Gordon County is a county in Georgia, United States, about 55 miles north of Atlanta via Interstate 75. It had a population of 57,544 at the 2020 census, an estimated 61,701 by 2025, and covers 358 square miles (927 km2) centred near 34°30′N 84°52′W.
Calhoun is the county seat and Gordon County’s largest city; its postal code is 30701. The county holds 3 incorporated cities, 1 town and 27 unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time.
Towns & Villages in Gordon County
Gordon County has 31 named places on record: 4 incorporated cities and towns and 27 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary; most carry a post office name but no separate census count.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calhoun | City · seat | 16,949 | 30701 |
| Resaca | Town | 1,142 | 30735 |
| Fairmount | City | 772 | 30139 |
| Plainville | City | 356 | 30733 |
| Ranger | Unincorp. | 107 | 30734 |
| Sugar Valley | Unincorp. | — | 30746 |
| Audubon | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Blackwood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bobo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cash | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Colima | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Crane Eater | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Curryville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Damascus | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Decora | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Farmville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fidelle | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hill City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lewis Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lily Pond | Unincorp. | — | — |
| McDaniels | Unincorp. | — | — |
| New Town | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Nickelsville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Oakman | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Oostanaula | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Petersburg | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Red Bud | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Reeves | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ryo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Soapstick | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sonoraville | Unincorp. | — | — |
Ranger appears on this list as unincorporated, but it was still a town at the 2020 census, when it counted 107 residents. The Georgia General Assembly dissolved its charter in May 2023 after the town went years without holding an election or providing municipal services, so it now functions as an unincorporated community.
ZIP Codes
- 30701 — Calhoun (also serves the southern end of Resaca)
- 30703 — Calhoun (a second post office ZIP)
- 30735 — Resaca
- 30139 — Fairmount
- 30733 — Plainville
- 30734 — Ranger
- 30746 — Sugar Valley, the only unincorporated community with its own ZIP
Audubon, Blackwood, Bobo, Cash, Colima, Crane Eater, Curryville, Damascus, Decora, Farmville, Fidelle, Hill City, Lewis Corner, Lily Pond, McDaniels, New Town, Nickelsville, Oakman, Oostanaula, Petersburg, Red Bud, Reeves, Ryo, Soapstick and Sonoraville have no ZIP of their own; mail there is delivered under Calhoun’s, Fairmount’s or Plainville’s code depending on which is nearest.
Geography
Gordon County sits in the Ridge-and-Valley section of Georgia’s Appalachian foothills, in the northwest corner of the state. Of its 358 square miles, 356 are land and 2.2 are water, about 0.6 percent — the county has no large natural lake, and its main waterway is the Oostanaula River, which runs south through Resaca and Calhoun on its way to join the Coosawattee at Rome. Baugh Mountain and Horn Mountain rise along the county’s eastern side.
Murray and Whitfield counties lie to the north, Gilmer County to the northeast, Pickens County to the east, Cherokee County to the southeast, Bartow County to the south, Floyd County to the west, and Walker County to the northwest. Murray County, Whitfield County, Gilmer County, Pickens County, Bartow County, Floyd County and Walker County all border Gordon directly; Cherokee County does too, though its Towns & Villages page currently covers the South Carolina county of the same name, not the Georgia one.
Demographics
Gordon County had a population of 57,544 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the county near 61,701 residents. Calhoun and Resaca are the two largest communities, with Calhoun alone holding close to a third of the county’s population. Median household income runs $63,650. Population density works out to roughly 162 people per square mile of land, moderate for a county built around a mix of manufacturing towns and farmland.
Economy & Local Life
Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 6,613 people, followed by retail trade at 2,729 and construction at 2,616. Calhoun sits inside the flooring-manufacturing belt that runs through northwest Georgia around Dalton, and the industry’s biggest names have plants in the county: Mohawk Industries, Shaw Industries and Beaulieu International Group all run flooring operations here, alongside LG Chem’s battery-materials plant and Kobelco Construction Machinery America’s excavator factory. Calhoun City School District and the countywide Gordon County School District together enroll close to 9,000 students. The county’s biggest annual event is the Battle of Resaca reenactment, held the third weekend of May at the Resaca Battlefield site.
History
The Georgia General Assembly formed Gordon County on 13 February 1850, carving it from Cass and Floyd counties, and named it for William Washington Gordon, the first Georgian to graduate from West Point. The county seat began as Dawsonville, renamed Calhoun that same year in honor of U.S. Senator John C. Calhoun after his death, and was incorporated on 12 January 1852.
Before removal, the area was home to the Cherokee Nation; New Echota, near present-day Calhoun, served as the Cherokee capital and was where the Cherokee Phoenix newspaper and the Sequoyah syllabary first took hold. The 1835 Treaty of New Echota, signed there by a minority faction without the Cherokee National Council’s authority, was used to force the removal of roughly 15,000 Cherokee people in 1838 along what became known as the Trail of Tears. In May 1864, Union and Confederate armies fought the Battle of Resaca, the largest engagement of the Atlanta Campaign, on ground just north of the river town; a Confederate cemetery established there in 1866 was Georgia’s first.
Getting There
Interstate 75 runs the length of the county, and Gordon County has more interstate exits than any other county in Georgia. US 41 and US 411 also cross the county, along with several state routes.
- Atlanta — about 55 miles south
- Dalton — about 20 miles north
- Rome — about 25 miles southwest
- Chatsworth — about 15 miles northeast
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, roughly 70 miles south, is the nearest major commercial airport. Amtrak does not serve Gordon County; the closest station is Atlanta’s Peachtree Station, on the Crescent line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Gordon County located?
It sits in the Ridge-and-Valley foothills of northwest Georgia, about 55 miles north of Atlanta, bordered by Murray, Whitfield, Gilmer, Pickens, Cherokee, Bartow, Floyd and Walker counties.
What is the population of Gordon County?
57,544 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 61,701.
How big is Gordon County?
358 square miles (927 km2), of which 356 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Gordon County?
Calhoun, incorporated in 1852, is the county seat and largest city.
How many towns and cities are in Gordon County?
Four incorporated places — Calhoun, Resaca, Fairmount and Plainville — plus 27 unincorporated communities, from Audubon to Sugar Valley.
What ZIP codes does Gordon County use?
30701 and 30703 for Calhoun, 30735 for Resaca, 30139 for Fairmount, 30733 for Plainville, 30734 for Ranger and 30746 for Sugar Valley.
What is Gordon County known for?
New Echota, the former capital of the Cherokee Nation and starting point of one Trail of Tears removal route, and the May 1864 Battle of Resaca, the largest battle of the Atlanta Campaign.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Georgia.