Brantley County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,021. The county seat is Nahunta. Brantley County is part of the Brunswick, Georgia metropolitan statistical area.

History

Georgia voters passed a state constitutional amendment on November 2, 1920, to form Brantley County from pieces of three earlier surrounding Georgia counties: Charlton, Pierce, and Wayne counties. Although the precise origin of the county name is unknown, it is believed that it honors U.S. Representative (congressman) William Gordon Brantley or his father, Benjamin Daniel Brantley, a well-known local merchant and Confederate States Army soldier in the American Civil War (1861-1865).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 447 sqmi, of which 442 sqmi is land and 4.8 sqmi (1.1%) is water. The Satilla River runs through Brantley County. The bulk of Brantley County, from east of Hortense south to west of Waynesville and west to east of Waycross, is located in the Satilla River sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla basin. The county's eastern border area, east of Waynesville, is located in the Cumberland-St. Simons sub-basin of the St. Marys-Satilla River basin. A small northwestern corner, west of Hortense, is located in the Little Satilla sub-basin of the larger St. Marys-Satilla River basin, and a very small southwestern corner of Brantley County is located in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the larger Suwannee River basin.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 18,021 people, 6,823 households, and 4,578 families residing in the county.

Education

Politics

Brantley County is a Republican stronghold. The last Democrat to carry the county was Bill Clinton in 1992, and it has swung hard to the right in the following elections. In 2020, Donald Trump carried the county with 90.2% of the vote, the most out of any county in Georgia.