For pre-formatted natality & mortality data please see Vital Statistics Reports (VSR).

For other health data resources please see the Health Data & Info section.

Health Care
Irwin County had 12.6 licensed nursing home beds per 100 persons in 1999, compared with the state average of 5.5 per 100 persons. In 1999, the number of physicians in the county per 10,000 persons was 2.2, compared to the state average of 19.3. For more community indicators, please go to OASIS .

History*

Irwin County, the 45th county created, retains only a small portion of the territory given to it when it was formed from Creek Indian lands in 1818. It once encompassed all of south central Georgia, but now contains the upper reaches of the Alapaha, Willacoochee and Satilla Rivers.

Irwin County was named for Georgia Governor Jared Irwin, a North Carolina native. Irwin was famous for his opposition to the Yazoo Law of 1795, by which the state of Georgia sold a vast tract of land at one and a half cents per acre to several companies, including one owned in part by a U.S. Senator. Irwin rescinded the law in 1796 during his term as governor of Georgia.