Dade County
County Formed: December 25, 1837
County Seat: Trenton
Incorporated Cities: Trenton
Total Area: 173.9 square miles
Current Population Estimates (2009):1
- Dade County – 16,127
- Trenton – 2,358
History:2
Dade County, in Georgia’s extreme northwestern corner, was established in 1837, a year before the federal government began removing the original inhabitants, the Cherokee Indians. Carved from western Walker County, it was the 91st county created in the state.
Dade County was named for a Virginian, Major Francis Langhorne Dade, who was killed in 1835 while fighting the Seminoles. Trenton, the county seat, was named after the city in New Jersey.
Located on the “Backside of Lookout Mountain,” Dade County was for many years unknown to most Georgians. Until a long-delayed state highway over the mountain was completed in 1948, the only reliable route to the county by automobile was through Alabama or Tennessee. For this reason, the county was known as “The Independent State of Dade.”
Points of Interest:
The 2,120-acre Cloudland Canyon State Park is located in Dade County. Encompassing a deep gorge cut by Sitton Gulch Creek, the park has several ridges and valleys for hiking and camping.
In the late 1890s Dade County built a new courthouse, jail, and library in downtown Trenton. The old courthouse, a 1926 brick structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places, still stands at the center of the town square.
Interstate 59 bisects the county, passing through a scenic valley between the Lookout Mountain and Sand Mountain plateaus.
Annual Events:
Several annual events highlight life in Dade County. Dade County Days, held each May in Trenton, feature “down home” food, crafts, and entertainment top collage papers. The New Salem Mountain Festival is held each May and October, and features hand-made arts and crafts, as well as music and dancing.
The World’s Longest Yard Sale is held each May in Trenton. This event spans from Mississippi to Virginia.
Additional Resources:
- Source: Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/popest.estimates.html; County Estimate Source: Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties for Georgia: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2010 (CO-EST2009-01-13) Release Date: March 2010. Incorporated Estimate Source: Table 4: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places in Georgia: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009 (SUB-EST2009-04-13) Release Date: September 2010. [↩]
- Georgia Department of Community Affairs [↩]
