Coffee County, Georgia

Coffee County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,092, up from 42,356	 at the 2010 census. The county seat is Douglas.

Coffee County comprises the Douglas, Georgia micropolitan statistical area.

History
Coffee County was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on February 9, 1854, from portions of Clinch, Irwin, Telfair, and Ware counties. These lands were originally ceded by the Creek in the Treaty of Fort Jackson in (1814) and the Treaty of the Creek Agency (1818) and apportioned to the above counties before becoming Coffee County.

Berrien (1856), Jeff Davis (1905), and Atkinson (1917) counties were subsequently formed from sections of Coffee County.

The county is named for General John E. Coffee, a state legislator and a U.S. representative.

Coffee County Correctional Facility is located in Nicholls, Georgia. It is privately owned and operated by CoreCivic, the largest prison company in the nation.

Many of the early settlers of what is now Coffee County are buried in historic cemeteries across the region, including the cemetery at Lone Hill United Methodist Church—located at 6833 Broxton-West Green Highway, some 10 miles northeast of Douglas. The church and its cemetery date to the 1840s, with the earliest marked grave dated 1848. A majestic Eastern Redcedar has graced the cemetery for generations and is recognized as the nation's largest of this species through American Forests’ Champion Trees program. (see: )  In July 2018 the tree was recognized as 2018's Great American Tree by American Grove. (See: ) Having been nominated by Mark McClellan of the Georgia Forestry Commission, the tree has been featured in such publications as the Smithsonian Magazine and Janisse Ray's Wild Card Quilt. The circumference of the tree exceeds 20 feet.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 603 sqmi, of which 575 sqmi is land and 28 sqmi (4.6%) is water.

The vast majority of Coffee County is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla River basin. The northern corner of the county, well north of Broxton, an area bisected by State Route 107, is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The very southwestern corner of Coffee County, northeast of Alapaha, is located in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin.

Highways

 * US 221.svg U.S. Route 221
 * US 319.svg U.S. Route 319
 * US 441.svg U.S. Route 441
 * Georgia 31.svg State Route 31
 * Georgia 32.svg State Route 32
 * Georgia 64.svg State Route 64
 * Georgia 90.svg State Route 90
 * Georgia 107.svg State Route 107
 * Georgia 135.svg State Route 135
 * Georgia 158.svg State Route 158
 * Georgia 206.svg State Route 206
 * Georgia 206 Connector.svg State Route 206 Connector
 * Georgia 268.svg State Route 268

Adjacent counties

 * Telfair County – north
 * Jeff Davis County – northeast
 * Bacon County – east
 * Ware County – southeast
 * Atkinson County – south
 * Berrien County – southwest
 * Irwin County – west
 * Ben Hill County – west

Cities

 * Ambrose
 * Broxton
 * Douglas
 * Nicholls

Unincorporated communities

 * Bushnell
 * Sapps Still
 * West Green

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 43,092 people, 14,438 households, and 9,913 families residing in the county.

Education
Douglas is home to South Georgia State College, the oldest two-year institution under the University System of Georgia.

Politics
Like most of the Solid South, Coffee County voted with the Democrats until 1964, when Republican Barry Goldwater carried the county as well as the state. Democrat Jimmy Carter, who came from Georgia, carried the county twice. No Democrat has carried the county since then. Bill Clinton was the last Democrat to get over forty percent of the county's vote, in 1996. His two bids for president are the only times since Carter that a Democrat has kept the margin within single digits, and Michael Dukakis is the only other Democrat since Carter to garner 40 percent of the county's vote.