The first permanent settlement at Braselton was made in 1884.[5] The town is named after Harrison Braselton, a poor dirt farmer who married Susan Hosch, the daughter of a rich plantation owner. Braselton built a home on 786 acres (318 ha) of land he purchased north of the Hosch Plantation. The land he purchased was later called Braselton.[6] The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Braselton as a town in 1916.[7]
In 1989 actress and Georgia native Kim Basinger and other investors bought 1,751 acres (709 ha) of the town's 2,000 privately owned acres for $20million from Braselton Brothers Inc, intending to turn it into a tourist destination.[8] In 1995, facing personal bankruptcy, she and her partners sold the land for $4.3million.[9][10][11]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 12.5 square miles (32.4 km2), of which 12.4 square miles (32.2 km2) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.3 km2), or 0.79%, is water.[13] Braselton has seen its growth from 7.20 square miles (18.6 km2) to its current size from annexations into surrounding areas.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,403 people, 3,779 households, and 3,100 families residing in the town.
In 2022 the Braselton population by county breakdown was as follows: 2,973 in Gwinnett County, 1,763 in Jackson County, 1,690 in Hall County, and 1,085 in Barrow County.[16]
Infrastructure
The town operates a police department,[17] a Hall County Sheriff's Office location,[18] post office, and one fire station.[19] Northeast Georgia Health System built a new hospital in the Central/Greater Braselton area that opened in Spring 2015.[20] It's the first net-new hospital in Georgia in 20 years.[21]
