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Georgia · Atlanta Metro South · #566
Henry County, Georgia
South of Atlanta on I-75, Henry County has grown from a rural Georgia county seat into one of the fastest-growing counties in the Southeast - absorbing the Atlanta metro's southward expansion at a pace that has demanded school construction on almost a continuous basis for two decades.
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Office: Henry County Sheriff’s Office – 120 Henry Parkway, McDonough, GA 30253 | Non-emergency (770) 957-9121 | (770) 288-8013. The office traces to the county’s founding in 1823.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-75 serves McDonough, the county seat, nicknamed “The Geranium City,” part of the Atlanta metropolitan area; four cities make up Henry County: Stockbridge, McDonough, Hampton, and Locust Grove.
Notes: Henry County was created May 15, 1821, named for Patrick Henry, the Revolutionary War-era orator famous for “Give me liberty or give me death.” McDonough, founded in 1823 around a traditional town square, is named for naval Commodore Thomas Macdonough, celebrated for his decisive 1814 victory on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. The largest cavalry raid in Georgia history and one of the largest battles of the Atlanta Campaign took place in Henry County during the Civil War.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Henry County Courthouse – Courthouse Square, McDonough, GA (built 1895-97, Romanesque Revival, architects Golucke & Stewart, builder Frank P. Heifner; National Register of Historic Places since 1980), part of the McDonough Historic District.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Henry County Veterans Services – confirm current contact via henrycountyga.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Henry County Library System (McDonough) – confirm current addresses/phones via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Stockbridge, the county’s northernmost city, is genuinely the birthplace of Martin Luther King Sr., who preached his first sermon there. The Unity Grove schoolhouse in Locust Grove is one of the original 1930s Rosenwald Schools, built through a partnership between Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington to educate African American children across the South. J.P. Moseley Park hosts a free, championship-caliber disc golf course recognized by the Professional Disc Golf Association. The W.D. Miller Store, once a grist and saw mill, cotton gin, and general store, is the oldest continually operating business in Henry County. One of Georgia’s few remaining original speakeasies survives beneath a bookstore of the same name in Hampton.
Notes: Henry County has a genuine connection to U.S. presidential history: Jesse Johnson, great-grandfather of President Lyndon Baines Johnson, was among the county’s earliest settlers, serving as a prosperous farmer, county sheriff (1822-1835), and judge before relocating to Alabama.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Henry County Tax Assessor – confirm current contact via henrycountyga.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via henrycountyga.gov; Henry County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Henry County Solid Waste / Planning & Zoning – confirm current contact via henrycountyga.gov.
NOTES: Henry County is the seventy-seventh county completed in Georgia’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. Stockbridge’s genuine status as Martin Luther King Sr.’s birthplace and the county’s surprising family connection to President Lyndon B. Johnson are 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 Henry County
Henry County’s growth story is Atlanta’s southward expansion story told in subdivision permits and school capacity charts. The county’s population has more than tripled since 2000 – from roughly 75,000 to approximately 250,000 – driven by families seeking more affordable single-family housing than Fulton, DeKalb, or Clayton counties offer, combined with I-75 access to Atlanta employment. McDonough, the county seat, has grown from a small courthouse town into a city with genuine commercial infrastructure, while communities like Stockbridge and Hampton have developed suburban density that would have been unrecognizable to previous generations.
The county seat of McDonough has preserved its historic square – one of the better small-town courthouse squares in the Atlanta suburbs – while adding the commercial development that growth demands. Henry County’s school system has faced the perpetual challenge of building ahead of enrollment growth; the county has repeatedly had to add capacity even as the buildings were being finished. The county’s distribution and logistics economy – its I-75 position attracts warehousing operations – provides industrial employment alongside the commuter residential base.
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 to the Board of Assessors, then to the Board of Equalization. Georgia offers school tax exemptions for seniors 62 and older and full exemptions for qualifying seniors 65 and older. Georgia has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Atlanta Regional Commission – Area Agency on Aging
229 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 463-3100
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling for Henry County residents.
Senior Services
Atlanta Regional Commission – Area Agency on Aging
229 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 463-3100
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling for Henry County residents.
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)
1 Courthouse Square, McDonough, GA 30253
(770) 288-7900
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Henry County Probate Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above); Clerk of Superior Court holds divorce, court, and land records from 1821.
Henry County Library, McDonough, GA.
Local societies
No dedicated Henry 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
Henry County Probate Court 32 W. Main Street, McDonough, GA 30253
Henry County is part of the Atlanta metro area. The 1895 Henry County Courthouse (Romanesque Revival) is a contributing property in the McDonough Historic District, on the National Register of Historic Places.
Given Henry’s population is above 96,000, its Probate Court likely operates under O.C.G.A. Title 15, Chapter 9, Article 6 (expanded jurisdiction, attorney-judge requirement, concurrent jurisdiction with Superior Court) – confirm current status with the court.
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 Henry 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
120 Henry Pkwy., McDonough, GA 30253
(770) 288-8000
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS / VOTER REGISTRATION
140 Henry Pkwy., McDonough, GA 30253
(770) 288-8022
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 Metro
(770) 288-7630
GA DFCS — Henry
(770) 288-8300
GA Medicaid
(800) 869-1150
Piedmont Henry Hospital
piedmont.org/henry (Stockbridge — major regional medical center)
Wellstar Spalding Regional Hospital
wellstar.org/spalding
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Henry County Health Department – confirm current contact via henrycountyga.gov.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: McDonough
Population: 245,000
Area: 324 sq mi
Established: 1821
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Henry County facilities via Amazon.
