located in the state of Georgia. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 17,212. The constitutional amendment to create the county was proposed July 30, 1918, and ratified November 5, 1918. The county seat is Adel. Cook county is named for former Civil War general Philip Cook of the Confederate States Army.

Etymology - Origin of Cook County Name

Cook county is named for General Philip Cook, who fought in both the Seminole War and the Civil War and was Georgia's Secretary of State for over 20 years.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Cook County History

Cook County was the 153rd county formed in Georgia. It was created from Berrien County and named for General Philip Cook, who fought in both the Seminole War and the Civil War and was Georgia's Secretary of State for over 20 years.

The county courthouse was constructed in 1939, one of many depression era public works projects in the state. This courthouse is also listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. Another historic building, located in Adel, is the Jim Paulk-SOWEGA Building, owned by the Adel-Cook County Chamber of Commerce. The building was constructed in 1930 and originally the home office of Southwest Georgia Melon Growers Association (SOWEGA), which started in 1920 as the only cooperative association for marketing watermelons in the world.

One of the first roads cut through the Wiregrass Territory ran through Cook County at Cecil. This road, known as the Coffee Road, was called for by an act of the state legislature in 1823 and was built by General John Coffee. The Coffee Road became a main thoroughfare for early settlers, who traveled to Tallahassee and the Gulf Coast for salt and other staples.

Points of Interest

Reed Bingham State Park is located in the county. The park has a variety of recreational facilities centering around a 400-acre lake, where swimming, skiing, boating, and fishing are excellent. Other facilities include campsites, nature trails, miniature golf, and picnic shelters.

Notable Citizens

A notable person from Cook County is Eugene Patterson, a recipient of a Pulitzer Prize. He was the editor of The Atlanta Constitution during the Ralph McGill era (1960-68) and wrote for the Associated Press. Patterson became chairman and CEO of what is now the biggest daily newspaper in Florida - the St. Petersburg Times and started Florida Trend magazine. He was also instrumental in starting Georgia Trend magazine.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 233 square miles (600 km²), of which 227 square miles (590 km²) is land and 6.0 square miles (16 km²) (2.6%) is water.

 Cook county is located in south Georgia. The county is in the Suwannee River basin.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Berrien County
• Southeast: Lowndes County
• Southwest: Brooks County
• West: Colquitt County
• Northwest: Tift County

Education

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