# Dooly County, Georgia

Dooly County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,208. The county seat is Vienna. The county was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on May 15, 1821, and named for Colonel John Dooly, a Georgia American Revolutionary War fighter. It was one of the original landlot counties created from land ceded from the Creek Nation.
The entire county of Crisp and parts of Macon, Pulaski, Turner, Wilcox and Worth counties were formed from Dooly's original borders.

## Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 397 square miles (1,030 km$^2$), of which 392 square miles (1,020 km$^2$) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km$^2$) (1.3%) is water. The county is located in the upper Atlantic coastal plain region of the state.
The western two-thirds of Dooly County, from west of Unadilla south to Pinehurst, then to the southeastern corner of the county, is located in the Middle Flint River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The northeastern and eastern portion of Dooly County is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin. The very southeastern corner of the county is located in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin.

### Major highways

* Interstate 75
* U.S. Route 41
* State Route 7
* State Route 27
* State Route 90
* State Route 215
* State Route 230
* State Route 230 Connector
* State Route 257
* State Route 329
* State Route 401 (unsigned designation for I-75)

### Adjacent counties

* Houston County - northeast
* Pulaski County - east
* Wilcox County - southeast
* Crisp County - south
* Sumter County - west
* Macon County - northwest

## Communities
### Cities

* Lilly
* Pinehurst
* Unadilla
* Vienna (county seat)

### Towns

* Byromville
* Dooling

## Demographics

Dooly County, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US 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. :
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
| White alone (NH) | 5,161 | 6,461 | 4,611 | 44.78% | 43.31% | 41.14% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 5,679 | 7,381 | 5,540 | 49.28% | 49.48% | 49.43% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 17 | 16 | 17 | 0.15% | 0.11% | 0.15% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 49 | 93 | 51 | 0.43% | 0.62% | 0.46% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 11 | 3 | 2 | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.02% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 5 | 6 | 14 | 0.04% | 0.04% | 0.12% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 66 | 96 | 176 | 0.57% | 0.64% | 1.57% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 537 | 862 | 797 | 4.66% | 5.78% | 7.11% |
| Total | 11,525 | 14,918 | 11,208 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,208 people, 5,020 households, and 3,350 families residing in the county.

## Economy

The Big Pig Jig, Georgia's official State Barbecue Cooking Championship, is held annually in Fall in Dooly County and attracts a national audience. The county is also notable for cotton and peanut production.

## Politics

United States presidential election results for Dooly County, Georgia :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 2,243 | 53.70% | 1,921 | 45.99% | 13 | 0.31% |
| 2020 | 2,159 | 52.58% | 1,911 | 46.54% | 36 | 0.88% |
| 2016 | 1,951 | 50.56% | 1,872 | 48.51% | 36 | 0.93% |
| 2012 | 1,985 | 46.14% | 2,285 | 53.11% | 32 | 0.74% |
| 2008 | 1,991 | 47.85% | 2,138 | 51.38% | 32 | 0.77% |
| 2004 | 1,853 | 48.18% | 1,973 | 51.30% | 20 | 0.52% |
| 2000 | 1,588 | 45.11% | 1,901 | 54.01% | 31 | 0.88% |
| 1996 | 990 | 31.33% | 1,951 | 61.74% | 219 | 6.93% |
| 1992 | 1,034 | 30.53% | 1,993 | 58.84% | 360 | 10.63% |
| 1988 | 1,386 | 45.88% | 1,613 | 53.39% | 22 | 0.73% |
| 1984 | 1,435 | 45.40% | 1,726 | 54.60% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1980 | 1,083 | 30.93% | 2,364 | 67.50% | 55 | 1.57% |
| 1976 | 655 | 21.16% | 2,441 | 78.84% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1972 | 1,904 | 76.34% | 590 | 23.66% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 454 | 14.48% | 879 | 28.03% | 1,803 | 57.49% |
| 1964 | 1,662 | 53.05% | 1,471 | 46.95% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 220 | 11.26% | 1,733 | 88.74% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 174 | 8.59% | 1,851 | 91.41% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 197 | 10.05% | 1,764 | 89.95% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 22 | 3.37% | 577 | 88.50% | 53 | 8.13% |
| 1944 | 87 | 9.33% | 845 | 90.67% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 124 | 9.27% | 1,209 | 90.43% | 4 | 0.30% |
| 1936 | 41 | 2.97% | 1,339 | 97.03% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 8 | 0.70% | 1,139 | 98.96% | 4 | 0.35% |
| 1928 | 156 | 17.33% | 744 | 82.67% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 45 | 7.06% | 590 | 92.62% | 2 | 0.31% |
| 1920 | 39 | 6.69% | 544 | 93.31% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 31 | 4.04% | 737 | 95.96% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1912 | 33 | 5.10% | 609 | 94.13% | 5 | 0.77% |

## Notable people

* John Dooly after whom the county was named
* Rooney L. Bowen, Georgia businessman and politician
* George Busbee, governor of Georgia
* Walter F. George, U.S. Senator
* Jody Powell, press secretary and aide to Jimmy Carter
* Roger Kingdom, Olympic gold medalist in track and field
* David Ragan, NASCAR driver
* Keith Mumphery, NFL player
* Julian Webb, judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals and member of the Georgia State Senate.