Richmond County is located in the state of Georgia in the U.S. As of the 2020 census, the population was 206,607. It is one of the original counties of Georgia, created on February 5, 1777. Following an election in 1995, Augusta (the county seat) consolidated governments with Richmond County. The consolidated entity is known as Augusta-Richmond County, or simply Augusta. Exempt are the cities of Hephzibah and Blythe, in southern Richmond County, which voted to remain separate. Richmond County is included in the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC metropolitan statistical area.

History

The county is named for Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, a British politician and office-holder sympathetic to the cause of the American colonies. Richmond was also a first cousin to King George III. Richmond County was established in 1777 by the first Constitution of the (newly independent) State of Georgia. As such, it is one of the original counties of the state. It was formed from a portion of the colonial Parish of St. Paul after the Revolution disestablished the Church of England in the (former) Royal Province of Georgia.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 329 sqmi, of which 324 sqmi is land and 4.3 sqmi (1.3%) is water. The vast majority of Richmond County is located in the Middle Savannah River sub-basin of the Savannah River basin, with just the southwestern corner of the county, from a line running north from Blythe through the middle of Fort Eisenhower, located in the Brier Creek sub-basin of the Savannah River basin.

Adjacent counties

Pedestrians and cycling

Communities

Cities

Army installation

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 206,607 people, 68,361 households, and 42,363 families residing in the county.

Politics

Similar to most urban counties in the state with majority African American populations, Richmond County has backed the Democratic Party candidate by increasing margins since 1992. However, in every presidential election from 1952 to 1988 which did not have Georgian Jimmy Carter on the ballot, the county backed the Republican candidate for president. In 1968 it was one of only eight counties in Georgia where George Wallace came in third. Prior to 1952, the county voted like a typical Solid South county, voting for Democratic presidential candidates by landslide margins until backing Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond in 1948. 1928 was an exception to this rule with Herbert Hoover beating Al Smith handily due to anti-Catholic sentiment.

Transportation

Major highways

U.S. Route 25 Business

Education

All of Richmond County is in the Richmond County School System.

Notable people