Fayette County was created in 1821 and nine voting districts were created at that time.
Each of these districts were named for someone living in it i.e. Captain Yarbrough or perhaps Captain Edmondson. Those nine districts have been subdivided into 36 districts, and are now named for a nearby school or historic point such as Peeples or Starr’s Mill or Harp’s Crossing.
In 1821 we went up to Atlanta, over to Jonesboro and down to Spalding County. What the state giveth, the state can taketh away. In 1828 our northern boundary and southern boundaries became what they are today and in 1858 Clayton County was created and we lost Jonesboro. We have remained the same since then.
The first census for us was in 1830 and it reflected we had 5,555 persons. In 1850 we dropped from 8,800 to 5,000 when we lost Jonesboro. We made it all the way up to 11,396 in 1920, at which time the bole weevil hit, destroying the cotton crops. Many who lived here were sharecroppers who just rented the land they farmed. Detroit was gearing up at this time and it is not unusual for the historical society to get an inquiry from someone in Michigan about an ancestor who had lived here.
From 1920, it was not until 1970 that we reached 11,364 again. So from 1830 to 1970, 140 years, we averaged 11,000 citizens, up a little here, down a little there.
From 1970 we have gone from 11,000 to an estimate in 2015 of 112,000 citizens. Thus the increase in the number of polling districts needed. Now the vast majority of our residents own the spot they live on. Farming is no longer how we provide for our families but working at one of the hundreds of companies in Fayette County, both small and large, or perhaps driving all the way to Cobb County is now how we provide for them.
I have lived in Fayette County for 50 years and in that time I have voted at the “old” high school, the American Legion Post House, the Methodist church and now the Baptist church. Until now these were all in the district known as Fayetteville East.
I live so far east in Fayetteville that I’m practically in Jonesboro. Recently I’ve been told I’m now in the Tyrone voting district and trust me, I have not moved. Methinks that something underhanded is afoot here.
