For families like the Nations, generational ties to Oglethorpe County run deep — 93 years deep.
“My mother and father was Fred Duncan Nation and Bertha Mae Nation,” said Ora D. Nation, who is 86. “They moved out of North Carolina near Dillsboro in 1932. They moved down to Crawford and bought a 212-acre farm. I’m one of 10 children. I’m No. 8.”
Ora now lives in Roswell, but he has not forgotten his upbringing in the county.
“It was a good place to live,” he said. “You know, we grew up just poor farmer(s), but I didn’t realize at the time that that was the best living. I would say it was a foundation to start with, and it means a lot to me.”
Long defined by generational ties and rural tradition, Oglethorpe County is experiencing a shift.
After years of stagnation, the population is on the rise.
The 2020 census had a population of 14,825, down slightly from the 14,899 in 2010.
The county has since rebounded.
According to the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program data, population estimates reached 15,754 in 2023, with projections for 2024 nearing 16,172, a 9.1% increase from four years ago.
The data reveals a resurgence in growth and modest increases in diversity. Deep-rooted families and new arrivals alike are shaping the evolving identity of the community.
The local culture is more than nostalgia. It’s the foundation for the county motto: “Good Ground. Deep Roots.”
The Nation family is a prime example of this.
“I think it’s a great motto,” Beverly Nation said. “And when you have family, and you have family ties, community ties, I think it means everything.”
Family legacies
Ora is part of the extensive Nation family, many of whom remain in the county. Jerry Nation, Ora’s nephew, has been a resident his entire life.
The 70-year-old met his wife Beverly in high school after growing up on opposite sides of the county — Jerry near Smithonia and Beverly near the Wilkes County line. Married for 50 years, their three children have continued to live in or near the county, with all eight of their grandchildren being raised in the county.
The way of life, quiet and familiar, is what continues to keep people in Oglethorpe County.
“It was very close knit, a very close knit community. Just everybody knew everybody,” Beverly said.
Much of the family has remained in agriculture or public service, and many still call the county home.
“There’s a lot of families that live here in the county that have lived here for 100-plus years, a lot of them over 100 years,” said Adam Nation, the county’s public works director.
Adam, Jerry’s nephew, is part of the younger Nation generation that remains within the county’s borders. He attributes his longtime residence to a love for the community’s way of life.
“We just love Oglethorpe County. I mean, we were born here, we were raised here, and it's a really rural place that has a lot to offer,” Adam said. “Growing up with a large family around, it just seemed like the place to be.”
Newer and younger
While generational ties contribute to the growing population, much of the county’s recent growth also appears to be driven by younger adults who aren’t native to Oglethorpe County.
“People see the way of life out here, and they enjoy that, and they want to be a part of it,” Adam said.
Samantha Archer, 33, moved to Oglethorpe County in 2000 when she was in the fourth grade. The New York native remembers running around their Comer home in the Mill Run subdivision with family, friends and a pet goat.
Tara Etheridge, her mother, said the family’s interest in moving to the county was initially sparked by its “country” feel and quiet community.
“I just think it’s a great place to raise your kids,” Etheridge said. “It’s country, and in my opinion, it’s better than the city.”
After living in surrounding counties, Archer returned to Crawford, where she’s raising three children as a stay-at-home mom.
“We came back as fast as we could,” she said. “It’s the community. It’s everybody being able to help everybody.”
Demographics reveal that the county is aging, with a median age of 42.6 years, higher than the state and national averages. Still, younger families are returning or staying, often drawn by family connections and the lifestyle they knew growing up.
“You’ll hear kids in school talking about how when they grow up, they’re going to move away because there’s nothing to do,” Archer said. “But all of them that moved away have pretty much come back.”
The deep connection to the land and community makes it difficult for many to imagine leaving.
“The thought has crossed my mind,” Adam said. “But it’s just hard. You know where you’re from, where you’re comfortable at.”
For these young parents, Oglethorpe’s tight-knit community is the driving force behind their decisions to stay. Some, like Archer, have formed connections that extend beyond blood relatives.
“My kids have so many cousins, and none of them are actually related to me,” she said.
However, some long-term residents are seeing the changes to the county’s togetherness.
“I mean when we were growing up, neighbors helped neighbors,” Beverly Nation said. “Everybody helped everybody. If anybody had problems, everybody helped them. And there’s still a lot of that that goes on today. It’s just so many different people in the county now. You don’t know people like you did 30-40 years ago.”
She doesn’t see the sense of community as gone, but rather evolving.
“Even though you’re not related by blood to people’s family, everybody’s family,” Etheridge said.
Looking toward the future, Archer said she hopes her family will continue to plant roots and stay in the county like the Nation family.
“I want to buy a mass amount of land and then have enough to where (my children) can each have their own acre or two to build on to as they get to 18,” Archer said. “We prefer just, all of us stay there and continue having our kids and so on and so forth.”