Early County
| Early County, Georgia | |
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Early County Courthouse in Blakely
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 Location in the U.S. state of Georgia |
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 Georgia's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1818 |
| Named for | Peter Early |
| Seat | Blakely |
| Largest city | Blakely |
| Area | |
| • Total | 516 sq mi (1,336 km2) |
| • Land | 513 sq mi (1,329 km2) |
| • Water | 3.8 sq mi (10 km2), 0.7% |
| Population | |
| • (2010) | 11,008 |
| • Density | 21/sq mi (8/km²) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
| Website | earlycounty |
Early County is a county located in the southwest of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,008. The county seat is Blakely, home of the Early County Courthouse. Created by European Americans on December 15, 1818, it was named for Peter Early. The county is bordered on the west by the Chattahoochee River.
Prehistoric and nineteenth-century history has been preserved in some of Early County's attractions. It is the site of the Kolomoki Mounds, a park preserving major earthworks built by indigenous peoples of the Woodland culture more than 1700 years ago, from 350 CE to 600 CE. This is one of the largest mound complexes in the United States and the largest in Georgia; it includes burial and ceremonial mounds. The siting of the mounds expresses the ancient people's cosmology, as mounds are aligned with the sun at the spring equinox and summer solstice.
The county area was territory of the historic Creek Indian peoples of the Southeast, particularly along the Chattahoochee River, before European-American settlers encroached and pushed them out during Indian Removal of the first half of the nineteenth century.
The Cohelee Creek Bridge in the county is the southernmost covered bridge still standing. One of the last wooden flagpoles from the American Civil War era is located at the historic courthouse in downtown Blakely.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 516 square miles (1,340 km2), of which 513 square miles (1,330 km2) is land and 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2) (0.7%) is water.
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