Dodge County, Georgia

Dodge County
Dodge County
County
	Dodge County Courthouse in Eastman
	Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
	Georgia's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 32°10′N 83°10′W / 32.17°N 83.17°W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	1870; 154 years ago
Named for	William E. Dodge
Seat	Eastman
Largest city	Eastman
Area
• Total	503 sq mi (1,300 km2)
• Land	496 sq mi (1,280 km2)
• Water	7.2 sq mi (19 km2) 1.4%
Population (2020)
• Total	19,925
• Density	40/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	8th
Website	www.dodgecountyga.com

Dodge County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2020, the population was 19,925.^[1] The county seat is Eastman.^[2] Dodge County lies in the Historic South and Black Belt region of Georgia, an area that was devoted to cotton production in the antebellum years. It has significant historic buildings and plantations, has a substantial African-American population, and shows cultural aspects of the South.

History

Prior to 1802, this section of Georgia was owned by the Creek Indians. Treaties were made in 1802-1805 by which all lands east of the Ocmulgee River were taken from the Creek Indians. This land was distributed by lottery to the citizens of Georgia. In 1803 Wilkinson County was organized under that treaty. Telfair and Laurens counties were formed from Wilkinson County. In 1808 Pulaski County was formed from Laurens. In 1869, the Macon and Brunswick Railroad was built. Towns began to spring up all up and down the line, and, as this section was so far removed from the county seat, Hawkinsville, it was deemed expedient to create a new county and place the county seat at this point.^[3] A large portion of the county was taken from Laurens County, and also smaller portions from Pulaski, Montgomery, and Telfair counties. Dodge County was organized on October 26, 1870, during the Reconstruction era. The county was named by the Republican-dominated legislature for William E. Dodge.^[4] The county courthouse was built by Dodge and used until 1908, on the same area the courthouse stands now.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 503 square miles (1,300 km²), of which 496 square miles (1,280 km²) is land and 7.2 square miles (19 km²) (1.4%) is water.^[5]

The western half of Dodge County, roughly west of Eastman, is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The eastern half of the county is located in the Little Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the same Altamaha River basin, with a small northern corner of Dodge County, north and west of Chester, located in the Lower Oconee River sub-basin of the larger Alamaha River basin.^[6] The rivers were important for trade, carrying cotton and timber downriver to markets.

Adjacent counties

Laurens County - northeast
Wheeler County - east
Telfair County - southeast
Wilcox County - west
Pulaski County - west
Bleckley County - northwest

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

Empire
Plainfield
Ontario

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	5,358		—
1890	11,452		113.7%
1900	13,975		22.0%
1910	20,127		44.0%
1920	22,540		12.0%
1930	21,599		−4.2%
1940	21,022		−2.7%
1950	17,865		−15.0%
1960	16,483		−7.7%
1970	15,658		−5.0%
1980	16,955		8.3%
1990	17,607		3.8%
2000	19,171		8.9%
2010	21,796		13.7%
2020	19,925		−8.6%
2023 (est.)	19,776	^[7]	−0.7%
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]

Dodge County racial composition as of 2020^[17]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	12,865	64.57%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	5,847	29.35%
Native American	21	0.11%
Asian	95	0.48%
Pacific Islander	8	0.04%
Other/Mixed	469	2.35%
Hispanic or Latino	620	3.11%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,925 people, 7,628 households, and 5,167 families residing in the county.

Transportation

Major highways

Airport

The Heart of Georgia Regional Airport^[18] is located three miles east of Eastman off of State Route 46. Elevation 304'. Runway 02/20 is 6,506'x100'and has a precision instrument landing system. The airport is owned by the Heart of Georgia Regional Airport Authority and is home to the Middle Georgia State College Georgia Aviation campus. Middle Georgia State College operates the Federal Aviation Administration's #1 ranked student control tower in the United States.^[19] Other businesses at the airport include aircraft manufacturing, aircraft metal finishing, and general metal fabrication. The airport's fixed-base operator is located in the terminal building midfield. The terminal building is named after W. S. Stuckey Sr., founder of Stuckey's Candy Company^[20] (now Standard Candy) an aviation pioneer who is from Eastman.

Education

Politics

Vote-buying controversy

Dodge County has been at the center of several voter fraud and vote buying controversies over the past several decades.

1990s

The most notable incident of voter fraud in Dodge County in the 1990s is the case of United States vs. McCranie. In this case, there were two defendants being tried together for several different methods of voter fraud.^[21] These methods included vote buying, vote selling, multiple voting, and votes cast by felons and deceased voters.^[22] The case involved the winners of the July 9, 1996, races for Dodge County Sheriff and Dodge County Commissioner. The races were decided by 9 votes and 31 votes, respectively. The original results of the election had been contested, and a secondary election took place in an attempt to resolve the issue. In the secondary election, the Dodge County Sheriff's race was overturned, but the results of the Dodge County Commissioner's race remained the same.

A joint federal-state investigation into the events of this election found that the defendants likely worked together to buy votes. This was backed up with bank records that showed that the defendants had each obtained $15,000 in cash in $20 bills from the Bank of Eastman.^[22] The two defendants were accused of voter fraud and sentenced on March 12, 1999.^[22] Many federal officials described the 1996 election trial as the largest election-fraud prosecution in United States history.^[23]^[24]

2000s

The most notable case of voter fraud in the 2000s is the case of the 2004 Dodge County Sheriff's race. Former Dodge County Sheriff Lawton Douglas Jr. was indicted on two counts of conspiracy and four counts of vote buying in July 2009.^[25] This indictment came due to an investigation of the 2004 election, and did not include any charges for the potentially fraudulent 2008 election.^[23] Former Sheriff Lawton Douglas received a maximum sentence. The sentencing cited Douglas's use of cash, liquor, and drugs to buy votes in the election.^[26] Also, Douglas had people accompany voters into the polling booths to ensure that the vote actually went to him.^[27] His sentence was 18 months in federal prison.^[28]

Election results

United States presidential election results for Dodge County, Georgia^[29]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	5,843	72.39%	2,172	26.91%	57	0.71%
2016	5,021	71.64%	1,839	26.24%	149	2.13%
2012	5,214	67.24%	2,442	31.49%	98	1.26%
2008	5,543	67.40%	2,595	31.55%	86	1.05%
2004	4,584	65.52%	2,384	34.08%	28	0.40%
2000	3,472	59.08%	2,326	39.58%	79	1.34%
1996	2,478	42.86%	2,696	46.64%	607	10.50%
1992	2,287	36.43%	3,002	47.82%	989	15.75%
1988	2,677	54.95%	2,164	44.42%	31	0.64%
1984	2,765	52.39%	2,513	47.61%	0	0.00%
1980	1,719	26.64%	4,635	71.83%	99	1.53%
1976	848	13.87%	5,267	86.13%	0	0.00%
1972	4,346	83.10%	884	16.90%	0	0.00%
1968	1,055	18.54%	1,230	21.61%	3,406	59.85%
1964	3,285	58.03%	2,376	41.97%	0	0.00%
1960	1,134	23.80%	3,630	76.20%	0	0.00%
1956	738	17.50%	3,479	82.50%	0	0.00%
1952	454	11.64%	3,445	88.36%	0	0.00%
1948	210	8.49%	1,725	69.75%	538	21.75%
1944	237	14.16%	1,437	85.84%	0	0.00%
1940	171	11.74%	1,280	87.91%	5	0.34%
1936	71	5.31%	1,259	94.24%	6	0.45%
1932	33	1.16%	2,809	98.80%	1	0.04%
1928	273	28.74%	677	71.26%	0	0.00%
1924	91	5.19%	1,654	94.30%	9	0.51%
1920	177	22.01%	627	77.99%	0	0.00%
1916	35	3.95%	788	88.84%	64	7.22%
1912	28	3.87%	684	94.48%	12	1.66%