Rockdale County, Georgia

Rockdale County is a county located in the North Central portion in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,570 up from 85,215 in 2010.US Census Bureau, 2020 Report, Rockdale County, Georgia The county seat is Conyers. Rockdale County is included in Metro Atlanta.

History

Rockdale County was formed on October 18, 1870 and received its name from Rockdale Baptist Church (est. May 29, 1847), which was named after the granite strata that rests under the county's red clay top soil. A bill introduced by John F. Hardin and John Harris carved Rockdale out of the northern portion of Newton County; parts of Rockdale County also came from neighboring Henry, Walton, Gwinnett, and DeKalb counties. Conyers, Rockdale's only incorporated town and urban center, became the county seat.

Prior to Rockdale becoming a county, the land had been inhabited by the Creek and Cherokee; the boundary between the two native nations, the Hightower Trail, ran directly through the area. Burial remains have been discovered in the Honey Creek and Hi-Roc areas. Whites began migrating to the area in the early 19th century and initial white settlers suffered from Indian raids. Early white settlements developed along Big Haynes Creek in the northern part of the county, the Yellow River in the middle portion of the county, and Honey Creek in the south.

Communities formed around grist mills and newly formed churches such as Haralson Mill, Costleys Mill, Dial Mill, Zacharys Mill, McElroys Mill, Union Grove Baptist Church, Ebenezer Methodist Church, Philadelphia Methodist Church, Salem Baptist Church, Smyrna Presbyterian Church, Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Bethel Christian Church, Honey Creek Baptist Church, and Whites Chapel Methodist Church. Other communities included Magnet and Zingara. These settlers were largely subsistence farmers.

During the American Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman marched the Union Army north of Conyers on his way to Covington from Lithonia. Seizure and destruction of property accompanied his army's march through the area. Many of the residents of Conyers, fearing Sherman would raze the city, fled to nearby Social Circle in Walton County, since Conyers was an important stop on the Georgia Railroad, but Conyers remained unscathed by the war.

The city is a fine example of residential and commercial architecture of the 19th century. According to a historical marker on U.S. Highway 278 west of Conyers, Major General Joseph Wheeler of the Confederate States Army and part of his staff were captured by Union troops pursuing Jefferson Davis on May 9, 1865. Wheeler was later released in Athens only to be recaptured again. He was wounded three times and had his horse shot out from under him sixteen times.

During Reconstruction, Conyers and Rockdale County experienced tremendous growth. According to the local newspaper, The Weekly Farmer, the population of Conyers increased from 300 to 2,000. The number of stores, businesses, schools, and churches of the county rapidly multiplied as well. Parts of the county were infamous for moonshining and the county became dry in 1882, prohibiting the sale and manufacture of liquor except by a licensed pharmacist as prescribed by a physician. The economy of the county was still based primarily on agriculture into the early 20th century. The PBS documentary The Lost Children of Rockdale County is about a syphilis outbreak which occurred in the county during the 1990s.

Rockdale County continued to be primarily rural in nature until the construction of I-20 in the 1960s, and it was added to Atlanta's metropolitan statistical area in the 1970 census. As late as 2000, the county had a white majority, but by 2020, whites only accounted for 27% of the county's population. This is partially attributed to the "new great migration", as the county's growth has coincided with strong growth in its black population. The county became majority-black in 2013.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.7%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in Georgia by area, ahead of Clarke County.

The entirety of Rockdale County is located in the Upper Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.

Adjacent counties

Newton County – Southeast Henry County – southwest DeKalb County – west Walton County – northeast Gwinnett County – north

Communities City Conyers

Census-designated places Lakeview Estates Milstead

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Rockdale County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)33,05048,53950,96734,82624,50089.94%89.74%72.69%40.87%26.18%Black or African American alone (NH)3,1454,33012,67038,99653,7858.56%8.01%18.07%45.76%57.48%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1811111661791680.49%0.21%0.24%0.21%0.18%Asian alone (NH)1125051,3391,4981,5320.30%0.93%1.91%1.76%1.64%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census365272xx0.05%0.06%0.08%Other race alone (NH)8121002306170.02%0.02%0.14%0.27%0.66%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census6511,3713,356xx0.93%1.61%3.59%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2515944,1828,0639,5400.68%1.10%5.96%9.46%10.20%Total36,74754,09170,11185,21593,570 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 93,570 people, 33,114 households, and 23,533 families residing in the county.

The median age was 39.7 years; 23.6% of residents were under the age of 18, and 15.5% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.6 males age 18 and over.

Eighty-six point three percent of residents lived in urban areas, while 13.7% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 27.4% White, 58.1% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 5.7% from some other race, and 6.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.2% of the population.

Of the 33,114 households, 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 32.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 22.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 35,427 housing units, of which 6.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.9% were owner-occupied and 32.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.3%.

2010 census In 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $53,599, and the median income for a family was $60,065. Males had a median income of $41,087 versus $29,189 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,300. About 5.70% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.00% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Government and policing Rockdale County Sheriff The Sheriff's Office provides police patrol to the county areas other than in Conyers which has a municipal police department. The Sheriff also protects the court, maintains the county prison, and provides administration services.

Politics A former Republican stronghold, Rockdale County has undergone a massive shift towards the Democratic Party in recent decades, primarily due to large growth of the African-American population. In 2000, Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush won 62.64% of the county's vote, defeating Democrat Al Gore by 29 percentage points. However, just 20 years later, Democratic nominee Joe Biden won 69.88% of the county's vote, defeating Republican incumbent Donald Trump by nearly 41 percentage points. Contrary to national and statewide trends, Rockdale County delivered a larger margin for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in 2024, who defeated Republican nominee Donald Trump by 47 percentage points even as Trump flipped the state of Georgia back to the GOP column.

Rockdale County is one of nine counties that shifted more than 25 percentage points to the left from 2012 to 2024.

Board of Commissioners District CommissionerParty CHAIR (at-large) JaNice Van Ness (chairwoman)Democratic Post 1 Tuwanya SmithDemocratic Post 2 Doreen WilliamsDemocratic

Georgia General Assembly

Georgia State Senate DistrictNamePartyAssumed office 43Emanuel JonesTonya Anderson2017

Georgia House of Representatives DistrictNamePartyAssumed office 91Angela MooreDemocratic2023 92Rhonda TaylorDemocratic2023 93Doreen CarterDemocratic2023

Recreation Georgia International Horse Park Black Shoals Lake and Covered Bridge Old Towne Conyers Historic District Monastery of the Holy Spirit Salem Campground Smyrna Campground Milstead Historic Mill Village Panola Mountain State Park Rockdale Baptist Church Georgia Revolution FC

Transportation Major highways

Pedestrians and cycling

Arabia Mountain Path Conyers Trail Deer Run Trial Rockdale River Trail S River Trail

Notable people

Jill Arrington, ESPN college football reporter Billy Buckner, former Major League Baseball player Pop-punk band Cartel's Will Pugh, Joseph Pepper, Jeff Lett, Nic Hudson, & Kevin Sanders David Elder, former Major League Baseball player Dakota Fanning, actress Elle Fanning, actress Holly Hunter, actress John Mark Karr, JonBenét Ramsey's falsely claimed murderer Clint Mathis, World Cup soccer player Jack McBrayer, actor Kevin Ware, current college basketball player E.R. Shipp - Pulitzer Prize recipient Grady Jarrett - NFL player Teddy Swims - Singer

Rockdale County, Georgia

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