King Cotton was almost dead. African-American and white farmers alike abandoned farms and took whatever jobs they could find. This was true to an even greater extent in the nearby counties of Glascock, Hancock, Jefferson and Warren. Today, with Washington, these counties make up the five-county service area for Sandersville Tech. They share many of the same economic, educational and cultural problems.
Grim statistics are the epitaphs of a dying form of agriculture in the region.
Shortly after World War 11 there were still 1,776 farms in Washington County and on these farms were 2,464 mules. But nobody needed mules anymore in a day of tractors. In the next few years, even the need for tractors would decline severely. Many fields remained unplowed and farms disappeared. In 1964, Washington County had 731 farms.