Why does Georgia have so many counties?

[atler8]

The "double intrigue" isn't really a factor given that Florida's population was tiny when it was divided into it's counties & it stayed very small until a growth explosion transformed it in the aftermath of the WW2 period.
When Georgia was divided into it's counties, agriculture was much more pronounced in the state as compared to how it ever was in Florida. As a result, the town county seat/market center concept of development was the basis in Georgia for dividing the state into many such market town & local government centers that were in relatively easy reach for the farm population.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by atler8

The "double intrigue" isn't really a factor given that Florida's population was tiny when it was divided into it's counties & it stayed very small until a growth explosion transformed it in the aftermath of the WW2 period.
When Georgia was divided into it's counties, agriculture was much more pronounced in the state as compared to how it ever was in Florida. As a result, the town county seat/market center concept of development was the basis in Georgia for dividing the state into many such market town & local government centers that were in relatively easy reach for the farm population.

But Alabama and South Carolina, much more akin to Georgia than Florida as far as historical development happened, both have much larger and far fewer counties than Georgia.

[Tarbaby]

Georgians don`t like big government. Local is better.

[dgreen]

I always wondered this as well.

Atlanta has like 24 counties in the metro area.

[steveklein]

I have wondered this as well. It seems like a lot of duplication of services. Then again, Birmingham, AL, suffers the same problems. Counties are big, but there are dozens of towns with their own police forces, fire protection, schools, city councils, etc.

A lot of wasted salaries that could be going to a government that had the entire region in mind as opposed to dozens of factions all on different pages.

[Pretzelogik]

You think they have a lot...take a gander at Texas.