[8] The settlement was located at an intersection of Native American Indian trails, and later the site of Saunders' general store.

[9] In 1864, during the Civil War, General William T. Sherman skirmished and then paused in Sandersville during his March to the Sea.

The area is along the "Fall Line" that separates the Piedmont Plateau and the Atlantic Coastal Plain and is characterized by rolling hills, red clay, pine and hardwood forest, swamplands, and sand beds.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,813 people, 2,213 households, and 1,425 families residing in the city.

In the 1950s, an industry developed based on the mining and processing of kaolin found in the area.

Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Willie McCovey played for the Sandersville Giants in 1955.