Quitman County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,235, making it the second-least populous county in Georgia. The county seat is Georgetown. The county was created on December 10, 1858, and named after General John A. Quitman, leader in the Mexican–American War, and once Governor of Mississippi. In November 2006, residents voted to consolidate the city government of Georgetown and the county government of Quitman into a consolidated city-county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 161 sqmi, of which 151 sqmi is land and 9.3 sqmi (5.8%) is water. The entirety of Quitman County is located in the Middle Chattahoochee River–Walter F. George Lake sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin).

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Communities

City

Unincorporated community

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,235 people, 842 households, and 577 families residing in the county.

Education

Quitman County School District operates area public schools, including Quitman County High School. County students attended Stewart-Quitman High School (now Stewart County High School) from 1978, until Quitman County High opened, in 2009.

Politics

From the 1940s to 1960s Joe Hurst dominated politics in Quitman County, delivering votes for statewide officials, state judges, and prosecuting attorneys, under the County unit system which gave Quitman two units, a third as many as the biggest counties in the state. He hand-delivered state welfare checks and prevented secret ballots. In 1962 he stuffed the ballot box for future President Jimmy Carter's opponent in a state senate primary. Carter won a series of court cases to remove his Democratic primary opponent's name from the general election ballot. There was no Republican candidate. Both candidates used radio ads to ask voters to vote by write-in, and Carter won the general election. Hurst was later convicted of fraud in an earlier primary, for which he had a fine and three years probation. He was also convicted of selling moonshine, for which he went to prison.