Forsyth County, Georgia

Forsyth County, Georgia
Map
Location in the state of Georgia
Georgia's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1831
Seat	Cumming
Largest city	Cumming
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	247 sq mi (641 km²) 226 sq mi (585 km²) 22 sq mi (56 km²), 8.72%
PopulationEst.  - (2006)  - Density	150,968 436/sq mi (168/km²)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Congressional districts	7th, 9th
Website: www.forsythco.com

Forsyth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 98,407. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 158,914 [1]. Its county seat is Cumming, Georgia^[1].

This county is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area).

Forbes.com named it as the 13th wealthiest county in the United States for 2008, and the wealthiest county in the state of Georgia.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation for Forsyth County, Georgia is with emphasis on the 2nd syllable: for-SYTH (fawr-SITHE). Many natives actually pronounce the first syllable quickly, and with an "e" making it more like "fer-SITHE.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 247 square miles (641 km²), of which, 226 square miles (585 km²) of it is land and 22 square miles (56 km²) of it (8.72%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Route 19
• State Route 9
• State Route 20
• State Route 53
• State Route 141
• State Route 306
• State Route 369
• State Route 371
• State Route 400

Adjacent counties

• Dawson County, Georgia to the north, across a line of latitude
• Hall County, Georgia to the east, across Lake Lanier (former thalwegs of Chattahoochee River, up into Chestatee River)
• Gwinnett County, Georgia to the southeast, across Chattahoochee River and Buford Dam
• Fulton County, Georgia (formerly Milton County until 1932) to the southwest, across an irregular line (not following a ridge or stream), and a line of longitude
• Cherokee County, Georgia to the west-northwest, across the same line of longitude

		Dawson County
	Cherokee County		Hall County
		Forsyth County, Georgia
	Fulton County		Gwinnett County

Cities and towns

• Cumming (incorporated)
• Brookwood (unincorporated)
• Coal Mountain (unincorporated)
• Chestatee (unincorporated)
• Silver City (unincorporated)
• Daves Creek (unincorporated)
• Friendship (unincorporated)
• Big Creek (unincorporated)
• Midway (unincorporated)

National protected areas

• Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (part)

Demographics

Age distribution (2000 census)

Population (2000-2008)^[2][3]

Median income (2000 census)

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 98,407 people, 34,565 households, and 28,101 families residing in the county. The population density was 436 people per square mile (168/km²). There were 36,505 housing units at an average density of 162 per square mile (62/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.05% White, 0.70% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 2.01% Pacific Islander, 2.27% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 2.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 21.7% were of American, 14.1% English, 13.0% Irish and 11.8% German ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 34,565 households out of which 41.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.90% were married couples living together, 6.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.70% were non-families. 14.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.12.

The age distribution was 27.90% under the age of 18, 6.10% from 18 to 24, 37.10% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 7.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 102.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $68,890, and the median income for a family was $74,003 (these figures had risen to $84,815 and $91,658 respectively as of a 2007 estimate^[5]). Males had a median income of $50,862 versus $32,112 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,114. About 3.90% of families and 5.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.60% of those under age 18 and 10.20% of those age 65 or over.

History

One of the Steam Engines in the July 4, 2002 Parade in Downtown Cumming

Forsyth County was created in 1832 from a partition of the Cherokee County territory, which had been formed from the Cherokee Nation East the previous year. Forsyth County was named for John Forsyth, Governor of Georgia from 1827-1829 and Secretary of State under Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.

Civil Rights

Besides being one of the fastest growing counties in the USA (2000 census), Forsyth County is also known for several racially motivated incidents which occurred in its past which the county has moved on from. Such incidents occurred at various times throughout the 20th century.

1910-1912

The 1910 census listed the racial makeup as "10847 white, 658 black, and 440 mulatto", classifying just over 10% of the population as of or partially of African-American descent. On September 7, 1912 two African Americans were reported to have assaulted a white women in her mother's home. Later that night the police arrested the two men along with four other African Americans. Grant Smith, a local black preacher publicly questioned the character of the alleged victim. His comments enraged white citizens who then horse-whipped him before he was rescued by the police and locked in the courthouse for his own safety. Two days after the first incident another white women was assaulted. Mae Crow was dragged into the woods on Sunday afternoon by Earnest Daniel Knox, hit over the head with a rock, and raped. Knox left the unconscious body in the woods. Midnight of the same day two men and a women came upon Crow's unconscious body. Still alive she was raped again by both men and left for dead. Her body was found the next morning around 9 am. She died of her injuries that afternoon. Meanwhile Knox was detained, confessed and moved to the Jail in Atlanta for his safety. A mob stormed the jail in Cumming they took a man detained early for the first assault, shot him, mutilated his body, and hung him from a telephone pole on the town square. At this point the state militia was called in and Cumming was placed under martial law. The remaining prisoners were removed to Atlanta. Oscar Daniel and Earnest Knox were put on trial for the rape and murder of Mae Crow on October 3. They were convicted and received their sentencing on the 4th. They were ordered to be privately executed on the 25th. Citizens burned the fence around the gallows and the men were still executed in full view of citizens from the county. Following theses incidents blacks citizens of the county were forced to sell their land for fractions of their worths and relocate elsewhere.^[6][7]

From Donna Parrish's Shadow of 1912:

Ellen Grice was assaulted on Wednesday, September 4, 1912. Tony Howell was charged with Assault with intent to Rape (Book 4 p. 391). After several adjournments, the case was "nol prossed". Howell continued to live in Forsyth County until the 1940s when according to a neighbor he moved to Alpharetta, GA to reside with his daughter.

Mae Crow was assaulted on Sunday, September 8, 1912. She died Monday, September 23, 1912. Rob Edwards was indicted for the rape of Mae Crow. On Tuesday September 10, 1912 Edwards was shot, drug from the Cumming, GA jail and hung up on the telephone pole at the intersection of Main Street and Tribble Gap Road (the northwest corner of the Square). The coroner's inquest held Wednesday, September 18, 1912 found the cause of death to be a gun shot. For more follow the 1912 link from Forsyth County History and Records referenced below.

1980s

More ethnically diverse citizens have begun in recent years to immigrate to the county, particularly in the affluent southern portion. However the racial tension continued to be a part of the county's image into the early 1990s. This was infamously punctuated in January 17, 1987 by a march by civil rights activists in Cumming, and a counterdemonstration by a branch of the Ku Klux Klan, some of whom may have been residents of the county, and others who objected to the march, some residents and some nonresidents who attended the march for the purpose of protesting it. According to a story published in the New York Times on January 18, four marchers were slightly injured by stones, and bottles were thrown at them. Eight people from the counter demonstration, all white, were arrested. The charges included trespassing and carrying concealed weapons.

Originally, the march was going to be led by Forsyth resident Charles A. Blackburn. Blackburn wanted to dispel the racist image of Forsyth County, where he owned and operated a private school (The Blackburn Learning Center). Blackburn cancelled his plans after he received threatening phone calls. Other whites in nearby counties, as well as State Representative J.E. McKinney of Atlanta and Hosea Williams, who was on the Atlanta City Council, took up the march plans instead.

Civil Rights Activists' Response

The following week, January 24, approximately 20,000 civil rights activists marched in Cumming. This occurrence produced no violence, despite the presence of over 5,000 counter-demonstrators, summoned by the Forsyth County Defense League, largely due to the presence of about 2,000 peace officers and national guardsmen. Forsyth County paid $670,000 for police overtime during the political demonstration. There was considerable public outrage at the costs, particularly since most of the demonstrators on both sides were from outside the county. An interview with Forsyth County Sheriff Wesley Walraven, previous to the second march, is available in A Turn in the South by Nobel-prize winning author VS Naipaul.

The demonstration is thought to have been the largest civil rights demonstration in the U.S. since about 1970. The unexpected turnout of some 6,000 counter-demonstrators, sixty-six of whom were arrested for "parading-without-a-permit," turned out to be the largest outpouring opposed to the Civil Rights Bill since the Sixties. The counter-demonstration was called by The Nationalist Movement, newly organized in Cumming, by Mark Watts, a local plumber.

The original march had been triggered by an often repeated statement that Forsyth was "a county that warned black visitors not to 'let the sun go down on your head.' " New Georgia Encyclopedia

Marchers arrived on buses from all over the country and formed a caravan from Atlanta, under the watchful eye of National Guard troops on freeway overpasses along the nearly hour-long bus route. When marchers arrived, they discovered that most of the Cumming residents had already left town for the day, and some had boarded up their windows because they feared violence. The mood of the marchers, however, was peaceful and hopeful. The voices of thousands of people singing "We shall overcome" echoed off the empty buildings, as marchers wound slowly through streets lined by hundreds of armed National Guards, many of them black. At least two-thirds of the 20,000 civil rights marchers were white, according to eyewitnesses. Many said the multi-racial turnout showed how the civil rights movement had succeeded, despite the challenge at hand.

Forsyth county subsequently charged large fees for parade permits until the practice was overturned in Forsyth County, Georgia v. The Nationalist Movement (505 U.S. 123) in the Supreme Court of the United States on June 19, 1992.

2007

In his book "Buried in the Bitter Waters," Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Elliot Jaspin devotes a chapter to the events of 1912, one of the many incidences in the history of America he labels a "racial cleansing." Contrary to events detailed to Donna Parrish's account (and indeed, this very article), black residents of the county were not simply forced to sell their homes. Black churches were burned down, houses were detonated and whites went door to door forcing blacks from their homes. While some blacks indeed managed to sell their homes for cheap, avoiding negotiations in fear of their lives, Jaspin says "The majority of black landowners were helpless to prevent their white neighbors from stealing their land and their homes" (136).^[8] Jaspin used county land records and newspaper archives to tell the story.

Jaspin also detailed how poorly the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on the assault of the civil rights marchers in 1987, in continuance with its avoiding confronting the issue, for fear of angering its readers. The paper called the riots of 1912 a legend (145). Jaspin also showed how Parrish's research was, self admittingly, "far from complete." In the epilogue to the book, Jaspin details the difficulty in publishing a series of articles based on the book in the Journal Constitution, whose editors were all white, and were not convinced by Jaspin's research that blacks had been forced off of their land without paying. According to Jaspin, the editors diluted the story, and downplayed the role the paper played in hiding the true history behind the events. After Jaspin threatened to remove his name from the stories, he was subsequently demoted from editor to reporter (257).

2009

On January 27, 2009, the [Atlanta Journal-Constitution] reported there was a house fire in northeastern Forsyth County with racial overtones. The homeowner, Pamela Morrow Graf, told authorities that she and her boyfriend, Steve Edward Strobel, left Jan. 16 for the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., and returned Jan. 19 after hearing about the fire.^[9] The report stated that racist "graffiti was sprayed on a nearby fence" at the fire location.

However, after igniting a storm of racial controversy, the case turned out to be a fake hate crime. The homeowner and her boyfriend had set the fire themselves to make it look like an attack, in a scheme to defraud her insurance carrier.^[10][11]

Population Growth

Today, Forsyth County maintains a large percentage of new homeowners. Due to rapid suburban sprawl and skyrocketing housing prices in neighboring Fulton County, a large number of affluent professionals have moved into the county. Over 60% of the current population either lived elsewhere or had not been born yet in 1987. The population as of 2008 is estimated to be 90.0% White, 4.0% Black, 0.6% Native American, 4.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 8.5% Hispanic.^[12]

In 2008 Forsyth County had been in the top ten fastest growing counties of the United States for several years. Many new subdivisions with elegant houses have been constructed, several around world class golf courses. Close to Atlanta and the Blue Ridge mountains and bordering 37,000-acre (150 km²) Lake Sidney Lanier, the area has attracted many of the Metro area's new residents. The growth is tempered by water availability and the efforts of several county organizations to make sure growth is planned and sustains the high quality of life in the area.

Education

Forsyth County is served by Forsyth County Schools The public school system is Forsyth County's largest employer (4,000 employees) and is an integral part of the community. It has experienced great growth over the past decade and is now home to 31,000 students in 30 schools. It is projected by 2013 to grow to over 50,000 students. Classrooms are technologically-advanced, as the school system places a heavy emphasis on being on the cutting edge of new technology and methods of teaching. Ten new schools are projected to open by 2013, among them a sixth high school. There are currently five high schools in Forsyth County: Forsyth Central (which was the first high school and originally called Forsyth County High School), North Forsyth, South Forsyth, West Forsyth, and the newest, Lambert.

Recreation

Recreation on Lake Lanier, a 37,000-acre (150 km²) Army Corp of Engineers lake, on the east side of the county is enjoyed by many residents and attracts non-residents seasonally.

Notes and references

5. Atlanta Journal Constitution[2]

External links

• Forsyth County Georgia, Business and Government Directory with local news and information.
• Forsyth County Government, County Government Portal
• John Forsyth, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• History and Records, Forsyth County, GA
• Forsyth County School System
• Forsyth County News, Your "Hometown Paper" Since 1908
• Forsyth Herald
• Video of Annual Steam Engine Parade 60 Minute DVD of parade with many antique steam engines.

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v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Forsyth County, Georgia County seat: Cumming Cities Cumming | Milton‡ Unincorporated communities Chestatee | Coal Mountain | Matt Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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