According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 14.6 square miles (37.9 km2), of which 14.5 square miles (37.6 km2) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.3 km2), or 0.76%, is water.[5]
Martinez has an elevation of 361 feet (110 m) above sea level, about 200 feet (61 m) higher than downtown Augusta. The areas of the CDP closest to the Richmond County line tend to be relatively flat, while land further west is hillier. Trees in Martinez are seen mainly in the subdivisions, as the main roads are crowded with businesses. They include pine, oak, sweet gum, hickory, and a variety of other species.
History
The founder was Jose Antonio Martinez y Zaldivar, a wealthy man from Camagüey Cuba. He bought land in Columbia County in 1869 and named it El Cordero Ranch which Cordero means Lamb. His children were: Robert Martinez, Dolores Delgado, Fannie Martinez and Marie Perrin. Upon the death of Marie in 1936 in Bath, Georgia, Robert lived in Cuba, and both Dolores and Fannie in Jacksonville, Florida.[6]
On November 5, 1876, Marie Martinez married Mr. George Perrin at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Augusta, Georgia.[7] The 1880 US Census indicates George was a druggist and was 29 years old. Marie was 22, and they resided on Broad Street #1109. The couple had one son, Thomas Wright Perrin, born on August 23, 1885. El Cordero Ranch is now only 20 acres in size. His old hacienda and several buildings, barns and a water tower still stand off Old Ferry Road in Martinez (near the intersection of River Watch Parkway and Baston Road). It's private property not open to the public.
José Antonio Martinez y Zaldivar died on January 26, 1891, and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, next to his wife Josefa Amalia Duque De Estrada y Varona who died on October 19, 1882 [8]
Martinez, Georgia – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
^Sacred Heart Catholic Church Sacramental Record Book, Marriages 1874-1908, Page 5, number 19. Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah Archives, Savannah, Georgia