Morgan County, Georgia, is a rural community located 60 miles east of Atlanta, GA, and 100 miles west of Augusta, GA. It covers an area of approximately 350 square miles. Population as of 2007 was estimated at 18,165. According to Assessor's data, there were over 7,600 households in Morgan County in 2007. There are four incorporated municipalities in Morgan County: Bostwick, Buckhead, Madison and Rutledge. Approximately 25% of county residents live in the city of Madison, the County Seat. Madison serves as the center of industrial, retail, financial and commercial business. Interstate 20 crosses the southern half of the county in an east/west direction. Other major routes are US 278, US 441, US 129, and SR 83. Among the notable people who hail from Morgan County are William Tappan Thompson, a journalist and author who founded and edited The Savannah Morning News, and Lancelot Johnson, who first developed the process of pressing oil out of cottonseed. Madison has some of the finest antebellum homes in the state. Hard Labor Creek State Park, right outside of Rutledge offers swimming, hiking, fishing and equestrian facilities featuring over twenty miles of riding trails. The park also offers an 18-hole golf course, which is the most challenging and scenic in the state for both public and private courses. Throughout the year there are a number of annual events taking place in the county including the Madison Tours of Homes, Madison Arts Festival, the City of Bostwick Annual Cotton Gin Festival, and the City of Rutledge Harvest Festival.