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Georgia · South-Central Georgia · #638
Dodge County, Georgia
On the Ocmulgee River in south-central Georgia, Dodge County's Eastman is the commercial hub for a cluster of small farming counties - a modest but functional small city providing healthcare, retail, and governmental services in the longleaf pine and cotton belt of middle Georgia.
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Office: Dodge County Sheriff’s Office – 5401 Anson Avenue, Eastman, GA 31023 | (478) 374-8133 | Fax (478) 559-1181; additional listing at 85 Industrial Blvd, Eastman, GA | (478) 559-1130. The office operates the county jail and engages in community outreach, crime prevention initiatives, and youth safety programming.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-341 and US-23 serve Eastman, the county seat and largest city.
Notes: Dodge County was created in 1870, named for William E. Dodge, a New York businessman, congressman, and Native American rights advocate involved in founding the county on land holdings accumulated during Reconstruction. The land itself had been Creek territory until treaties of 1802-1805 transferred it east of the Ocmulgee River; this history, including disputes over land title during the Reconstruction era, is a documented part of the county’s founding record. Eastman itself was named for W. P. Eastman, a Massachusetts native who purchased land along the Macon and Brunswick Railroad and, together with William Dodge, presented the county with its first courthouse. The settlement, originally called Levison, was renamed Eastman by December 1869 and designated county seat in 1871.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Dodge County Courthouse – Eastman, GA (built 1908, Classical Revival, architect Edward Columbus Hosford, an Eastman native, builder M.L. Lewman & Co.; National Register of Historic Places since 1980). This was Hosford’s first courthouse commission, notable because his father served on the county’s building committee that selected him.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Dodge County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via dodgecountyga.com.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Dodge County Public Library (Eastman) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Eastman is genuinely the birthplace of Stuckey’s, the once-ubiquitous roadside pecan shop chain, founded there in 1937 during the Great Depression. The historic 1908 Dodge County Courthouse is the county’s premier architectural landmark. Dodge County was historically a center of the timber and sawmill industry.
Notes: Confirm current parks and recreation facilities via dodgecountyga.com.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Dodge County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via dodgecountyga.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via dodgecountyga.com; Dodge County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Dodge County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via dodgecountyga.com.
NOTES: Dodge County is the forty-sixth county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. Eastman’s genuine claim as the birthplace of the Stuckey’s roadside pecan shop chain is among the standout local facts covered in this project; the county’s complex Reconstruction-era founding history is noted factually. 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 Dodge County
Dodge County’s Eastman is a working south-central Georgia small city – providing the healthcare (Dodge County Hospital), retail, and professional services that the surrounding agricultural counties of Bleckley, Pulaski, and Telfair require without having to travel to Macon or Albany. The county’s agricultural economy – peanuts, cotton, timber, and some tobacco – defines its character in the flatwoods and sandy-soil terrain of the Georgia coastal plain interior. The Ocmulgee River provides fishing and some recreation. Dodge County’s population has been relatively stable, reflecting the modest but consistent demand for regional hub services in a sparsely populated part of the state.
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 offers school tax exemptions for seniors 62 and older. Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Dodge County Probate Court: 5401 Anson Avenue, Eastman, GA 31023 | (478) 374-2871. 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)
5401 Anson Ave., Eastman, GA 31023
(478) 374-2871
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Probate Court of Dodge County (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Central Georgia Genealogical Society (Warner Robins) serves Dodge among 27 contiguous central Georgia counties.
Local societies
Central Georgia Genealogical Society (see above) is the primary regional resource; no dedicated Dodge-County-only 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 Dodge County P.O. Box 818, Eastman, GA 31023 (478) 374-3775
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 Dodge 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
5401 Anson Ave., Eastman, GA 31023
(478) 374-6483
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
5401 Anson Ave., Eastman, GA 31023
(478) 374-4361
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
GA Dept of Public Health — South Central
(478) 374-6994
GA DFCS — Dodge
(478) 374-5470
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Dodge County Hospital
dodgecountyhospital.com (Eastman)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Dodge County Health Department – confirm current contact via dodgecountyga.com.
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Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Eastman
Population: 21,000
Area: 500 sq mi
Established: 1870
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Dodge County facilities via Amazon.
