A Baseline History of Gwinnett County

Button Gwinnett Day

April 13, 2011

Michael Gagnon, PhD

Gwinnett’s Best Known Landmarks

Button Gwinnett

• Born in England in 1735

• Married in 1757

• Had 3 Children, all girls

• Came to Georgia in 1765

• Fails in Business several times. Petty Merchant

• Good Politician. Elected to Colonial Legislature

• Elected President of Georgia Committee of Safety

• Champion of Non-elite. Gets elected Commander of Georgia’s Militia but resigns

• Goes to Continental Congress instead, and signs Declaration of Independence

Button Gwinnett

• Disagrees with leader of Elite Revolutionary Members in Georgia

• Elite see him as beneath them, but he irritates them

• Dismisses soldiers not loyal to his party

• Challenged to duel with Lachlan McIntosh, May 16, 1777.

• Both men wounded but Gwinnett dies three days later. McIntosh leaves Georgia as an assistant to George Washington

1926 fantasy of what the

duel may have looked

like

1975 fantasy sketch of the duel

Basics • Founded in 1817 from land deeded from treaty with

Creek Indians.

• Legal foundation of Cherokee Removal took place in Lawrenceville in early 1830s

• Largely typical rural county until 1960

• Construction of I-85 in early 1960s increased growth of county

• 1970s White Flight from Atlanta made Gwinnett really take off

• 1990s Gwinnett became ethnically diverse

• In 2010, Gwinnett 2nd most populous county in state

Gwinnett Population to 1960

4589

13289

10804 11257

12940 12431

19531 19899

25585

28824 30327

27853 29087

32320

43541

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960

The Trail of Tears Began in Lawrenceville

• Clayton Street is named for the judge who presided over all the original court cases that ultimately led to the removal of the Cherokee from Georgia in 1830s

Gwinnett Population to 1960

4589

13289

10804 11257

12940 12431

19531 19899

25585

28824 30327

27853 29087

32320

43541

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960

The Civil War Largely Avoids

Gwinnett County as a battlefield

Gwinnett Population to 1960

4589

13289

10804 11257

12940 12431

19531 19899

25585

28824 30327

27853 29087

32320

43541

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960

The Boll Weevil

Gwinnett Population since 1950

32320 43541 72349

166903

352910

588448

805321

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

700000

800000

900000

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Growing Gwinnett County!!

Population Growth Rates

34.72%

66.16%

130.69%

111.45%

66.74%

36.86%

-40.0%

-20.0%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

120.0%

140.0%1

84

0

18

50

18

60

18

70

18

80

18

90

19

00

19

10

19

20

19

30

19

40

19

50

19

60

19

70

19

80

19

90

20

00

20

10

Georgia

Gwinnett

Population Density 1920-1960

68.9 63.3

66.6

74.7

99.9

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

140.0

1920 1930 1940 1950 1960

Georgia

Gwinnett

Barrow

Forsyth

Hall

Jackson

Walton

Population Density 1970-2010

165.6

383.7

815.2

1359.9

1851.3

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Georgia

Gwinnett

Barrow

Forsyth

Hall

Jackson

Walton

Slavery in Gwinnett

43.9%

11.7%

42.1%

17.5%

40.6%

20.7%

42.1%

20.4%

43.7%

19.7%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

90.0%

100.0%

%White

%Enslaved

%Free Blacks

Race in Gwinnett

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

120.0%1

82

0

18

30

18

40

18

50

18

60

18

70

18

80

18

90

19

00

19

10

19

20

19

30

19

40

19

50

19

60

19

70

19

80

19

90

20

00

20

10

% White

% Black

% Other

Gender Ratio Number of Men per 1000 Women

Native Georgians in Gwinnett

90.47% 81.30%

73.90% 70.95%

64.52%

57.85%

93.16% 90.90%

79.30%

59.36%

45.04%

37.31%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

100.00%

1800 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Georgia

Gwinnett

Foreign Born in Gwinnett

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

14.00%

16.00%

18.00%

Georgia

Gwinnett

Hispanics in Gwinnett

0% 1%

2%

11%

20%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

1940 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Georgia

Gwinnett

Farming in Gwinnett

Hay Family Farm in Gwinnett in 1890s

Number of Georgia Farms

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

Number of Gwinnett Farms

1036

822 938

2498

2743

3442

4410 4460

3925

3309 3104

1345

449

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

Gwinnett

Average Improved Acres per Farm

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970

Georgia

Gwinnett

Conclusions

• Gwinnett is currently the second most populous county in the state

• Gwinnett was a somewhat typical rural county until about 1950

• The 1970s experienced the greatest growth rate, but the county continues with greater growth than the rest of the state

• The 1990s started a real growth in diversity