Tift County, Georgia

Tift County Education, Geography, and History

Tift County is a county located in the state of Georgia. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 40,118. Tift County was created on August 17, 1905. The county seat is Tifton. The county is named in honor of Colonel Nelson Tift (1810-1891), a captain in the Confederate States Navy and U.S. Congressman.

Tift County comprises the Tifton, GA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Tift County Name

The county was named for Nelson Tift, who had helped found the city of Albany, served as that city's mayor, and later served as a congressman.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Tift County History

Tift County was created in 1905 from portions of Berrien County. The county was named for Nelson Tift, who had helped found the city of Albany, served as that city's mayor, and later served as a congressman. His nephew founded the city of Tifton in 1872 when he opened a sawmill there.

The county's courthouse was constructed in 1912.

TyTy was named for the trees lining the banks of a nearby creek: the Ironwood (white titi) and Buckwheat (black titi) trees.

Points of Interest

In 1976, the Agrirama was developed in the county by the State Department of Agriculture. Here, at the state's Living History Museum, people can experience daily life on a recreation of a working farm of the 1800s, including cooking, planting and caring for animals.

Tift County is known as the "Plant Capital of the World," with many plants and vegetables grown here being shipped worldwide for replanting.

Tift County is home to a tree said to be the largest Southern Magnolia in Georgia and among the oldest anywhere. It has long been a special meeting place for county residents; in 1991 they formed the Magnolia Tree Foundation to help preserve and protect it for future generations.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 269 square miles (700 km²), of which 259 square miles (670 km²) is land and 9.9 square miles (26 km²) (3.7%) is water.

 Tift county is located in south Georgia. The county is in the Suwannee River basin.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Irwin County
• Southeast: Berrien County; Cook County
• Southwest: Colquitt County
• Northwest: Worth County; Turner County

Education

Higher Education

Located in the heart of one of the state's prime agricultural areas, Tift County has become a center for farm experimentation and agricultural education. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

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