Spalding County, Georgia

Spalding County Education, Geography, and History

Spalding County is a county located in the state of Georgia. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 64,073. The county was created December 20, 1851.  The county seat is Griffin. Spalding county is named for former United States representative and senator Thomas Spalding.

Spalding County county is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Spalding County Name

The county is named after Thomas Spalding, the first Georgian known to have successfully harvested cotton and sugar cane.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Spalding County History

Spalding County was formed in 1851 from parts of Fayette, Henry and Pike counties. The 96th county created in the state was named after Thomas Spalding, the first Georgian known to have successfully harvested cotton and sugar cane.

Griffin was named for General L. Griffin, the first president of the Monroe Railroad. This railroad later became the Central of Georgia.

Points of Interest

A walking tour organized by the Griffin Historical and Preservation Society covers 38 properties in and around the Griffin Commercial Historic District. Examples of the places listed on the National Register include the Lewis-Mills House (1850s), the Hill-Kurtz House (1860) and Middle Georgia Medical College (1859).

Notable Citizens

Among famous people from Spalding County include Doc Holliday, who was born in Griffin; Wyomia Tyus, Olympic track & field gold medalist in 1964 and 1968; Tapley Bennet, Jr., an Ambassador to the United Nations; and a variety of professional athletes: Jessie Tuggle and Alton Montgomery of the Atlanta Falcons, Willie Gault of the Los Angeles (now Oakland) Raiders, and Randy Baldwin of the Carolina Panthers.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 200 square miles (520 km²), of which 196 square miles (510 km²) is land and 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²) (1.6%) is water.

 Spalding county is located close to the center of Georgia.   The county is in the Flint River basin and the Ocmulgee River basin.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Clayton County
• Northeast: Henry County
• East: Butts County
• Southeast: Lamar County
• Southwest: Pike County; Meriwether County
• West: Coweta County
• Northwest: Fayette County

Education

Higher Education

Spalding County is home to Griffin Technical College and the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Griffin Campus.

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