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Dawson County Black Community

Dawsonville and county townships, Dawson County, Georgia · South Atlantic

Black Agricultural Community

Forced ExpulsionLand Loss

Categories: Forced Expulsion & Racial Cleansing · Black Landownership Lost or Displaced

What was built

Established or development period
1865–early 1900s
Peak period
Late 1800s
Who built the community
Black farm families and laborers in the north Georgia mountains.
Black population
A small Black population recorded in late nineteenth-century censuses, near zero by the 1920s.
Businesses
Not yet documented
Financial institutions
Not yet documented
Churches
Not yet documented
Schools
Not yet documented
Hospitals
Not yet documented
Newspapers
Not yet documented
Entertainment & cultural institutions
Not yet documented
Other community institutions
Not yet documented
Black land & property ownership
Limited Black farm ownership. Not yet documented in detail.
Economic significance
A small Black agricultural presence in the north Georgia foothills.

What happened

What happened?
In the early twentieth century, amid the night riding and expulsions that emptied neighboring Forsyth County, Dawson County's small Black population also left or was driven out. The county remained effectively all-white for decades.
Trigger or precipitating event
Regional night-riding campaigns and the 1912 Forsyth County expulsion; a distinct triggering incident in Dawson County is not well documented.
Underlying historical context
The north Georgia racial-cleansing belt of the early twentieth century.
Method of destruction / displacement
Expulsion · Threats and Intimidation · Forced Departure
Date or period of destruction
Early twentieth century
Confirmed / documented deaths
Not documented.
Estimated deaths
Not yet documented
People displaced
The county's small Black population.
Homes destroyed
Not yet documented
Businesses destroyed
Not yet documented
Acres or property lost
Not yet documented.

Afterward

What happened to the land?
Absorbed into white ownership.
Was compensation paid?
None.
Was the community rebuilt?
No
What was rebuilt?
Not yet documented
Destroyed or displaced again?
Not yet documented
Second displacement date
Not yet documented
Second displacement cause
Not yet documented
What exists there today?
A majority-white north Georgia county.
Descendant, reparation & restoration efforts
Not yet documented.
Historical significance
Evidence that the Forsyth County expulsion was part of a regional pattern rather than an isolated event.

Sources

  • Source lookup

    Patrick Phillips, Blood at the Root (W.W. Norton, 2016)

    Find
  • Primary record

    U.S. Census, 1890–1930, Dawson County, Georgia

    Find
  • Book or scholarly work

    James W. Loewen, Sundown Towns (New Press, 2005)

    Find
  • Primary record

    Georgia Archives

    Find

"Find" opens a focused search for legacy references that do not have a stable link; "Open" goes directly to the source.

Last verified: 2026-09-20. This is a living historical collection. Additional communities and documentation will be added as research and verification continue.