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Georgia · Southeast Georgia · #679
Bacon County, Georgia
In the coastal plain flatwoods of southeast Georgia, Alma is the co-host (with Jeff Davis County) of the Georgia Blueberry Festival - one of the state's most genuinely agricultural festivals, celebrating the highbush blueberry harvest from farms whose sandy, acidic soils produce some of the finest commercial blueberries in the Southeast.
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Office: Bacon County Sheriff’s Office – 307 S. Dixon Street, Alma, GA 31510 | (912) 632-2658 | Fax (912) 632-4566; Sheriff Andy Batten (per Georgia Sheriffs’ Association directory).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-1/23 and SR-32 serve Alma, the county seat and largest city.
Notes: Bacon County was created July 27, 1914 (constitutional amendment proposed July 7, 1914, ratified November 3, 1914), from portions of Appling, Pierce, and Ware Counties, named for U.S. Senator Augustus Octavius Bacon, who served four terms and was president pro tempore of the Senate in 1912. As Georgia’s 151st county, its creation required a constitutional amendment overriding a 1904 voter-set limit of 145 counties. The area was originally part of the wiregrass region, first settled by Muscogee (Creek) people and later by pioneer families from the Carolinas.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Bacon County Courthouse – Main Street, Alma, GA (built 1919-1920, Classical Revival, architect J.J. Baldwin, builder R.W. Wimbish; National Register of Historic Places since 1980).
Notes: Alma was founded in 1900 as a stop on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, incorporated as a city in 1906, and designated Bacon County’s seat upon the county’s 1914 creation. Two local naming legends persist: that the town was named for a traveling salesman’s wife, Alma Sheridan, or that its name derives from the initials of Georgia’s four historic state capitals (Augusta, Louisville, Milledgeville, and Atlanta). Naval stores and turpentine were the area’s key early industries.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Bacon County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via baconcounty.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Bacon County Public Library (Alma) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Alma is officially known as “Georgia’s Blueberry Capital” and hosts an annual Blueberry Festival each June. Two nearby wildlife management areas, Bacon Area and Whitehead Creek Area, offer public hunting access, alongside county parks.
Notes: A satellite campus of Coastal Pines Technical College (formerly Okefenokee Technical College) opened in Alma in 1998.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Bacon County Tax Office – confirm current contact via baconcounty.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via baconcounty.org; Bacon County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Bacon County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via baconcounty.org.
NOTES: Bacon County is the third county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, official “Georgia’s Blueberry Capital” designation for Alma is among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Bacon County
Bacon County’s blueberry production represents one of the more significant agricultural specializations in southeast Georgia – the county’s sandy, well-drained, acidic coastal plain soils are among the most naturally suited terrain in Georgia for highbush blueberry cultivation. The Georgia Blueberry Festival, held jointly with Jeff Davis County in June, is a genuine community celebration of the harvest that draws visitors from across the region. Alma, the county seat, straddles the county line and provides commercial services for both counties. Timber is the other dominant economic activity, with managed pine plantations covering substantial portions of the county.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Georgia assesses property at 40% of fair market value. Property owners have 45 days from the notice of assessment to appeal. Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Bacon County Probate Court: 502 West 12th Street, Alma, GA 31510 | (912) 632-4915. The Probate Court handles estate administration and guardianship.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT (Records, Marriage Licenses)
202 W. 12th St., Alma, GA 31510
(912) 632-4915
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Probate Court of Bacon County (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Bacon County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Probate Court of Bacon County P.O. Box 389, Alma, GA 31510 (912) 632-7661
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Georgia is NOT a Uniform Probate Code state and doesn’t use a simple dollar-threshold “small estate affidavit” like many states. Instead it offers several distinct shortcuts, each suited to a different situation:
Banking Affidavit – for intestate estates with less than $15,000 in bank deposits and no other assets requiring administration. No court filing needed at all.
No Administration Necessary (Standard Form 9) – available when all heirs agree on how to divide the property and there are no debts (or all creditors consent). Can transfer real estate without full administration, but requires unanimous heir agreement – any disagreement forces the estate into formal probate.
Year’s Support (Standard Form 10, O.C.G.A. Chapter 53-3) – a distinctively Georgia protection: the surviving spouse and minor children can petition for property sufficient to maintain their standard of living for 12 months from the date of death. This takes priority over virtually all creditor claims and even most specific bequests in the will. Must be filed within 24 months of death. No bond, no inventory filing, no creditor claims period required – the fastest and simplest path when it applies.
Formal Administration – Petition to Probate Will (Common Form or Solemn Form) or Petition for Letters of Administration, when none of the above shortcuts fit.
COMMON FORM VS. SOLEMN FORM (a distinctively Georgia choice)
Common Form: the executor files the will with supporting evidence and the court admits it without notifying all heirs – faster and cheaper, but leaves a 4-year window during which interested parties can challenge the will.
Solemn Form (Standard Form 5): requires notice to all heirs; once granted, it’s final and binding much sooner, closing off future challenges.
If formal administration is needed
File the appropriate petition with the Bacon County Probate Court – Petition to Probate Will (Common or Solemn Form) if there’s a will, or Petition for Letters of Administration if not.
The court issues a citation, published in the county’s legal organ once a week for four weeks (O.C.G.A. § 53-5-2), giving interested parties a chance to object.
After the publication period, attend the hearing for appointment as personal representative.
Once appointed, the court issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one).
Send certified copies of the death certificate and Letters to all banks, brokerages, insurers, and retirement custodians; request date-of-death valuations and begin marshaling assets.
Obtain an EIN via IRS Form SS-4 and open an estate checking account.
Prepare an inventory of assets with date-of-death fair market values; the court may require this under O.C.G.A. § 53-7-30.
Pay debts and expenses in Georgia’s priority order (see below), then distribute remaining assets per the will or intestacy law.
What it costs
No Georgia state estate tax or inheritance tax.
Court filing fees typically range $100–$300 depending on the county.
Certified copies of Letters typically cost around $10 each.
Indigent petitioners may file an Affidavit of Indigency to request a fee waiver.
E-filing is available and encouraged statewide through platforms like PeachCourt or Odyssey eFileGA.
DEBT PRIORITY ORDER IF THE ESTATE CAN’T PAY EVERYTHING (O.C.G.A. §§ 53-3-1, 53-7-40)
Year’s Support for surviving spouse and minor children under 18.
Funeral expenses.
Costs of probate administration.
Expenses of the decedent’s last illness.
Taxes.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
202 W. 12th St., Alma, GA 31510
(912) 632-8751
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
202 W. 12th St., Alma, GA 31510
(912) 632-4915
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — Southeast
(912) 632-8701
GA DFCS — Bacon
(912) 632-8713
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Bacon County Hospital
baconcountyhospital.com (Alma)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Bacon County Health Department – confirm current contact via baconcounty.org.
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Editorial Trust
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Alma
Population: 11,000
Area: 285 sq mi
Established: 1914
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Bacon County facilities via Amazon.
