Grady County, Georgia

Grady County Education, Geography, and History

Grady County is a county located in the state of Georgia. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 25,011. Grady County was created on August 17, 1905. The county seat is Cairo. The county is named in honor of Henry Woodfin Grady (1850-1889), famous orator and managing editor of the Atlanta Constitution.

Etymology - Origin of Grady County Name

The county is named for Henry W. Grady, who was editor of the Atlanta Constitution and an advocate of the "New South."

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Grady County History

Grady County was created in 1905 from portions of Decatur and Thomas counties. It was named for Henry W. Grady, who was editor of the Atlanta Constitution and an advocate of the "New South."

Accounts of Hernando DeSoto's trek through the southeast in 1540 indicate that he entered Georgia in what is now Grady County.

Cairo, the county seat, was named for either the city in Egypt or the town of Cairo, Illinois. The city's name, however, is pronounced "Kayro."

Points of Interest

The Birdsong Nature Center is located in Grady County. Dedicated to providing natural history education programs for the public and preserving the natural environment of the area, the center is located on a 565-acre tract that was formerly known as Birdsong Plantation. The center features several nature trails and exhibits that highlight the diverse wildlife of the area. Herons, bluebirds, anhingas, wood ducks, otters, and alligators inhabit the center's grounds.

Grady County is located in the heart of South Georgia's famed "Plantation Trace" and is only 60 miles from the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.

Notable Citizens

Several famous individuals hail from Grady County. These include football standouts Rosie Grier and Bill Stanfill; Teresa Edwards, a gold medalist in Olympic basketball; and baseball great Jackie Robinson, who was born in Cairo. Mack Robinson, Jackie's older brother, took the 200-meter dash silver medal behind Jessie Owens at the 1936 Olympics held in Munich.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 460 square miles (1,200 km²), of which 455 square miles (1,180 km²) is land and 5.7 square miles (15 km²) (1.2%) is water.

 Grady county is located in south Georgia. The county is in the Flint River basin and the Ochlockonee River basin.

Grady County includes part of the Red Hills Region.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Mitchell County
• East: Thomas County
• South: Leon County, Fla.
• Southwest: Gadsden County, Fla.
• West: Decatur County

Education

Compare More Colleges and Universities

Find more schools to match to your needs.

Start Now