The McIntosh County Georgia map covers a tidewater county shaped by the Altamaha River, Darien’s port history, Sapelo Island, and broad salt marshes. McIntosh County was created from Liberty County in 1793 and named for the Highland Scottish family that helped establish the area. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated 11,989 residents on July 1, 2025.
Darien is the county seat and only incorporated city. Townsend, Eulonia, Crescent, and Meridian form inland and waterfront communities, while Sapelo Island adds a barrier-island landscape, research facilities, wildlife lands, and the historic Gullah Geechee community of Hog Hammock.
Table of Contents
Darien’s port, timber, and seafood economy
Scottish Highlanders from Inverness founded Darien in 1736. The town later became the county seat and a major outlet for cotton, rice, and yellow-pine timber moving down the Altamaha River from Georgia’s interior.
Timber exports peaked around 1900, when more than 112 million board feet were processed and shipped from McIntosh County. After upriver supplies were depleted, shrimping, oystering, and crabbing became leading sources of work. By 1960, Darien supported one of the largest shrimp fleets on the South Atlantic coast.
Places and file versions included
This McIntosh County Georgia map identifies Darien, Townsend, Eulonia, Crescent, Meridian, and Sapelo Island. The color and black-and-white files retain place names, while the outline version removes labels and fills for custom annotation.
Sapelo Island and Hog Hammock
Sapelo Island lies off the mainland between the Sapelo River, Doboy Sound, the Duplin River, and the Atlantic Ocean. State-managed wildlife land covers much of the island, and the University of Georgia operates its Marine Institute there.
Hog Hammock is a surviving Gullah Geechee community whose residents descend from African Americans connected to the island’s plantation era. Ferry access, limited roads, and protected lands give Sapelo a settlement pattern very different from mainland McIntosh County.
Fort King George and the colonial frontier
Fort King George was established in 1721 near present-day Darien as Britain’s southernmost North American outpost. The reconstructed blockhouse and museum interpret Guale history, Spanish missions, British-Spanish conflict, and the soldiers who occupied the site.
The fort predates the Highland Scottish settlement and shows why this coast was strategically important before Georgia became a royal colony. It also connects Darien’s local history to the wider contest for control of the southeastern coast.
Salt marshes and the Altamaha estuary
Fresh water from the Altamaha mixes with Atlantic tides across a wide estuary of marshes, creeks, sounds, and islands. These waters provide nursery habitat for shrimp, fish, shellfish, and birds and support both commercial fishing and nature-based tourism.
The county borders Liberty and Long counties to the north, Wayne County to the west, and Glynn County to the south. Its eastern side opens to the Atlantic rather than another county, producing a complex shoreline boundary.
Mainland communities beyond Darien
- Townsend and Eulonia: inland communities near Interstate 95 and U.S. 17
- Crescent: a waterfront community associated with fishing and tidal creeks
- Meridian: the mainland access area for the Sapelo Island ferry
- Darien: county seat, historic port, and shrimping center
Color map
The color file separates Darien and the mainland communities from Sapelo Island and the marsh-lined coast. It is useful for understanding how roads, islands, waterways, and settlement areas divide the county.
Black and white map
The monochrome version retains place names and boundary lines without colored fills. Darien, Townsend, Eulonia, Crescent, Meridian, and Sapelo Island remain available for grayscale reference.
Outline map
The outline file leaves county and internal lines without labels. Users can add the Altamaha estuary, ferry routes, barrier islands, fishing areas, historic sites, or custom community markers.
Download the county map
The McIntosh County Georgia map is available in color, black-and-white, and outline A3 JPG formats. Choose a labeled version for place reference or the outline file for custom annotation.
County Map File Information
The download contains three A3 JPG versions of the McIntosh County map.
- Included Versions: Color, Black and White, Outline
- File Type: JPG
- Printable Size: A3
- Map Detail: County boundary, internal lines, and surrounding area
- Intended Use: Printing, classes, presentations, documents, and annotations
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the county seat of McIntosh County?
Darien is the county seat and the county’s only incorporated city.
How do visitors reach Sapelo Island?
Visitors use a state-operated ferry from the Meridian dock. Public road access does not connect the island to the mainland.
Why is Darien associated with shrimping?
The Altamaha estuary and coastal marshes support productive shrimp habitat, and commercial seafood replaced timber as a major local industry during the twentieth century.
References
McIntosh County government’s history page describes Darien’s live oaks, shrimping traditions, Fort King George, and the coastal marsh environment.
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts provides the 2020 census count and July 1, 2025 population estimate.
The New Georgia Encyclopedia entry for McIntosh County covers Darien, Sapelo Island, rice, timber exports, seafood, and Reconstruction history.
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These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
