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James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Towns County

Georgia

Basic Information

Type of Place
County
Metro Area
Politics c. 1860?
Strongly Democratic
Unions, Organized Labor?
Don’t Know

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Surely
Was there an ordinance?
Don't Know
Sign?
Don’t Know
Year of Greatest Interest
1910
Still Sundown?
Probably

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present
Total White Black Asian Native Hispanic Other BHshld
1860
1870 155
1880
1890 74
1900 71
1910 15
1920 0
1930 0
1940 0
1950 3
1960 1
1970
1980
1990
2000 9,319 12
2010
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Threat of Violence

Main Ethnic Group(s)

  • Unknown

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black

Comments

Georgia Resident:
“I attended Rabun Gap Nacoochee School and we had a
black basketball player on our team and threats were
made against him when we played in Towns County.
That was the first time I heard that black people
shouldn’t be in Towns County after dark. This would
have been about 1972 or 1973. There were rumors of
threats. Yes, I was at the game. Nothing happened.
Our team trounced them! It was Towns County HS. To
my knowledge nothing was done about the threats.”

Another Georgia Resident:
“When I hiked the Appalachian Trail a few years ago a
fellow hiker from Seattle was in the post office in
Hiawassee, GA. The hiker commented to the person
there that this was their first time in the south and
that they were surprised there were no black people
around. To paraphrase the mail serviceperson’s
response ‘this is a white county, black people don’t
come here especially at night’. Hiawasee is county seat
of Town County. Many counties show declines in black
population, 1880 to 1890. Of these, I personally know
that for years, I heard that black people had better not
be caught in Towns County after dark.”