Oglethorpe County, Georgia | |
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Oglethorpe County Courthouse
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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 | December 19, 1795 |
Named for | James Oglethorpe |
Seat | Lexington |
Largest city | Crawford |
Area | |
• Total | 442 sq mi (1,145 km2) |
• Land | 439 sq mi (1,137 km2) |
• Water | 3.0 sq mi (8 km2), 0.7% |
Population | |
• (2010) | 14,899 |
• Density | 34/sq mi (13/km²) |
Congressional district | 10th |
Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
Oglethorpe County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,899. The county seat is Lexington.
Oglethorpe County is included in the Athens-Clarke County, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area. It is the largest county in Northeast Georgia.
Oglethorpe County was originally part of a large tract of land surrendered by Creek and Cherokee Native Americans to the Colony of Georgia in the treaty of 1773. The county itself was founded on December 19, 1793, and is named for Georgia's founder, General James Oglethorpe.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 442 square miles (1,140 km2), of which 439 square miles (1,140 km2) is land and 3.0 square miles (7.8 km2) (0.7%) is water.
The majority of Oglethorpe County is located in the Broad River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin. A narrow western portion of the county, in a line from just north of Woodville, through Crawford, to just south of Winterville, is located in the Upper Oconee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. A small part of the southern portion of the county, from Maxeys east, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin.