Dougherty County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 85,790. The county seat and sole incorporated city is Albany. Dougherty County is included in the Albany, GA metropolitan statistical area. Historically dominated by cotton plantation agriculture in the nineteenth century, it is part of the Black Belt of the South.

History

The county was created by the Georgia General Assembly on December 15, 1853, from a part of Baker County. It was named after Charles Dougherty, a respected judge and lawyer from Athens, Georgia. In 1854 and 1856 small areas were added from Worth County. As noted above, the county was developed by European Americans using enslaved African Americans as workers for the production of cotton as a commodity crop. Its county seat of Albany, Georgia is located on the Flint River, which was originally the chief means of transportation for shipped products. Albany was later served by seven railroad lines, adding to its significance as a market center. The city was a center of the Civil Rights Movement, particularly during the early 1960s.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 335 sqmi, of which 329 sqmi is land and 5.9 sqmi (1.8%) is water. The majority of Dougherty County is located in the Lower Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The northeastern corner of the county, northeast of Albany, is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the same ACF River basin. A very small portion of Dougherty County, north of Albany, is located in the Kinchafoonee-Muckalee sub-basin of the larger ACF River Basin. The remaining western portion of the county is located in the Ichawaynochaway Creek sub-basin of the same ACF River Basin.

Major highways

U.S. Route 19 Business U.S. Route 82 Business

Adjacent counties

Communities

City

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 85,790 people, 32,630 households, and 18,213 families residing in the county.

Education

Politics