Telfair County, Georgia

Telfair County
County
Telfair County Courthouse in McRae-Helena
Location within the U.S. state of Georgia
Georgia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°56′N 82°56′W / 31.93°N 82.94°W / 31.93; -82.94
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Founded	December 10, 1807; 217 years ago (1807)
Named for	Edward Telfair
Seat	McRae-Helena
Largest city	McRae-Helena
Area
• Total	444 sq mi (1,150 km2)
• Land	437 sq mi (1,130 km2)
• Water	6.7 sq mi (17 km2)  1.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	12,477
• Density	29/sq mi (11/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	8th
Website	telfaircounty.georgia.gov

Telfair County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,477.^[1] The largest city and county seat is McRae-Helena.^[2]

In 2009, researchers from the Fernbank Museum of Natural History announced having found artifacts they associated with the 1541 Hernando de Soto Expedition at a private site near the Ocmulgee River, the first such find between Tallahassee, Florida and western North Carolina. De Soto's expedition was well recorded, but researchers have had difficulties finding artifacts from sites where he stopped. This site was an indigenous village occupied by the historic Creek people from the early 15th century into the 16th century. It was located further southeast than de Soto's expedition was thought to go in Georgia.^[3]