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Lanier County
Lanier County
County
	Lanier County Courthouse in Lakeland
	Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
	Georgia's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 31°02′16″N 83°03′46″W / 31.0378937°N 83.0626534°W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	August 7, 1920
Named for	Sidney Lanier
Seat	Lakeland
Largest city	Lakeland
Area
• Total	200 sq mi (500 km2)
• Land	185 sq mi (480 km2)
• Water	15 sq mi (40 km2) 7.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	9,877
• Density	53/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	8th
Website	laniercountyboc.com

Lanier County is a county in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. At the 2020 census, the population was 9,877.^[2] The county seat is Lakeland.^[3] It is named after Georgia poet Sidney Lanier.^[4]

Lanier County is part of the Valdosta, Georgia metropolitan statistical area and shares Moody Air Force Base with Lowndes County on its western boundary.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 200 square miles (520 km²), of which 185 square miles (480 km²) is land and 15 square miles (39 km²) (7.3%) is water.^[5]

The vast majority of Lanier County is in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. Just a narrow section of the western border of the county, northeast and southeast of Ray City, is in the Withlacoochee River sub-basin of the same Suwannee River basin, and a very narrow section of the eastern border of Lanier County is in the Upper Suwannee River sub-basin of the same Suwannee River basin.^[6]

Major highways

Major waterways

Railways

Defunct

Atlantic and Gulf Railroad
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Lakeland Railroad (Defunct, it was used from 1929 to 1957. It ran along the same path as the Milltown Air Line Railroad)
Milltown Air Line Railroad (Defunct, it was used from 1904 to 1928. It ran from Lakeland to Naylor, Georgia)
Plant System
Waycross and Western Railroad (Defunct, it was used from 1912 to 1925 from Waycross, Georgia to Lakeland, Georgia. It roughly followed current Georgia State Route 122)

Adjacent counties

Berrien County - northwest
Atkinson County - north
Clinch County - east
Echols County - south
Lowndes County - southwest

National protected area

The Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1985, hosts approximately 20,000 visitors annually. It provides hiking, fishing, and boating opportunities on more than 4,000 acres (16 km²) of water, Banks Lake marsh, and swamp. The Robert Simpson III Nature Trail, dedicated in August 2001, is in the Lakeland, Georgia city limits on 75 acres (300,000 m²) of pine and hardwood forests. The county is known for its excellent fishing in the Alapaha River, Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge as well as in its many small lakes.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

Stockton

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1930	5,190		—
1940	5,632		8.5%
1950	5,151		−8.5%
1960	5,097		−1.0%
1970	5,031		−1.3%
1980	5,654		12.4%
1990	5,531		−2.2%
2000	7,847		41.9%
2010	10,078		28.4%
2020	9,877		−2.0%
2023 (est.)	10,452	^[7]	5.8%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8] 1790-1880^[9] 1890-1910^[10] 1920-1930^[11] 1930-1940^[12] 1940-1950^[13] 1960-1980^[14] 1980-2000^[15] 2010^[16]

Lanier County racial composition as of 2020^[17]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	6,595	66.77%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	2,138	21.65%
Native American	31	0.31%
Asian	81	0.82%
Pacific Islander	14	0.14%
Other/Mixed	446	4.52%
Hispanic or Latino	572	5.79%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,877 people, 3,714 households, and 2,536 families residing in the county.

Economy

The county's economy has remained rural in nature, but the educational, health and social service sector was the largest employment category in 2006. Factors contributing to this economy include the presence of Moody Air Force Base (shared by adjoining Lowndes County), the several lakes and nature reserve, the hospital, and a large state correctional facility.

The top ten employers in Lanier County are:^{[citation needed]}

Moody Air Force Base
Farmers & Merchants Bank
Louis Smith Hospital
Patten Probation Detention Center
Georgia Department of Corrections
Patten Seed Company
City of Lakeland, Georgia
Wausau Homes, Inc
J.H. Harvey Co, LLC (parent company of Harveys Supermarkets)

Media

Lanier County News - Legal organ and hometown newspaper since 1913. The paper was originally named The Milltown Advocate, but changed its name after Lanier County was formed in 1920.
Lanier County Advocate (newspaper) - Legal organ newspaper as of January 1, 2015.

Historic sites

Historic sites include Governor Eurith D. Rivers' home, which was moved from its original spot on Banks Lake to West Main Street in Lakeland in the early 1980s; Union Baptist Church, located near Georgia Highway 135; and Fender Cemetery, located east of Lakeland at the junction of U.S. 221 and Georgia Highway 37 on land that once belonged to David Fender. The site of the cemetery, in which many of the area's first settlers are buried, was chosen so that mourners would not have to ferry their dead across the river for burial. Also, the "Murals of Milltown," which depict community life in the 1920s, grace the exteriors of buildings in downtown Lakeland.

Education

The Lanier County School District, the only school district in the county,^[18] operates four schools: Lanier County Primary School, Lanier County Elementary School, Lanier County Middle School, and Lanier County High School.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Lanier County, Georgia^[19]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,509	70.16%	1,019	28.50%	48	1.34%
2016	1,984	69.10%	806	28.07%	81	2.82%
2012	1,820	61.11%	1,114	37.41%	44	1.48%
2008	1,787	62.05%	1,062	36.88%	31	1.08%
2004	1,641	63.38%	931	35.96%	17	0.66%
2000	1,048	55.04%	832	43.70%	24	1.26%
1996	519	34.55%	818	54.46%	165	10.99%
1992	600	35.03%	811	47.34%	302	17.63%
1988	725	50.81%	698	48.91%	4	0.28%
1984	852	53.48%	741	46.52%	0	0.00%
1980	470	29.30%	1,116	69.58%	18	1.12%
1976	207	14.02%	1,269	85.98%	0	0.00%
1972	850	81.50%	193	18.50%	0	0.00%
1968	241	15.63%	277	17.96%	1,024	66.41%
1964	719	52.10%	661	47.90%	0	0.00%
1960	198	15.88%	1,049	84.12%	0	0.00%
1956	152	14.59%	890	85.41%	0	0.00%
1952	170	16.75%	845	83.25%	0	0.00%
1948	92	13.53%	486	71.47%	102	15.00%
1944	40	6.02%	625	93.98%	0	0.00%
1940	16	2.56%	607	97.12%	2	0.32%
1936	30	3.59%	800	95.81%	5	0.60%
1932	3	1.38%	211	97.24%	3	1.38%
1928	138	31.29%	303	68.71%	0	0.00%
1924	46	11.41%	356	88.34%	1	0.25%