If the empty railroad tracks and dilapidated, abandoned buildings in and around Hart County could talk they would tell the story of textile mills and the once booming city of Bowersville.
Now the textile factories that surround the outskirts of Hartwell are abandoned, replaced with manufacturing plants. These new plants create items such as kitchen counter tops and toothbrushes.
Although the factories provide jobs for residents, many still have not found work.
According to Ilka Decker, a member of the Archway Project which is a collaboration between the county and the University of Georgia, the unemployment rate for the county is approximately 10 percent.
Many in the county grow their own crops for both profit and personal use.
A majority of Hart County revenue comes from those who retire in the county. Lake Hartwell has become a popular place for retirees who wish to flee the hustle and bustle of Atlanta.
Decker said that those who live in town refer to those who live along the lake as the "lake people." They are comprised of mostly affluent people.
As one could surmise, the demographics of the county are skewed by these retirees. Hart County is comprised of a large population of older adults.
Over 50 percent of the county is 35 and older. With a population of 23,000, the birth rate for the county according to a 2001 census was 282.
Also according to records, the majority of those births occurred in women between the ages of 20 to 34.
Conversely, the death rate for the population was 268. In those deaths more than 200 occurred in adults 65 and older.
A large population of older adults signifies a need to focus on adequate elder care. More than 100 of the deaths recorded by the census were due to cardiovascular disease.
More in-depth research will need to be done to discern if these deaths due to cardiovascular diseases are a result of diet, lack of physical activity, or lack of proper care.
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Good: this lets me know that you've been driving around, using your eyes, and that you've done an interview. Comments on age and importance of CVD will be more forceful if you tell us how Hart stacks up against other counties in region.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was writing an article on the elderly population in Athens, I learned of the term "halfbacks," referring to the influx of people coming south from the north to retire, but not making it all the way to Florida and vice versa. . .
ReplyDeleteI really like the top of this post, giving a visual context for the unemployment numbers that follow. I also like how it gives a sense of the county's split between "lake people" and the hardworking locals. I wonder if you'll encounter any local ire towards the "lake people" as you continue exploring.
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