Gwinnett County is the most ethnically-diverse county in Georgia,[5][6][7] with significant populations of
Black,
Hispanic, and
Asian residents. As of the
2020 Census, no ethnicity constitutes more than a third of its population.[8]
History
The former seals of Gwinnett County.
In 1813,
Fort Daniel was created during the
War of 1812 in territory that would become Gwinnett County.[9] The county was created in 1818 by an act of the
Georgia General Assembly, Gwinnett County was formed from parts of
Jackson County (formerly part of
Franklin County) and from lands gained through the cession of
Creek Indian lands. Named for
Button Gwinnett, one of the signatories of the
Declaration of Independence, the first county election was held at the home of Elisha Winn, and the first Superior Court was held in his barn. The county seat was later placed at Lawrenceville.[10]
In 1831, a group of white men were tried and found guilty in Lawrenceville for violating Georgia law by living in the Cherokee Nation without a valid passport from the Governor. Two of the men appealed to the US Supreme Court in
Worcester v. Georgia, which resulted in a ruling stating that only the federal government had jurisdiction over native lands, a decision which still stands.[11]
In 1861, all three of Gwinnett County's representatives at the
Georgia Constitutional Convention (1861) in
Milledgeville voted against secession. Towards the end of the war, Union troops foraged in Gwinnett County as part of the
Atlanta Campaign.[11]
The
Freedmen's Bureau was active in Gwinnett County during
Reconstruction. In 1871, the courthouse in Lawrenceville was burned by the
Ku Klux Klan in an attempt to avoid prosecution for their crimes, which included the shooting of a Black election manager in
Norcross.[12]
Early in the county's history, gold mining was a minor industry. The Gwinnett Manufacturing Company, a cotton textile factory, operated in Lawrenceville in the 1850s through 1865, when it burned. The
Bona Allen Company in
Buford, Georgia produced saddles, harnesses and other leather goods from 1873 to 1981.[11]
The northeastern part of Gwinnett County was removed in 1914 to form a part of the new
Barrow County.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 437 square miles (1,130 km2), of which 430 square miles (1,100 km2) is land and 6.4 square miles (17 km2) (1.5%) is water.[13] The county is located in the upper
Piedmont region of the state.
In 2015, Peachtree Corners conducted a Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) survey which indicated public desire for more multi-use trails. Beginning in 2016, Peachtree Corners has been in the process of constructing 11.5 miles of multi-use trails within the city limits.[24]
In 2016, Suwanee unveiled the first Bike Share program in Gwinnett County.[25]
Gwinnett County is often cited as one of the counties in the US that has demographically changed the most rapidly. As recently as
1990, over 90% of Gwinnett County's population was
white. By 2007, the county was considered
majority-minority county.[37][38]
2020 census
Gwinnett County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the U.S. census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 957,062 people, 301,471 households, and 230,960 families residing in the county.
2010 Census
As of the
2010 United States Census, there were 805,321 people, 268,519 households, and 203,238 families residing in the county.[40] The population density was 1,872.8 inhabitants per square mile (723.1/km2). There were 291,547 housing units at an average density of 678.0 per square mile (261.8/km2).[41] The racial makeup of the county was 53.3% White (44.0% Non-Hispanic White), 23.6% Black or African American, 10.6% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% from other races, 3.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 20.1% of the population.[40] In terms of ancestry, 8.3% were
German, 7.8% were
Irish, 7.7% were
English, and 5.8% were
American.[42]
Of the 268,519 households, 45.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 24.3% were non-families, and 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.40. The median age was 33.7 years.[40]
The median income for a household in the county was $63,219 and the median income for a family was $70,767. Males had a median income of $48,671 versus $39,540 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,901. About 8.7% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.[43]
ASHRAE's world headquarters is in Peachtree Corners.[45]
Comcast Corporation, the American global telecommunications conglomerate and owner of
Xfinity and
NBCUniversal, has its Southeast Headquarters in Peachtree Corners.[46]
Canon has its southeast region headquarters in Norcross.
Datapath, Inc., a firm specializing in secure satellite communications and wireless communications systems, is headquartered in unincorporated Gwinnett, near Duluth.
Waffle House is headquartered in unincorporated Gwinnett County,[55] near Norcross.[56]
Yerkes National Primate Research Center, the
CDC's primate research center located on the campus of
Emory University in Atlanta, maintains its high security Yerkes Field Station, which houses most of its primates, near Lawrenceville.
Under Georgia's "home rule" provision, county governments have free rein to legislate on all matters within the county, provided that such legislation does not conflict with state or federal law, or state or federal Constitutions.
Gwinnett County, Georgia is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners, which exercises both legislative and executive authority within the county. The Chair of the Board is elected county-wide and serves full-time. The four other commissioners are elected from single-member districts and serve part-time positions. The board hires a county administrator who oversees daily operations of the county's twelve executive departments. Gwinnett County has a police department that operates under the authority of the Board of Commissioners. Some of the local Gwinnett city budgets have recently come under increasing scrutiny of the General Funds allocated to police services. Cities such as Duluth have allocated as much as forty percent of their city budgets, reaching some of the highest levels in the nation.[57] Solutions to high spending being discussed include additional “investment in mental health, housing, youth development and living wages would stabilize communities and prove more effective than policing.”[58]
In addition to the Board of Commissioners, county residents also elect persons to the following positions: Sheriff, District Attorney, Probate Court Judge, Clerk of State/Superior Court, Tax Commissioner, State Court Solicitor, Chief Magistrate Judge (who appoints other Magistrate Court judges), Chief Superior Court Judge and Superior Court Judges, and Chief State Court Judge and State Court Judges.
Gwinnett County has the largest public school system in the state of Georgia.[citation needed] Members of the Board of Education are elected from special election districts in the county.
For most of the time from 1964 to 2012, the county was a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. The only Democrat to carry the county in this period was former Georgia governor
Jimmy Carter in 1976, who carried Gwinnett County during his sweep of every county in the state. However, the Republican edge narrowed, and then eventually was eliminated, in the 2010s as the county, as well as the rest of the
Atlanta metro, have gotten larger and more diverse. In 2016,
Hillary Clinton became the first Democrat to win Gwinnett County in 40 years and the first non-Georgian Democrat to do so since
John F. Kennedy in 1960, doing so by 5.9 points. This was due to changing demographics, with white college educated voters as well, as a
white flight out of the county. In 2018,
Stacey Abrams became the first Democrat to win Gwinnett County in a gubernatorial election since 1986 when
Joe Frank Harris swept every county statewide. The Democratic trend became even more apparent in 2020, when
Joe Biden won the county by 18.2 points, the best showing for a non-Georgian Democrat since Kennedy's 73.50%.
The Gwinnett parks system has won many awards such as the gold medal in 2008 from American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration and National Recreation and Park Association. They were also finalists in 1999, 2006, and 2014.[64] The system has also been cited to use
STEM by
NRPA.[65]
Isaac Adair House and Lawrenceville Female Seminary
J. B. Williams Park
Jones Bridge Park
Lenora Park
Lilburn Activity Building
Lions Club Park
Little Mulberry Park
Lucky Shoals Park
McDaniel Farm Park
Mountain Park Park
Peachtree Ridge Park
Pinckneyville Park
Rabbit Hill Park
Rhodes Jordan Park
Rock Springs Park
Ronald Reagan Park
Settles Bridge Park
Shorty Howell Park
Simpsonwood Park
Singleton Park
South Gwinnett Park
Sweet Water Park
Tribble Mill Park
Vines Park
West Gwinnett Park
Yellow River Park
Yellow River Post Office Site
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Gwinnett County Public Schools operates the public schools for residents in Gwinnett County, with the exception of residents inside the Buford city limits, which are served by the
Buford City School District. There are 143 schools in the district—21 high schools, 29 middle schools, 80 elementary schools and 13 specialty schools, making it the largest school district in Georgia.
^"History of Gwinnett County". Gwinnetths.org. Gwinnett Historical Society.
Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
^
abcGagnon, Michael (2018). Gwinnett County: A Bicentennial Celebration. Gwinnett Historical Society: Gwinnett Historical Society.
^"Economic Development". peachtreecornersga.gov. City of Peachtree Corners.
Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
^Mason, Mike (July 2019).
"Peachtree Corners Continues to Prosper"(PDF). files.constantcontact.com. Peachtree Corners, GA.
Archived(PDF) from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.