Coffee County Correctional Facility is located in Nicholls, Georgia. It is privately owned and operated by CoreCivic, the largest prison company in the nation.
Many of the early settlers of what is now Coffee County are buried in historic cemeteries across the region, including the cemetery at Lone Hill United Methodist Church—located at 6833 Broxton-West Green Highway, some 10 miles northeast of Douglas. The church and its cemetery date to the 1840s, with the earliest marked grave dated 1848. A majestic Eastern Redcedar has graced the cemetery for generations and is recognized as the nation's largest of this species through American Forests’ Champion Trees program. (see:[6]) In July 2018 the tree was recognized as 2018's Great American Tree by American Grove. (See:[7]) Having been nominated by Mark McClellan of the Georgia Forestry Commission, the tree has been featured in such publications as the Smithsonian Magazine and Janisse Ray's Wild Card Quilt. The circumference of the tree exceeds 20 feet.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 603 square miles (1,560 km2), of which 575 square miles (1,490 km2) is land and 28 square miles (73 km2) (4.6%) is water.[8]
Douglas is home to South Georgia State College, the oldest two-year institution under the University System of Georgia.
Politics
Like most of the Solid South, Coffee County voted with the Democrats until 1964, when Republican Barry Goldwater carried the county as well as the state. Democrat Jimmy Carter, who came from Georgia, carried the county twice. No Democrat has carried the county since then. Bill Clinton was the last Democrat to get over forty percent of the county's vote, in 1996. His two bids for president are the only times since Carter that a Democrat has kept the margin within single digits, and Michael Dukakis is the only other Democrat since Carter to garner 40 percent of the county's vote.
United States presidential election results for Coffee County, Georgia[20]
