| Clayton County, Georgia | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Georgia |
|
 Georgia's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1858 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Jonesboro |
| Largest city | Forest Park |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
144 sq mi (374 km²) 143 sq mi (369 km²) 2 sq mi (4 km²), 1.15% |
| PopulationEst. - (2006) - Density |
271,240 1,658/sq mi (640/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
| Congressional districts | 5th, 13th |
| Website: www.co.clayton.ga.us | |
Clayton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 236,517. The 2007 Census estimate placed the population at 272,217.[1] The county seat is Jonesboro[2].
Clayton County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area and is the county in which most of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport lies.
The county was established in 1858 and named in honor of Augustin Smith Clayton (1783-1839), who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1832 until 1835.
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Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 144 square miles (374 km²), of which, 143 square miles (369 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (4 km²) of it (1.15%) is water.
Adjacent counties
- DeKalb County (northeast)
- Henry County (east)
- Spalding County (south)
- Fayette County (southwest)
- Fulton County (northwest)
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Fulton County | DeKalb County |
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Henry County | ||||||
 Clayton County, Georgia  |
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| Fayette County | Spalding County |
Demographics
As of the 2000 census[3], there were 236,517 people, 82,243 households, and 59,214 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,658 people per square mile (640/km²). There were 86,461 housing units at an average density of 606 per square mile (234/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 37.94% White, 51.55% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 4.49% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 3.55% from other races, and 2.08% from two or more races. 7.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Estimated 2006 population is 271,240, with a racial make-up of 20.4% white non-hispanic, 62.9% African American, 5% Asian, 11.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.4% American Indian or Alaska Naive, and 0.1% Pacific Islander. 1.5% were reported as multi-racial.
There were 82,243 households out of which 40.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.70% were married couples living together, 20.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 21.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the county the population was spread out with 30.00% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 35.40% from 25 to 44, 18.40% from 45 to 64, and 5.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $42,697, and the median income for a family was $46,782. Males had a median income of $32,118 versus $26,926 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,079. About 8.20% of families and 10.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.20% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.
The last quarter-century has seen significant change in the racial composition of the county's population. In 1980, Clayton county's population was 150,357 — 91% white and 9% minority, [1] while in 2006 the population was approximately 271,240 — 20% white and 80% minority. Many of these Minority groups lived in Clayton County's housing projects that were built around the time these minority groups moved to Clayton County; since then many of the housing projects have been redeveloped due to high crime.[4]
Crime
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On March 20, 2007, the county appointed its first black police chief, Jeffrey E. Turner, who has promised to help alleviate crime in the county. Areas with the most crime are College Park, Riverdale, Conley, Lovejoy, Forest Park, North Jonesboro, Arrowhead District, and the Pointe South District.[5]
Economy
ValuJet Airlines was headquartered in northern unincorporated Clayton County, near William B. Hartsfield International Airport, in the 1990s.[6]
Cities and towns
Unincorporated areas
- Rex (unincorporated)
- Conley (unincorporated)
- Ellenwood (unincorporated)
- Irondale (unincorporated)
- Bonanza (unincorporated)
- Lake Spivey
- Clayton Panhandle
- Old Dixie
- Mountain View
- Flintwoods
- Flint River District
- Lake Harbin
- Old South
- Botany Woods
- Valley Hill
- Arrowhead District
- North Jonesboro
Transportation
Air
Highways
Interstate 75
Interstate 85
Interstate 285
Interstate 675
U.S. Route 19
U.S. Route 23
U.S. Route 29
U.S. Route 41
State Route 3
State Route 54
State Route 85
State Route 138
State Route 351
State Route 401
State Route 407
State Route 413
Mass transit
Bus
- Clayton County mass transit is run by C-TRAN, with five fixed bus routes and Paratransit
-
- 500 - Airport Loop
- 501 - S.R. 54/Forest Park/Southlake Mall (Atlanta)/Tara Blvd./Justice Center
- 502 - Southlake Pkwy./Jonesboro/Lake City/Courthouse
- 503 - Gardenwalk/Southern Regional Medical Center/Morrow/Mt. Zion Pkwy.
- 504 - Riverdale Rd./Riverdale/S.R. 85/Flint River Rd./Justice Center
- 503 - ShortTurn Southern Regional Hospital/Riverdale/North Jonensboro/Arrowhead District/Upper Riverdale Rd./Arrowhead Blvd.
Rail
There is commuter rail service in the planning stages along the Norfolk Southern line, with proposed stations in Forest Park, Morrow, Jonesboro, and initially ending at Lovejoy. This line is projected to run to Macon eventually. However, it has been repeatedly stalled by the Georgia General Assembly, despite having federal funding already available for it.
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's Airport station is located just barely in Clayton. Buses from Clayton feed into MARTA rail stations in Fulton (College Park and East Point). Clayton is one of three counties with representation on the MARTA board, but no rail service, since voters refused to approve the 1% sales tax needed to fund it.
Culture
Parts of Margaret Mitchell's epic 1936 novel Gone With the Wind and the famous 1939 Gone With The Wind film were set in Clayton County. It was the location of the fictional Tara Plantation, which was the beautiful and spacious cotton plantation where protagonist Scarlett O'Hara lived with her parents and sisters. Tara Boulevard was named for the plantation, and is the main north/south road through the county, carrying U.S. 41 and lesser-known Georgia 3. Alsa a namesake is Tara Field, the county's general aviation airport, actually located in a neighboring county where it was previously Henry County Airport.
Also, parts of the novels Rhett Butler's People and Scarlett and the Scarlett TV Mini-Series took place in Clayton County. Rhett Butler's People is a prequel, sequel, and companion to Gone With The Wind, but the beautiful Tara Plantation was burned down in the end. Scarlett is a sequel to Gone With the Wind, also and also takes place briefly in Clayton County.
In the above mentioned novels, the fictional Twelve Oaks Plantation and others mentioned in the novels above, are located in and around Clayton County.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
The Clayton County School System is the fifth largest in Georgia.[7] On August 28, 2008, the District lost its accreditation, citing a 'dysfunctional' school board.
Higher education
Clayton State University in Morrow is the only four year institution in the county.
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Accreditation
The 50,000-student school system was the first in the nation to lose accreditation since 1969. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) revoked the school district's accreditation on August 28, 2008 [8]. This makes only the second system in the nation to do so since 1960. A grand jury investigated and considered possible criminal indictments against the Clayton County School Board. At issue was whether the school board committed malfeasance in ignoring the shortcomings of the school system and violating its own rules concerning the awarding of bids of contracts.
School Board Chairwoman Ericka Davis announced her resignation on April 2, 2008 amidst the allegations. Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell has called for the resignations of all Clayton County School Board Members. [9]
Amid controversy and orders for the police to quiet citizens, the Clayton County School Board hired a new temporary superintendent on April 26, 2008. This was despite the fact that the new superintendent did not meet the qualifications set forth by SACS. [10]
Home values were expected to drop substantially following this decision.
SACS accreditation was restored provisionally one year later in early May 2009.
References
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population for Counties of Georgia: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007" (.xls). United States Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2007-01-13.xls.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Clayton County, Georgia". American Factfinder. United States Census Bureau. 2008. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=ACS_2006_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=ACS_2006_EST_G2000_C03002&-tree_id=306&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=05000US13063&-search_results=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en.
- ^ "Police Administration". Clayton County Georgia Police Department. http://www.claytonpolice.com/Administration.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
- ^ "Civil Action No. 1-96-CV-1355-JTC." Stanford University Law School. Retrieved on May 19, 2009.
- ^ "District Statistics". Clayton County Public Schools. http://www.clayton.k12.ga.us/aboutccps/districtstatistics.asp. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ^ Matteucci, Megan (2008-08-28). "Clayton schools lose accreditation; board members ousted". Atlanta Journal Constitution. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/clayton/stories/2008/08/28/clayton_schools_accreditation.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-28.
- ^ Matteucci, Megan (2008-04-02). "Clayton school board chairwoman steps down". Atlanta Journal Constitution. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/clayton/stories/2008/04/02/claytonschools_0402.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-05.
- ^ Matteucci, Megan (2008-05-01). "Clayton signs school chief's contract amid police presence". Atlanta Journal Constitution. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/clayton/stories/2008/04/26/claysuper_0427.html.
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