Chattahoochee County, also known as Cusseta-Chattahoochee County, is a county located on the western border in central Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,565. The county seat is Cusseta, with which the county shares a consolidated city-county government. The city of Cusseta remains a geographically distinct municipality within Chattahoochee County. The county was created on February 13, 1854. Chattahoochee County is included in the Columbus, GA-AL metropolitan statistical area.

History

This area was occupied by the historic Muscogee people (also known as the Creek) at the time of European encounter. They had a large confederacy in the Southeast. They were among the Five Civilized Tribes who were forcibly removed to Indian Territory in the 1830s during the administration of President Andrew Jackson. European Americans moved into their former areas, in some cases acquiring land through lotteries run by the state. The Georgia General Assembly created Chattahoochee County on February 13, 1854, from portions of Muscogee and Marion counties. It is named for the Chattahoochee River that forms its western boundary. The county seat was named Cusseta to commemorate the historic Creek Indian town of that name that long existed nearby. In 2004–2005, the U.S. Census Bureau reported a 6.2% population decline, making this county at the top of those nationally with shrinking populations. The original courthouse, built in 1854 by enslaved African Americans, is preserved at the tourist attraction of Westville in Columbus, Georgia. Since 1918, most of the land in Chattahoochee County has been part of the Fort Moore military reservation.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 251 sqmi, of which 249 sqmi is land and 2.4 sqmi (1.0%) is water. The vast majority of Chattahoochee County is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River-Walter F. George Lake subbasin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The very small southeastern corner of the county is located in the Kinchafoonee-Muckalee subbasin of the same larger ACF Basin. The county forms part of the West Georgia region.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Communities

Cities

Former census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,565 people, 2,570 households, and 1,886 families residing in the county.

Education

The Chattahoochee County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 85 full-time teachers and over 1000 students. All parts of the county except Fort Moore are zoned to county schools for all grades. Fort Moore children are zoned to Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools for grades K-8. However Fort Moore high school students attend the public high schools in the respective counties they are located in.

Politics