text:
Brunswick, Georgia

Brunswick is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Savannah and contains the Brunswick Old Town Historic District. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the city proper was 15,210; the Brunswick metropolitan area's population as of 2020 was 113,495.

Established as "Brunswick" after the German Duchy of Brunswick–Lüneburg, the ancestral home of the House of Hanover, the municipal community was incorporated as a city in 1856. Throughout its history, Brunswick has served as an important port city; in World War II, for example, it served as a strategic military location with an operational base for escort blimps and a shipbuilding facility for the U.S. Maritime Commission. Since then, its port has served numerous economic purposes.

Brunswick supports a progressive economy largely based on tourism and logistics, with a metropolitan GDP of $3.9 billion as of 2013. The Port of Brunswick, one of Georgia's two seaports, handles approximately 10 percent of all U.S. roll-on/roll-off trade—third in the U.S., behind the ports of Los Angeles and Newark. The headquarters of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center is located 5 mi north of the central business district of the city and is adjacent to Brunswick Golden Isles Airport, which provides commercial air service to the area.

Brunswick is located on a harbor of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 40 mi north of Florida and 80 mi south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the west by Oglethorpe Bay, the East River, and the Turtle River. It is bordered on the south by the Brunswick River and on the east by the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in the Mackay River, which separates it from the Golden Isles.

History
The Mocama, a Timucua-speaking people, lived in and cultivated the lands in what is now Brunswick. The Spanish established missions in Timucuan villages beginning in 1568. During this time, much of the Native American population was depleted through enslavement and disease. When the Province of Carolina was founded in 1663, the British claimed all lands south to the 31st parallel north, but little colonization occurred south of the Altamaha River as the Spanish also claimed this land. Three years after the Province of Georgia was founded at Savannah in 1733, James Oglethorpe had the town of Frederica built on St. Simons Island, challenging Spaniards who laid claim to the island. The Spanish were driven out of the province after British victories in the battles of Bloody Marsh and Gully Hole Creek in 1742; it was not until the Treaty of Paris of 1763 that Spain's threat to the province was formally ended, when all lands north of the St. Marys River and south of the Savannah River were designated as Georgia.

The area's first European settler, Mark Carr, arrived in 1738. Carr, a Scotsman, was a captain in Oglethorpe's Marine Boat Company. Upon landing, he established his 1000 acre tobacco plantation, which he called "Plug Point", along the East and Brunswick rivers. The Province of Georgia purchased Carr's fields in 1771 and laid out the town of Brunswick in the grid plan akin to that of Savannah, with large, public squares at given intervals. The town was named for the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Germany, the ancestral home of George III and the House of Hanover. Brunswick was a rectangular tract of land consisting of 383.5 acres. The first lot was granted on June 30, 1772; 179 lots were granted in the first three years. However, at Iabout this time Brunswick lost most of its citizens, many of whom were Loyalists, to East Florida, the Caribbean Basin, and the United Kingdom for protection during the American Revolutionary War. From 1783 to 1788 a number of these lots were regranted and there collected in Brunswick a few families who desired proper education for their children. By the act of the General Assembly on February 1, 1788, eight town commissioners were appointed and Glynn Academy was chartered, the funding of which was to come from the sales of town lots. Brunswick was recognized as an official port of entry in 1789 by an act of the United States Congress. In 1797 the General Assembly transferred the seat of Glynn County from Frederica to Brunswick.

At the end of the eighteenth century, a large tract of land surrounding Brunswick on three sides had been laid off and designated as Commons. Commissioners were named in 1796 to support these efforts. The General Assembly authorized them to sell 500 acre of Commons, one-half of the proceeds to go to the construction of the courthouse and jail and one-half to the support of the academy. In 1819 the commissioners erected a suitable building for school purposes on the southeastern corner of Reynolds and L streets. This was the first public building in Brunswick. It was abandoned four years later, but a new building was erected on Hillsborough Square in 1840 using Commons proceeds. A courthouse and jail were built around this time.

The town was officially incorporated as a city on February 22, 1856. It was at this time that state representative Jacob Moore in conjunction with others conspired to control the Commons, and any proceeds that might be had from sales. Moore managed to persuade the Georgia General Assembly to pass legislation giving him control over significant amounts of local real estate. This precipitated a period of strife, pitting the powerful interests, headed by Rep. Moore, against the common citizenry. It was into this turmoil that Carey Wentworth Styles appeared, in 1857, when he moved his family to Brunswick from Edgefield, South Carolina. Styles, an attorney, was attracted to the area by news of the civil strife. As one observer later wrote, the citizens of Brunswick were in "need of a defender".

Styles quickly became embroiled in the dispute, siding with the citizenry. He announced his intention to run for mayor, and organized a mass protest rally for the evening of December 24. In spite of bad weather, a crowd gathered at the protest point, where Styles delivered an impassioned speech against the powerful interests, and the legislative act giving them the power to seize local property. Styles called the legislation "dishonorable", at which point Moore (the bill's sponsor and beneficiary) jumped to his feet and shouted at Styles, calling the accusation a "falsehood". In the official testimony on file in the Glynn County courthouse, Styles is said to have yelled back at Moore, saying "You are a damned liar!", to which Moore replied "You are a damneder liar!". Gunfire ensued, resulting in the death of Moore. Witness accounts had Moore firing first, and though Styles was subsequently arrested for manslaughter, the charges were eventually dropped. On March 1, 1858, Styles was elected mayor of Brunswick. Some years later, Styles moved to Atlanta, where he founded The Atlanta Constitution. In November 1879, nineteen years after he left, Styles returned to Brunswick, where he established the local weekly Seaport Appeal. When that eventually failed, Styles moved to Texas, never to see Brunswick again.

By 1860 Brunswick had a population of 468, a bank, a weekly newspaper, and a sawmill which employed nine workers.

Brunswick was abandoned during the American Civil War when citizens were ordered to evacuate. The city, like many others in the South, suffered from post-war depression. After one of the nation's largest lumber mills began operation on nearby St. Simons Island, economic prosperity returned. Rail lines were constructed from Brunswick to inland Georgia, which stimulated a sawmill boom, said to average one mill every two miles, along with the new industrial corridor. In his book The New South Comes to Wiregrass Georgia, 1860–1910 author Mark V. Wetherington states that from Eastman, former Quartermaster General Ira R. Foster "shipped lumber to Brunswick, where it was loaded onto timber schooners and transported to international markets like Liverpool, Rio de Janeiro, and Havana." Unlike many other southern cities during the Reconstruction period, Brunswick experienced an economic boom.

In 1878, poet and native Georgian Sidney Lanier, who sought relief from tuberculosis in Brunswick's climate, wrote "The Marshes of Glynn", a poem based on the salt marshes that span Glynn County. The December 1888 issue of Harper's Weekly predicted that "Brunswick by the Sea" was destined to become the "winter Newport of America." Jekyll Island had become a resort destination for some of the era's most influential families (most notably Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Pulitzers, and Goodyears) who arrived by train or yacht.

A yellow fever epidemic began in 1893, which heralded a decade of hardships for the city; it was flooded in 1893 when a modern-day Category 3 hurricane (today known as the Sea Islands Hurricane) paralleled the coast of Georgia before hitting South Carolina. The storm left the city under 6 ft of water. A Category 4 hurricane hit Cumberland Island just south of Brunswick in October 1898, which caused a 16 ft storm surge in the city. As a result, 179 were killed.

Construction of an electric streetcar line began in 1909 and was completed in 1911. Tracks were located in the center of several city streets. In July 1924, the F.J. Torras Causeway, the roadway between Brunswick and St. Simons Island, was completed, and passenger boat service from Brunswick to St. Simons Island was terminated. By 1926, the electric streetcar line in Brunswick was discontinued; the decline of the streetcar systems coincided with the rise of the automobile. In World War II, Brunswick served as a strategic military location. German U-boats threatened the coast of the southern United States, and blimps became a common sight as they patrolled the coastal areas. During the war, blimps from Brunswick's Naval Air Station Glynco (at the time, the largest blimp base in the world) safely escorted almost 100,000 ships without a single vessel lost to enemy submarines.

In World War II, Brunswick boomed as over 16,000 workers of the J.A. Jones Construction Company produced ninety-nine Liberty ships and "Knot" ships (type C1-M ships which were designed for short coastal runs, and most often named for knots for the U.S. Maritime Commission to transport materiel to the European and Pacific theatres.

The first ship was the SS James M. Wayne (named after James Moore Wayne), whose keel was laid on July 6, 1942, and which was launched on March 13, 1943. The last ship was the SS Coastal Ranger, whose keel was laid on June 7, 1945, and which was launched on August 25, 1945. The first six ships took 305 to 331 days each to complete, but soon production ramped up and most of the remaining ships were built in about two months, bringing the average down to 89 days each. By November 1943, about four ships were launched per month. The SS William F. Jerman was completed in only 34 days in November and December 1944. Six ships could be under construction in slipways at one time.

On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was murdered during a racially motivated hate crime while jogging in Satilla Shores, a neighborhood near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia.

Geography
The city of Brunswick is located in southeastern Georgia, approximately halfway between Jacksonville, Florida and Savannah. The city is located at the apex of the Georgia Bight, the westernmost point on the Atlantic seaboard, and is naturally sheltered by two barrier islands, Jekyll and St. Simons. The city is situated on a peninsula with the East River and the Turtle River to the west, the Brunswick River to the south, and the Mackay River with the Intracoastal Waterway to the east. An abundance of salt marshes separates the city from the Intracoastal Waterway, which passes between Brunswick and the barrier islands. The East River separates Brunswick from Andrews Island, a dredge spoil site.

The city is the lowest in the U.S. state of Georgia, with an elevation of only 10 to 14 ft above sea level. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Brunswick's land area is 83.8 km2. Its total area is 109.8 km2; 26.0 km2 of this is water.

Climate
Brunswick's climate is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa in the Köppen climate classification system). During the summer months, it is common for the temperature to reach over 90 °F. However, the humidity results in a heat index higher than the actual temperature. Summer mornings average nearly 90 percent humidity and nearly 60 percent in the afternoon. Scattered afternoon thunderstorms are common in the summer. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Brunswick was 106 °F in 1986. Winters in Brunswick are fairly temperate. The average high in January, the coldest month, is 63 °F, while the average low is 44 °F. Snowfall is very rare. The last snow accumulation in Brunswick was on December 23, 1989. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Brunswick was 5 °F on January 21, 1985, and January 30, 1966.

Brunswick receives a high amount of rainfall annually, averaging about 49.6 in. The wettest months are August and September, the peak of hurricane season. The city has suffered less damage from hurricanes than most other East Coast cities. A major hurricane has not made landfall on the Georgia coast since 1898, and the only hurricane that has hit the coast since then was Hurricane David in 1979. However, the city has experienced hurricane or near-hurricane conditions several times due to storms passing through Florida from the Gulf of Mexico and entering Georgia or passing to the north or south in the Atlantic and brushing the area.

Environment
The Brunswick area has four Superfund sites, formerly home to heavily contaminated toxic waste sites: the LCP Chemicals site, Brunswick Wood Preserving, the Hercules 009 Landfill, and the Terry Creek Dredge Spoil Areas/Hercules Outfall. Research published in 2011 revealed that bottlenose dolphins that fed in the estuaries near these Superfund sites had the highest concentration of PCBs of any mammal in the world.

Demographics
In 2000, the city of Brunswick had 15,600 people, 6,085 households, and 3,681 families living in the city, down from the city's initial historic high of 21,703 in 1960. There were 6,952 housing units at an average density of 403.8 /sqmi. At the 2010 United States census, there were 15,383 people living within the city; experiencing population fluctuations since, the 2020 U.S. census reported a population of 15,210 people, 6,486 households, and 3,781 families residing in the city.

Among the city's population between 2015 and 2020, the American Community Survey estimated a median age of 34.8, down from 2000's 35 years. Approximately 16.7% of the population were from under 5 years of age to 5 to 9 years; 20.5% were from 15 to 29 years of age; and 16.5% were aged 65 and older. For every 100 females, there were 80 males, and there was a child-dependency ratio of 46.6.

At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the city was $22,272, and the median income for a family was $28,564. Males had a median income of $26,172 versus $18,602 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,062. About 25.2% of families and 30.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.9% of those under age 18 and 21.7% of those ages 65 or over. By 2020, the median household income was $27,471 with a mean of $57,395. Among families, the median income was $29,953 with a mean of $53,434; married-couple families had a median income of $63,301; and non-family households had a median income of $22,163 with a mean of $59,980.

The median monthly costs for occupied-housing units and renter-owned units was $718 in 2020; for homeowners with a mortgage, the median value of their single-family detached homes was $117,400 and the monthly costs were $1,068. The median real estate taxes paid among homeowners in the city was $951. Among the growing metropolitan statistical areas of Georgia, Brunswick has one of the lowest costs of living in contrast with Atlanta and its metropolitan region.

Race and ethnicity
Brunswick, like most of the United States, has had a traditional population from a predominantly non-Hispanic white, Anglo American background. With the diversification of the nation and state of Georgia, by 2000 its racial and ethnic makeup was 59.8% Black or African American, 33.1% White (non-Hispanic whites), 0.3% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.7% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino Americans of any race were 5.8% of the population. At the 2020 census, the racial and ethnic makeup was 56.2% Black or African American, 30.39% non-Hispanic white, 0.16% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.36% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.36% multiracial, and 9.49% Hispanic or Latino Americans of any race. Per 2008 estimates, the top five ancestry groups in the city were American (5.3%), English (5.1%), Subsarahan African (4.3%), Irish (4.1%), and German (3.6%). Approximately 54.1% of the population reported another ancestry.

Religion
According to Sperling's BestPlaces, approximately 56.3% of the city's population identify with a religion as of 2020. Typical of those traditionally placed within the Bible Belt and conservative American South, the majority of the religiously affiliated population identified as Christians. The single largest Christian tradition within the city and metropolitan area are Baptists (15.7%). Among its Baptist constituency, the National Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist Convention were some of the largest Baptist denominations in the area. The largest single Christian denomination has been the Roman Catholic Church and its Diocese of Savannah (6.8%).

Following, Methodism was the second largest tradition (12.3%) and Pentecostalism was the third largest Christian tradition in the area (8.2%), notably served through the Assemblies of God and Church of God. Other prominent Christian communities operating with a substantial presence in the city and area have also been Presbyterians, Episcopalians or Anglicans of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, Lutherans, etc. Among non-mainstream Christianity, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints made up 1.5% of the faithful according to this study.

The second-largest religion practiced or adhered to in the area was Judaism, and collectively, Eastern religions such as Buddhism or Hinduism made up 0.3% of the population. The largest Jewish movement within the city has been Reform Judaism, spread throughout the historic Temple Beth Tefilloh, founded in 1886.

Economy
The Port of Brunswick forms a vital part of the city's economy. It is recognized as one of the most productive ports on the East Coast and is the sixth-busiest automobile port in the United States; it is the primary export facility for two of the three United States traditional automotive manufacturers: Ford and General Motors. The port is also the primary export facility for Mercedes-Benz. The port serves as the central import facility for Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Porsche, and Volvo. Audi, BMW, and Volkswagen utilize the port as a facility for imports as well. International Auto Processing is one of the town's largest employers. In addition to automobiles, exports include agricultural products and other bulk cargoes.

The port is operated by the Georgia Ports Authority and features four separate terminals: Colonel's Island RoRo, Colonel's Island Agri-bulk, Mayor's Point, and Marine Port. Mayor's Point is the only terminal located within the city. The Colonel's Island and Marine Port terminals are located southwest of the city.

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), a large agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, is headquartered in Glynco, north of the city. A study conducted by Georgia Tech identified FLETC as the largest employer in Glynn County; it was further determined that FLETC's annual localized economic impact is in excess of $600 million.

Southeast Georgia Health System is the largest private employer in Brunswick. Other major employers in Brunswick include King & Prince Seafood, GSI Commerce, Pinova and Gulfstream Aerospace. Wood pulp is produced by the Georgia-Pacific mill in Brunswick. The mill, which has been in operation since 1937, has the capability to produce over 800,000 metric tons of cellulose each year. Additionally, it is the largest single-site fluff production facility in the world. Hercules, a manufacturer, and marketer of chemical specialties operates a production facility on the north side of Brunswick. Jet aircraft manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace has a presence at the city's airport.

Tourism is the single largest industry in the city and the county. Brunswick and the Golden Isles are a year-round resort community. The islands' beaches, resorts, shops, and historic sites annually attract visitors from around the world. President George W. Bush hosted the G8 summit in 2004 on Sea Island.

Arts and theatre
Brunswick is home to a variety of arts and cultural events. The most significant professional performing-arts group is the Coastal Symphony of Georgia, in existence since 1982, which stages productions each year at Glynn Academy's Memorial Auditorium. This group of professional musicians also has a Youth Symphony division and a fundraising auxiliary.

Old Town Brunswick's historic and ornate Ritz Theatre hosts a range of performances. Renovated in the early 1980s and again in 2000 through 2001, the Ritz is home to the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association, the coordinating arts council for Brunswick and Glynn County. The association hosts an annual performing arts series and rents space to individual producers and organizations.

The city is home to various art galleries. Art Downtown is a cultural arts center featuring a fine art gallery, studio, and production company. It is home to the Brunswick Actors' Theatre. The Gallery on Newcastle is home to a display of scenes from coastal Georgia's marshes.

Along Union Street is a collection of 19th and early 20th-century Victorian mansions. Each December the Magnolia Garden Club tours select Union Street homes in addition to other areas in historic Brunswick as part of its Christmas Tour of Homes.

Cuisine
The city lays claim to Brunswick stew, a tomato-based stew containing various types of lima beans, corn, okra, and other vegetables, and one or more types of meat. Most recipes claiming authenticity call for squirrel or rabbit meat, but chicken, pork, and beef are also common ingredients. A twenty-five-gallon (95 L) iron pot outside the city bears a plaque declaring the stew was first cooked there in 1898. The Brunswick Rockin' Stewbilee, held annually in October, features a stew-tasting contest where visitors sample over 50 teams' stews. The Stewbilee became famous when the city invited Brunswick County, Virginia, to the festival for a stew cookoff in the 1980s, which led the Brunswick "Stew Wars" to be featured in Southern Living.

Brunswick is the center of Georgia's shrimping industry. The city was once called "The Shrimp Capital of the World", but in recent times, production has been far below average. Nevertheless, nearby Jekyll Island hosts the Wild Georgia Shrimp & Grits Festival in September. Apart from shrimping, the area is also the center of Georgia's crab and oyster industries.

Sports
The College of Coastal Georgia has an active collegiate sports program. The local high schools compete in the Georgia High School Association's quad-A Region 2 sporting events. From 1950 to 2007, Brunswick served host to the Golden Isles Bowl Classic, one of the most prestigious junior college football bowl games in the country. Scholastic and intramural sports are held at school and park facilities around the city. Glynn County Stadium and Lanier Field are two sports stadiums available in the city.

Golden Isles Speedway, a 5/8 mi race track, is located in western Glynn County, approximately 20 mi west of the city.

The PGA Tour holds the RSM Classic every year at the Seaside Course on Sea Island. The area is famous for its golf resorts. In 2008 Sea Island was ranked the number-one destination for business meetings and golf by Golf Digest and USA Today. Sea Island was also ranked number-one among the best golf resorts in North America by Golf Digest. There are three golf courses located just north of the city, and combined with Jekyll, St. Simons, and Sea islands, there are 252 holes of golf in the Brunswick area.

The Brunswick area is home to two out of three publicly accessible beaches in the state. Brunswick is the gateway city to Jekyll and St. Simons islands; both are accessible via automobile only by causeways from the city. The islands, known colloquially as the Golden Isles, feature white-sand public beaches and are popular destinations for tourists and local citizens.

In 1906 the city was home to a Class D-level minor league baseball team, the River Snipes, a team shared with Columbus as part of the inaugural season of the Georgia State League. The league went defunct following that season. In 1913 the Brunswick Pilots debuted as part of the short-lived Empire State League, before joining the Georgia State League in 1914, and the Florida–Alabama–Georgia League in 1915. The Pilots stopped play following the 1915 season. Thirty-six years passed before Brunswick had another professional baseball team. In 1951 the Brunswick Pirates, a Class D minor league affiliate of the major league Pittsburgh Pirates, began to play in the Georgia–Florida League, beginning eight years of presence in the city. The Pirates won league championships in 1954 and 1955. In 1957 the Pirates became affiliates of the Philadelphia Phillies, respectively adopting the name Brunswick Phillies. Following the 1958 season, the Phillies ceased to play. Brunswick was home to the Cardinals of the Georgia–Florida League in 1962 and 1963 before the league disbanded in 1963.

Parks and recreation
The Brunswick Parks and Recreation Department operates city parks and squares. Six city squares were part of Brunswick's original 1771 Town Plan. The two largest central squares were Wright and Hanover. Though half of Wright Square was built on by a middle school in the 1950s, the square was recently returned to its original size with George Street removed through the middle. Five of the six still exist today, with Hillsboro Square converted into the campus of Glynn Academy High School. There are also two additional squares located within the city, Orange, and Palmetto. Numerous parks exist in the city, the largest being Howard Coffin Park. The parks include features such as playgrounds, baseball fields, softball fields, soccer fields, basketball courts, and picnic areas. Coffin Park includes a walking track. The district also owns the Roosevelt Lawrence Community Center, a center equipped with popular and traditional recreational game tables, two classrooms, and a multi-purpose gymnasium.

The Brunswick area is rich in live oak trees, particularly the Southern live oak. Such is the quality of the live oak trees in the Brunswick and the Golden Isles area that Revolutionary warships such as the USS Constitution (nicknamed Old Ironsides) were clad in St. Simons Island oak planks. Brunswick has a notable live oak named Lover's Oak (located at Prince and Albany streets). As of 2005, it is approximately 900 years old. According to the State of Georgia and American Indian folklore, Native American braves and their maidens would meet under the oak. Another notable oak, Lanier's Oak, is notable as being the location where poet Sidney Lanier, on one of his visits to Brunswick, was inspired to write "The Marshes of Glynn".

Blythe Island Regional Park is located on Blythe Island within the city.

Government
Brunswick uses the council-manager model of municipal government. The city commission consists of five individuals, including the mayor, elected on a plurality-at-large basis. Commissioners constitute the legislative body of the city and, as a group, are responsible for taxation, appropriations, ordinances, and other general functions. The mayor of Brunswick is Cosby Johnson, who was elected in 2021 and is the second African-American mayor of Brunswick. Johnson is also the first Millennial Mayor of Brunswick.

The city is divided into two wards with each ward electing two city commission representatives. The mayor serves as an at-large commissioner and chairperson. The commission meets twice each month at Old City Hall in Old Town. The city commission appoints a city manager to serve at will for an infinite term. The main duty of the manager is to implement policy set by the city commission and manage the operations of the city on a daily basis. The city manager is to see that all laws, provisions of the city charter, and any acts of the city commission are executed and enforced. The city manager of Brunswick is Regina McDuffie.

In November 2008, Mayor Thompson and the city commission of Brunswick traveled to Ganzhou to strengthen ties between the two cities. Ganzhou, a city with a population of 8.5 million, reciprocated, sending a delegation to Brunswick where an official sister city agreement was signed at Old Brunswick City Hall on April 3, 2009.

Higher education
Brunswick is home to the College of Coastal Georgia, which has more than 3,000 enrolled students. Since 1961, the college had been a two-year institution, but in 2008, the college began its transition to a four-year institution. The college is currently a state college within the University System of Georgia, with bachelor's degree programs in education, business, and nursing sciences, and other associate degree programs designed to prepare students to transfer to senior colleges and universities.

Primary and secondary schools
The Glynn County School System is the governing authority of public schools in the city. More than 12,000 students attend schools in the school system. There are ten elementary schools, four middle schools, and two high schools: Brunswick High School and Glynn Academy. Glynn Academy, the second-oldest public high school in the American South and the sixth-oldest public high school in the United States, was founded in 1788 by an act of the Georgia General Assembly. Brunswick High School opened in 1967. Specialized institutions include a career-technical academy.

There are several private schools operating in the area. In the city, there is one Catholic school and one Seventh-day Adventist school. There are also Baptist, Pentecostal, and non-denominational Christian schools north of the city, such as Heritage Christian Academy. On St. Simons Island, there is a Presbyterian school. Several smaller Christian schools in Brunswick offer high school education.

Media
The Brunswick News is one of two major daily newspapers serving Brunswick; the other is The Georgia Times-Union, a subsidiary of the Jacksonville-based Florida Times-Union. Brunswick has one free weekly newspaper delivered to most homes in Glynn County, The Harbor Sound (a free publication). The Islander is a weekly paper, member of the Georgia Press Association, and available at newsstands or by subscription.

The major AM radio stations in Brunswick are WSFN 790, an ESPN affiliate and primarily a sports station; WGIG 1440; and WBGA 1490, which are all news and talk stations. The city's FM stations include NPR affiliate WWIO-FM 88.9, public radio WWEZ at 94.7 (St. Simons Island) and 97.5 (Brunswick), and commercial stations WAYR-FM 90.7, WSSI 92.7, WMUV 100.7, WSOL 101.5, WYNR 102.5, WQGA 103.3, WRJY 104.1, WXMK 105.9, and WHFX 107.7. 96.3

WPXC-TV, channel 21, an Ion affiliate, is the only broadcast television station in Brunswick. The station became an ABC affiliate in 1996, but in 2001, Allbritton Communications sold the station and, therefore, the station lost its affiliation. All major U.S. television networks are represented in Brunswick from Jacksonville and Savannah-based television stations.

In popular culture
Brunswick has been featured in scenes from the films The View from Pompey's Head (1955), Conrack (1974), The Longest Yard (1974), and the documentary Criminalizing Dissent (2006).

The city is also the setting for the novel Ravens by author George Dawes Green.

Transportation

Brunswick Golden Isles Airport (BQK, KBQK) is served by Delta Air Lines, with several daily round trips to the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The city was formerly served by DayJet, with service to cities in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia; the company suspended its operations in September 2008.

Two railway lines run through the city: CSX and Norfolk Southern. The Golden Isles Terminal Railroad is a short line operating 12.6 mi of mainline trackage between Anguilla Junction and the Colonel's Island and Marine Port terminals of the Port of Brunswick. This line connects with a line that originates in Old Town Brunswick at Anguilla Junction. Brunswick last had direct passenger service in 1966 or 1967 with the unnamed successor to the Southern Railway's Kansas City-Florida Special. Amtrak passenger service is available in Jesup, 40 mi northwest of the city.

The original Sidney Lanier Bridge was a vertical-lift bridge on U.S. 17 crossing the Brunswick River and was opened on June 22, 1956. On November 7, 1972, the ship African Neptune struck the bridge, causing parts of the bridge to collapse, taking cars with it. The accident resulted in ten deaths. On May 3, 1987, the bridge was again struck by a ship, the Polish freighter Ziemia Bialostocka. A new cable-stayed bridge with the same name opened in 2003 to allow larger ships to enter the port and to eliminate the need for the drawbridge on U.S. 17. It is the longest-spanning bridge in Georgia. The elevation at the top of the support towers is 480 ft.

Three federal highways pass through Brunswick: U.S. Route 17, U.S. Route 341, and U.S. Route 25. U.S. 17 runs north to south through the eastern part of town and is a four-lane highway. U.S. 341 overlaps U.S. 25 for almost the entire route and originates in Brunswick off U.S. 17. Interstate 95 runs west and northwest of the city, and U.S. Route 82 originates at the junction of U.S. 17 and State Route 303 just west of I-95.

In 2006, Glynn County applied for approximately $930,000 for first-year funding for a transit service. The county and city match was for over $100,000 combined. The first-year project would fund the purchase of up to four buses, two vans, signage, equipment, and facility improvements. As of 2007 the first-year application was pending with the Georgia DOT and the Federal Transit Administration.

Healthcare
With over 1,321 employees and over 201 physicians, Southeast Georgia Health System is the main provider of health care in Brunswick and the surrounding area and is also the largest private employer in Brunswick. Southeast Georgia Health System's medical campus in the city offers a 316-bed full-service hospital. Southeast Georgia Health System Brunswick campus also has an alliance with the International Seafarer's Center that provides first-class medical attention to seamen who come into the Brunswick port; the medical needs of approximately 15,000 international merchant seafarers are met each year. Southeast Georgia Health System also operates a 180-bed skilled nursing facility in Brunswick, The Senior Care Center, which offers short-term rehabilitation services, as well as long-term care.

Southeast Georgia Health System recently opened the Outpatient Care Center on the Brunswick campus. This six-story, 195000 sqft building includes outpatient surgery and imaging services, the Cancer Care Center, a retail area, the Dick Mitchell Health Information Center, as well as physician offices and suites.

In 2004, the Brunswick campus was named Best Large Hospital in the State of Georgia by the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals.

Sister cities

 * Ganzhou, Jiangxi, People's Republic of China
 * Ilan, Yilan County, Taiwan Province, Republic of China

Brunswick has an active sister cities program designed to encourage cultural and economic exchanges.

Notable people

 * Anthony Alaimo, United States federal judge
 * Spencer Atkinson, orthodontist
 * Sam Bowen, baseball player
 * Morgan Brian, Women's World Cup soccer champion with Team USA 2016; plays professional soccer for Houston Dash
 * Kwame Brown, NBA player, top pick of 2001 NBA draft
 * Barret Browning, baseball player
 * Francis Buzzacott, frontiersman and writer, buried at Palmetto Cemetery.
 * Justin Coleman, NFL cornerback for the Detroit Lions
 * DeeJay Dallas, NFL running back for the Seattle Seahawks
 * Ed Dudley, professional golfer, first club professional at Augusta National
 * Amos Easton, also known as Bumble Bee Slim, musician
 * Steven C. Frucci, judge of the Court of Appeals of Virginia
 * Freeman Hankins, Pennsylvania State Representative from 1961 to 1968, Pennsylvania State Senator from 1967 to 1988
 * Mary Hood, writer
 * Anna Jay, professional wrestler in AEW
 * ReShard Lee, football player
 * Davis Love III, professional golfer and Ryder Cup captain
 * Jack McDevitt, science-fiction writer, Nebula Award for Best Novel winner
 * Kristen Morgin, sculptor
 * Jack Peerson, baseball player
 * Harry Pickens, jazz pianist
 * Tony Pierce, baseball player
 * Antonio Santiago, one-year-old victim of a highly publicized murder
 * Darius Slay, NFL cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles
 * Doris Buchanan Smith, author of A Taste of Blackberries
 * Raymond M. Lloyd, Professional Wrestler of WCW
 * Aaron Swinson, Cincinnati Bearcats assistant coach (college basketball), and former player
 * Albert Tresvant, first African-American mayor of Opa-locka, Florida
 * Adam Wainwright, baseball pitcher for St. Louis Cardinals (birthplace)
 * Tracy Walker, NFL safety for the Detroit Lions
 * Ike Williams, professional boxer, former lightweight champion
 * Madaline A. Williams, first African American woman elected to the New Jersey Legislature
 * Marion Wilson, murderer

title: Brunswick, Georgia


text:
Country Club Estates, Georgia

Country Club Estates is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Brunswick metropolitan statistical area. The population was 8,373 at the 2020 census, down from 8,545 in 2010.

Geography
Country Club Estates is located at 31.21139°N, -81.46861°W (31.211438, -81.468663). It is bordered to the south by the city of Brunswick and to the east by the Back River, an arm of the tidal Mackay River. U.S. Route 17 passes through the center of the CDP, leading south 5 mi into downtown Brunswick and north 12 mi to Darien. The CDP extends north as far as Chapel Crossing Road west of US 17 and Yacht Drive east of US 17.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 12.3 km2, of which 12.0 km2 is land and 0.3 km2, or 2.23%, is water.

Demographics
Country Club Estates was first listed as a CDP in the 1990 U.S. Census.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,373 people, 3,319 households, and 1,869 families residing in the CDP.

Education
The community's public schools are operated by the Glynn County School System.

Zoned schools serving sections of the CDP include:
 * Altama Elementary School (AES) and C. B. Greer Elementary School (GRE)
 * Needwood Middle School (NMS) and Jane Macon Middle School (JMS) (small section)
 * Brunswick High School (BHS) and Glynn Academy (GA)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Country Club Estates, Georgia


text:
Dock Junction, Georgia

Dock Junction is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Brunswick metropolitan statistical area. The population was 7,721 at the 2010 census, growing to 8,266 in 2020. Its original name was Arco until the 1970s, the name deriving from the Atlantic Refining Company.

Geography
Dock Junction is located at 31.20111°N, -81.50694°W (31.201106, -81.506921).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 10.7 sqmi, of which 9.6 sqmi is land and 1.1 sqmi (10.66%) is water.

Demographics
Dock Junction was first listed as an unincorporated place in 1950 and designated a census designated place in 1980.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,266 people, 2,976 households, and 1,942 families residing in the CDP.

Education
The community's public schools are operated by Glynn County School System.

Zoned schools serving sections of the CDP include:
 * Glyndale Elementary School (GES), Golden Isles Elementary School (GIE), Goodyear Elementary School (GOE), and Sterling Elementary School (SES)
 * Glynn Middle School (GMS), Jane Macon Middle School (JMS), Needwood Middle School (NMS), and Risley Middle School (RMS)
 * Brunswick High School (BHS) and Glynn Academy (GA)

title: Dock Junction, Georgia


text:
St. Simons, Georgia

St. Simons Island (or simply St. Simons) is a barrier island and census-designated place (CDP) located on St. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. The names of the community and the island are interchangeable, known simply as "St. Simons Island" or "SSI",   or locally as "The Island". St. Simons is part of the Brunswick metropolitan statistical area, and according to the 2020 U.S. census, the CDP had a population of 14,982. Located on the southeast Georgia coast, midway between Savannah and Jacksonville, St. Simons Island is both a seaside resort and residential community. It is the largest of Georgia's renowned Golden Isles (along with Sea Island, Jekyll Island, and privately owned Little St. Simons Island). Visitors are drawn to the Island for its warm climate, beaches, variety of outdoor activities, shops and restaurants, historical sites, and natural environment.

In addition to its base of permanent residents, the island enjoys an influx of visitors and part-time residents throughout the year. The 2010 census noted that 26.8% of total housing units were for "seasonal, recreational, or occasional use". The vast majority of commercial and residential development is located on the southern half of the island. Much of the northern half remains marsh or woodland. A large tract of land in the northeast has been converted to a nature preserve containing trails, historical ruins, and an undisturbed maritime forest. The tract, Cannon's Point Preserve, is open to the public on specified days and hours.

Originally inhabited by the Muscogee, the Spanish, British and French contested the area of South Georgia which included St. Simons Island. After establishing the Province of Georgia in 1732, Anglo-American colonists established rice and cotton plantations worked by African slaves, who created the unique Gullah culture that survives to this day. The primary mode of travel to the island is by automobile via F.J. Torras Causeway. Malcolm McKinnon Airport (IATA: SSI) serves general aviation on the island.

Pre-European contact
Just north of the village on St. Simons Island off Mallery Street is a park of oak trees named St. Simons Park. On the southern edge of the oaks, along a narrow lane, is a low earthen mound where 30 Timucuan Native Americans are buried. The men, women, and children interred there lived in a settlement on the site two centuries before the first European contact.

Cannon's Point, on the north end of St. Simon's Island, is an archaeological site that includes a Late Archaic shell ring. The Cannon's Point site has yielded evidence of occupation by Native Americans since at least as early as the appearance of ceramics in the southeastern United States. Milanich lists the succession of periods at Cannon's Point as: Sapelo Period (2500–1000 BC); ceramics related to those of the Stallings culture of the Savannah River valley and Orange period of northern Florida; Refuge Period (1000–500 BC); Deptford Periods (500 BC to AD 700); Wilmington Period (700–1000); St. Catherine's Period (1000–1250); Savannah Periods (1250–1540); Pine Harbor Period (1540–1625), where European artifacts appear in the archaeological record in this period; and Sutherland Bluff Period (1625–1680), where Native American occupation of Cannon's Point seems to have ended during this period.

Many scholars in the early 20th century identified the people of St. Simons Island as Guale. Hann cites evidence that the people of St. Simons, at least as early as 1580, were part of the Mocama people. Ashley et al. suggest that St. Simons may have been occupied by the Guale people when Europeans arrived in southeastern Georgia in the 16th century and that the original Guale population on St. Simons was displaced from at least the southern part of the island after the Guale rebellion of 1597, and replaced by Timucua speaking Mocama people.

Spanish mission of San Buenaventura de Guadalquini
The mission of San Buenaventura de Guadalquini was established on the southern end of St. Simons sometime between 1597 and 1609 (probably near the present-day St. Simons Island Light) and was the northernmost mission in the Mocama area. The Timucua language name for St. Simon's Island was Guadalquini. The Spanish called it Isla de Ballenas (Isle of Whales). Some Spanish documents called the island.

Raiders from the Chichimecos (the Spanish name for Westos), Uchise (the Spanish name for Muscogee), and Chiluque (a name the Spanish used for a faction of the Mocamo and for Yamassee) and possibly other nations, aided and supported by the English in the Province of Carolina, attacked Colon (also called San Simon) a village of un-Christianized Yamasee to the north of San Buenaventura on St. Simon Island, in 1680. A force of Spanish soldiers and Native Americans from San Buenaventura went to the aid of Colon, forcing the raiders to withdraw.

In 1683, St. Augustine was attacked by a pirate fleet, and in 1684 missions along what is now the Georgia coast were attacked by Native American allies of the English. The mission of San Buenaventura was ordered to move south and merge with the mission of San Juan del Puerto on the St. Johns River. Before the mission could be moved, pirates returned to the area in the second half of 1684. On hearing of the presence of the pirates, Lorenzo de Santiago, chief of San Buenaventura, moved the people of his village, along with most of their property and stored maize, to the mainland. When the pirates landed at San Buenaventura, they found only ten men under a sub-chief who had been left to guard the village. The San Buenaventura men withdrew to the woods, and the pirates burned the village and mission. After the pirates burned the mission, the people of Guadalquini moved to a site about one league west of San Juan del Puerto on the St. Johns River, where a new mission named Santa Cruz de Guadalquini was established.

Fort Frederica
Fort Frederica, now Fort Frederica National Monument, was built beginning in 1736 as the military headquarters of the Province of Georgia during the early English colonial period. It served as a buffer against Spanish incursion from Florida.

Nearby is the site of the Battle of Gully Hole Creek and Battle of Bloody Marsh, where on July 7, 1742, the British ambushed Spanish troops marching single file through the marsh and routed them from the island. This marked the end of the Spanish efforts to invade Georgia during the War of Jenkins' Ear.

It was preserved in the 20th century and identified as a national historic site largely by the efforts of Margaret Davis Cates, a resident who contributed much to historic preservation. She helped raise more than $100,000 (~$ in ) in 1941 to buy the site of the fort and conduct stabilization and some preservation. It was designated as a National Monument in 1947.

Wesley brothers
In the 1730s, St. Simons served as a sometime home to John Wesley, the young minister of the colony at Savannah. He later returned to England, where in 1738, he founded the evangelical movement of Methodism within the Anglican Church. Wesley performed missionary work at St. Simons but was despondent about failing to bring about conversions. (He wrote that the local inhabitants had more tortures from their environment than he could describe for Hell). In the 1730s, John Wesley's brother Charles Wesley also did missionary work on St. Simons. In the late eighteenth century, Methodist preachers traveled throughout Georgia as part of the Great Awakening, a religious revival movement led by Methodists and Baptists. A significant impact of the revival was to convert enslaved African-Americans in Georgia (as well as those in the rest of the Thirteen Colonies) to Christianity.

On April 5, 1987, fifty-five St. Simons United Methodist Church members were commissioned, with Bishop Frank Robertson as the first pastor, to begin a new church on the north end of St. Simons Island. This was where John and Charles Wesley had preached and ministered to the people at Fort Frederica. The new church was named Wesley United Methodist Church at Frederica.

American Revolution
In 1778 Colonel Samuel Elbert commanded Georgia's Continental Army and Navy. On April 15, he learned that four British vessels (the naval vessels HMS Galatea (1776) and HMS Hinchinbrook, and the hired vessels Rebecca, and Hatter) from East Florida were sailing in St. Simons Sound. Elbert commanded about 360 troops from the Georgia Continental Battalions at Fort Howe to march to Darien, Georgia. There they boarded three Georgia Navy galleys: Washington, commanded by Captain John Hardy; Lee, commanded by Captain John Cutler Braddock; and Bulloch, commanded by Captain Archibald Hatcher.

On April 18, they entered Frederica River and anchored about 1.5 mi from Fort Frederica. The next day the galleys attacked the British vessels. The Colonial ships were armed with heavier cannons than the British, and the galleys also had a shallow draft and could be rowed. When the wind died down, the British ships had difficulty maneuvering in the restricted waters of the river and sound. Two British ships ran aground, and the crews escaped to their other ships. The battle showed the effectiveness of the galleys in restricted waters over ships designed for the open sea. The victory in the Frederica Naval Action boosted the morale of the colonials in Georgia.

Cotton production
During the plantation era, Saint Simons became a center of cotton production, known for its long-fiber Sea Island Cotton. Nearly the entire island was cleared of trees to make way for several large cotton plantations worked by enslaved Geechee people and their descendants. The plantations of this and other Sea Islands were large, and often the owners stayed on the mainland in Darien and other towns, especially during the summers, because the Island was considered swamp lands. Still, enslaved Geechee people lived on the island and were not allowed to come to the mainland unless accompanied by an enslaver. This season was considered bad for diseases in the lowlands. These enslaved people were held in smaller groups and interacted more with whites. They were also confused with the Gullah tribe from South Carolina. An original slave cabin still stands at the intersection of Demere Rd. and Frederica Rd. at the roundabout.

American Civil War and its aftermath
During the early stages of the war, Confederate troops occupied St. Simons Island to protect its strategic location at the entrance to Brunswick harbor. However, in 1862, Robert E. Lee ordered an evacuation of the island to relocate the soldiers for the defense of Savannah, Georgia. Before departing, they destroyed the lighthouse to prevent its use as a navigation aid by U.S. Navy forces. Most property owners then retreated inland with the people they enslaved, and the U.S. Army occupied the island for the remainder of the war.

Postwar, the island plantations were in ruins, and landowners found it financially unfeasible to cultivate cotton or rice. Most moved inland to pursue other occupations, and the island's economy remained dormant for several years. Formerly enslaved people established a community in the center of the island known as Harrington.

Since Reconstruction
Saint Simons' first exports of lumber occurred after the Naval Act of 1794 when timber harvested from two thousand Southern live oak trees from Gascoigne Bluff was used to build the USS Constitution and five other frigates (see six original United States frigates). The USS Constitution is known as "Old Ironsides", as cannonballs bounced off its hard live oak planking.

The second phase of lumber production on the island began in the late 1870s when mills were constructed in the area surrounding Gascoigne Bluff. The mills supported a vibrant community that lasted until just after the turn of the twentieth century. During this time, lumber from St. Simons was shipped to New York City for use in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

In contrast to the post-Civil War era, the decline of lumber did not open a new period of economic hardship; for a new industry was taking hold on St. Simons Island. As early as the 1870s, summer cottages were being constructed on the island's south end, and a small village was forming to serve them. Construction of the pier in 1887 brought visitors by boat from Brunswick and south Georgia. The Hotel St. Simons, on the present site of Massengale Park, opened in 1888. About a decade later, two hotels were built near the pier. The arrival of the automobile and the opening of the Torras Causeway in 1924 ensured the continued growth of tourism on St. Simons, the only one of the Golden Isles not privately held. New hotels were built. Roads were constructed, and tourism became the dominant force in the Island's economy. On April 8, 1942, World War II became a reality to residents of St. Simons Island when a German U-boat sank two oil tankers in the middle of the night. The blasts shattered windows as far away as Brunswick, and unsubstantiated rumors spread about German soldiers landing on the beaches. Security measures were tightened after the sinkings, and anti-submarine patrols from Glynco Naval Air Station in Brunswick ultimately ended the U-boat threat. During the war, McKinnon Airport became Naval Air Station St. Simons, home to the Navy Radar Training School. The King and Prince Hotel, built in 1941, was used as a training facility and radar station. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

President Jimmy Carter visited the island with his brother Billy Carter in 1977, arriving by Marine One.

During the postwar years, as resort and vacation travel increased, permanent residential development began to take place on St. Simons Island and surrounding mainland communities. The island's population grew from 1,706 in 1950 to 13,381 by 2000.

Geography
St. Simons Island is part of a cluster of barrier islands and marsh hammocks between the Altamaha River delta to the north, and St. Simons Sound to the south. Sea Island forms the eastern edge of this cluster, with Little St. Simons on the north and the marshes of Glynn plus the Intracoastal Waterway to the west.

St. Simons is located at 31.16111°N, -81.38694°W (31.161250, -81.386875), midway between Savannah, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida, and approximately 12 mi east of Brunswick, Georgia, the sole municipality in Glynn County and the county government seat.

Climate
The Köppen Climate Classification System rates the climate of St. Simons Island as humid subtropical. Ocean breezes tend to moderate the island climate, as compared to the nearby mainland. Daytime mean highs in winter range from 61 to 68 F, with nighttime lows averaging 43 to 52 F. Summertime mean highs are 88 to 90 F, with average lows 73 to 75 F. The average rainfall is 45 inches per year. Rainfall is greatest in August and September when passing afternoon thunderstorms are typical. Accumulation of snow/ice is extremely rare. The last recorded snow on St. Simons was in 1989. The island is located in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 9a.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 17.7 sqmi, 15.9 sqmi of which is land and 1.7 sqmi of it (10 percent) is water.

Ecology, vegetation, and wildlife
A diverse and complex ecology exists alongside residential and commercial development on St. Simons Island. The island shares many features common to the chain of sea islands along the southeastern U.S. coast, such as sandy beaches on the ocean side, marshes to the west, and maritime forests inland. Despite centuries of agriculture and development, a canopy of live oaks and other hardwoods draped in Spanish moss continues to shade much of the island. The abundance of food provided by the marshes, estuaries, and vegetation attracts various wildlife on the land, sea, and in the air.

Commonly sighted land and amphibious animals include white-tailed deer, marsh rabbits, raccoons, minks, alligators, armadillos, terrapins and frogs. Overhead, along the shore, and in the marshes, a wide variety of native and migratory shorebirds can be seen year-round. Species include sandpipers, plovers, terns, gulls, herons, egrets, hawks, ospreys, cormorants, white ibis, brown pelicans, and the southern bald eagle.

The area surrounding St. Simons Island and the Altamaha River delta is an important stopover for migrating shorebirds traveling between South America and their spawning grounds in the Canadian arctic. As a result of all this avian activity, Gould's Inlet and East Beach on St. Simons Island have designated stops on the Colonial Coast Birding Trail.

The waters off St. Simons Island are likewise home to a great variety of sea life, including dolphins, right whales, a wide diversity of gamefish, and the occasional manatee. On late spring and summer nights, loggerhead sea turtles arrive on the beach to lay their eggs. Area naturalists monitor and protect nests, and guided turtle walks are available. Shrimping is still important to the region, and shrimp boats are often seen just off the beaches.

Like most barrier islands, St. Simons Island beaches constantly shift as tides, wind, and storms move tons of sand annually. Along with umbrellas and folding chairs, beach-goers can encounter fast-moving ghost crabs, sand dollars, giant horseshoe crabs, and moving conch shells powered by resident hermit crabs. Sea oats and morning glories cover the dunes along East Beach. Jumping mullet and tiny bait fish populate the coastal waters. Dolphin sightings are common, particularly off the island's south coast.

Cannon's Point Preserve
In September 2012, following an 18-month fund-raising effort, the St. Simons Land Trust acquired a 608-acre tract of undeveloped land in the northeast portion of the island. The acreage includes maritime forest, salt marsh, tidal creek, and river shoreline, as well as ancient shell middens and remains of the John Couper plantation of the early 19th century.

The Preserve is open to the public on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, 9 AM-3 PM, for hiking, bicycling, bird-watching, and picnicking. The Preserve also features a launch site for kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards and an observation tower at the north end.

Demographics
St. Simons was first listed as an unincorporated place in the 1950 U.S. Census and then designated a census designated place in 1980 U.S. Census.

According to the census of 2010, there were 12,743 people, 6,117 households, and 3,637 families residing in the CDP, occupying a land area of 15.94 sqmi. The population density was 799.4 PD/sqmi. There were 9,931 housing units at an average density of 623.0 /mi2. The racial makeup of the CDP was 94.8 percent White, 2.8 percent African American, 0.1 percent Native American, 1.0 percent Asian, 1.53 percent from other races, and 0.7 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.2 percent of the population. By the 2020 census, there were 14,982 people, 6,836 households, and 4,346 families in the CDP. The racial and ethnic makeup of the CDP by 2020 was 91.5% non-Hispanic white, 1.92% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.67% multiracial, and 3.0% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2010, the median income for a household in the CDP was $77,694, and the median income for a family was $104,044. Males had a median income of $52,536 versus $39,881 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $50,043. About 1.9 percent of families and 3.7 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4 percent of those under age 18 and 2.9 percent of those age 65 or over. In the 2020 American Community Survey, the median household income increased to $90,408 with a mean of $120,362. Families had a median household income of $117,466; married-couple families $125,652; and non-family households $52,607.

The primary housing units on St. Simons Island are single-family homes and condominiums. Prices vary with market trends, but housing is generally available in a wide range of prices, depending on location. In 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 9,931 housing units on the island, 6,117 of which were occupied either by the owners (74%) or renters (26%); and 2,662 were held for "seasonal, recreational, or occasional use." Most of the remainder were for rent (6%) or for sale (4%). In 2020, the median value of owner-occupied housing units was $386,000 with a monthly cost of $2,010.

Government and infrastructure
The U.S. Postal Service operates a post office on St. Simons.

Economy
Tourism is the primary economic driver in the St. Simons Island economy. Major industries include hospitality, food services, retail, service businesses, and the professions. The largest employers are the Sea Island Company, King & Prince Resort and Rich Products Consumer Brands Division. Visitors have been coming to St. Simons Island since the late 19th century, first by boat, disembarking at the pier on its south shore, and later by car via the F. J. Torras Causeway. In 1938, the McKinnon St. Simons Island Airport opened, serving general aviation. Commercial air travelers arrive via the nearby Brunswick Golden Isles Airport (BQK). Three island marinas accommodate pleasure boaters.

Today, the island is marketed as one of Georgia's "Golden Isles", and visitation occurs throughout the year but is heaviest in the spring and summer months. Accommodations consist primarily of hotels, private rental homes, and condominium apartments along the beach and inland. Transportation is provided via taxis and vehicle rentals, including golf carts. Bicycle rentals are also available.

Visitors come to St. Simons Island for its beaches, scenic vistas, water sports, fishing, sailing, golf, historical sites, and laid-back lifestyle. The PGA Tour's RSM Classic (formerly McGladrey Classic) is held annually in November at the Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island. In 2013 The Sea Island Golf Club was ranked by Golf Digest as one of America's top 50 golf courses for women.

Ecotourists come to enjoy the natural surroundings, bird-watching, and Cannon's Point Preserve. Hiking and bicycling are popular year-round activities. St. Simons Island is also a magnet for photographers and painters. Its selection of scenic and historic venues, such as the St. Simons Lighthouse and Christ Church, have made the island a popular wedding site.

As a travel destination, St. Simons Island has received recommendations from several travel publications and websites, including Condé Nast Traveler, Travel+Leisure, Smithsonian Magazine, Coastal Living, Country Living, and TripAdvisor.

Arts and culture
Many creative artists are drawn to St. Simons Island as residents and visitors. Painters and photographers work to capture the scenic landscape, and their work is on display in several island galleries. Glynn Visual Arts is a non-profit organization serving local artists with exhibits, festivals, and classes in several media, including painting and drawing, pottery, photography, mixed media, jewelry, and many others. The Literary Guild of St. Simons Island supports writers with literary and cultural events. A non-profit theater group, The Island Players, schedules productions in the Pier Village Casino Theatre. Craft shows are held throughout the year in Postell Park in front of the Casino Building at the Pier Village.

There is a vibrant music scene on St. Simons Island, with local bands and musicians appearing in several venues, including summertime concerts on the oceanfront lawn by the lighthouse and classical music concerts sponsored by the Island Concert Association.

Novelist Eugenia Price visited St. Simons Island while driving from Chicago to Jacksonville in 1961. Fascinated by the island, she spent the next few years researching, eventually resulting in three novels known as the "St. Simons Trilogy." She lived on St. Simons from 1965 until she died in 1996.

The film Conrack (1974) was partly filmed on Saint Simons Island.

Black American heritage
After the American Civil War, many Geechee people who had been enslaved remained on St. Simons Island, subsisting on whatever they could harvest from their gardens and the surrounding waters. Many later found jobs with the lumber mills starting in the 1870s. They attended the First African Baptist Church, completed in 1869 by formerly enslaved people from St. Simons Island plantations. Regular services are still held today at the original site on Frederica Road, which has been diligently cared for and renovated through the years.

In October 2000, at the First African Baptist Church, a group of island residents and property owners formed the St. Simons African American Heritage Coalition to protect and preserve the history and heritage of African-Americans on St. Simons Island. Today, the coalition conducts tours of historic sites and produces the annual Georgia Sea Islands Festival to celebrate traditional Geechee African-American music, food, and crafts. More recently, the coalition, together with Friends of Harrington School, has organized a successful fund-raising effort to restore the historic Harrington School House, which was initially built in the 1920s to serve the island's Geechee or African-American children.

Sports and activities
The climate on St. Simons Island is conducive to various outdoor sports and activities year-round. Golfing is one of the most popular, with seven golf courses on the island. Public tennis courts are located at Epworth Park and Mallery Park, each with lines marked for pickleball, a fast-growing paddle sport. Several island resorts also offer tennis facilities.

Eight public parks are on the island, with picnic tables, sports fields, and playgrounds. Demere Park features a skate park, and Gascoigne Park offers a disc golf course and a waterfront picnic area. The Neptune Park Fun Zone, on the south end of the island, near the Pier Village, includes a public swimming pool, miniature golf, two playgrounds, picnic tables, and restrooms. The adjacent St. Simons Casino Building hosts weddings, parties, meetings, and is home to the St. Simons Library.

Beach access points are along the island's Atlantic shoreline, but the most popular are Coast Guard Beach and Massengale Park. Both have restrooms and ADA-accessible beach access. Massengale Park also includes picnic tables and a playground.

Hikers, walkers, and bikers can enjoy the St. Simons Island-wide Trail System that stretches from the Village area to East Beach and Hampton Point at the north end. Other options include the Alice Richards Botanical Trail in Frederica Park, the John Gilbert Nature Trail just off Frederica Road, the Southeast Georgia Health System Fitness Trail near Gascoigne Bluff, and Cannon's Point Preserve (appropriate clothing and provisions for a wilderness area are recommended). Additional outdoor activities include kayaking, paddleboarding, and horseback riding. Boating and sailing excursions are also available.

Neptune Park
Neptune Park includes the Neptune Park Fun Zone and is in the "village" area and adjacent to the pier. Neptune Park was named after Neptune Small, a man enslaved by Retreat Plantation owner Henry King. King and his brothers fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War, taking Small. At the Battle of Fredericksburg, King was killed. When night fell and King had not returned from the battlefield, Small went to look for him. Small found King's body and personally brought it back from Virginia to St. Simons for burial (at Christ Church). The King family gave Neptune Small 8 acres of their plantation, part of which is now Neptune Park.

A. W. Jones Heritage Center
Opened in 2008, the A.W. Jones Heritage Center at 610 Beachview Drive is the headquarters facility for the Coastal Georgia Historical Society. The 10,000 sq. ft. building contains an entrance gallery featuring exhibits, an executive board room, a gift shop, a 1,400 sq. ft. event hall available for rent, a research library, and the Society's vast collection of objects, artifacts, and archival materials from hundreds of years of coastal Georgia history.

Arthur J. Moore Methodist Museum and Library
Dedicated in June 1966, the Arthur J. Moore Methodist Museum and Library is on the grounds of Epworth by the Sea. It houses a collection of books and historical artifacts related to the early history of St. Simons Island and John and Charles Wesley, founders of the Methodist movement, who arrived on the island with James Oglethorpe. The Moore Museum is the official repository of the archives of the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church and is open to the public Monday through Saturday. Admission is free.

Avenue of the Oaks
Initially planted in 1850 by Anne Page King as the carriage entrance to Retreat Plantation, two rows of live oaks grace the Sea Island Golf Club entry at the south end of St. Simons Island on Retreat Avenue, off Kings Way. Visitors can view the oaks by driving toward the entrance to the Golf Club, then circling back.

Bloody Marsh Battle Site
At the Battle of Bloody Marsh on July 7, 1742, an outnumbered force of British soldiers ambushed and defeated Spanish troops, halting a planned attack on Fort Frederica. Markers and information panels at this outdoor observation site explain the battle, which permanently ended Spain's claims to the Georgia territory. Located off Old Demere Road, the site is managed by the National Park Service as a unit of Fort Frederica National Monument.

Cannon's Point Preserve
A 600-acre wilderness tract on the northeast corner of St. Simons Island, Cannon's Point is the last remaining undisturbed maritime forest on the island. Owned by the St. Simons Land Trust, the Preserve includes a salt marsh, tidal creek, river shoreline, 4,000-year-old shell middens, and ruins of a 17th-century plantation house and slave quarters. The Nature Conservancy holds a conservation easement on the property to ensure its preservation for future generations. The Preserve is open to the public during specified days and hours. Visitors should wear clothing appropriate for a wilderness outing and bring bug spray.

Cassina Garden Club Tabby Slave Cabins
Located on Gascoigne Bluff, Hamilton Plantation was one of the most prosperous plantations on St. Simons Island, growing high-quality Sea Island cotton. Of the several slave cabins built on the plantation, two remain today. These slave cabins were constructed of tabby, a concrete-like mixture of lime, sand, water, and oyster shells. Owned and operated by the Cassina Garden Club, the cabins are open to the public on Wednesdays in June, July, and August. Private tours can be arranged at other times.

Christ Church
In 1808 the state of Georgia gave 100 acres of land on St. Simons to be used for an Episcopal church and its support. Called Christ Church, the structure was finished in 1820. During the Civil War, invading U.S. troops commandeered the small building to stable horses and virtually destroyed it. The church was restored in 1884 by lumber magnate Anson Phelps Dodge, whose son became the new church's first rector. Located at 6329 Frederica Road, just south of Fort Frederica National Monument, this historic building is home to an active Episcopal congregation. The adjacent cemetery contains gravesites dating as far back as 1803.

Epworth By The Sea
Epworth By The Sea is a 100-acre conference and retreat center owned by the South Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. The property at Gascoigne Bluff includes six motels, 12 family apartments, 13 youth cabins, auditoriums, classrooms, and meeting rooms. Four dining rooms and a preschool/nursery building with a fenced playground exist. An in-season swimming pool, athletic field, covered basketball courts, tennis courts, bicycle rentals, and fishing piers provide activities for all ages. Lovely Lane Chapel, constructed in 1880, hosts Sunday services and is available for weddings.

Fort Frederica National Monument
Fort Frederica was established in 1736 by British General James Oglethorpe to defend the southern border of his Georgia colony. The facility was a fortress and a small town on the Frederica River. In 1742, troops from the fort defeated invading Spanish forces at the Battle of Bloody Marsh, which was decisive in ending Spanish influence and securing the Georgia colony under British rule. By mid-century, the troops were withdrawn, and the colonists abandoned the town, which then fell into disrepair. In 1945, Fort Frederica was established as a national monument and is currently operated by the National Park Service.

Gascoigne Bluff
Gascoigne Bluff has been a focal point for almost the entire history of St. Simons Island. Long before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans and Aborigines lived and camped on the site. The Spanish also built a mission on or near the area. When General Oglethorpe and the British arrived in 1736, they established a naval facility at the bluff and granted 500 acres of its land to Captain James Gascoigne, of the sloop-of-war Hawk, and the name persists to this day. In 1794, lumber from the area was used to construct the frigate, "Old Ironsides." During the antebellum period of cotton farming, the bluff was the site of the Hamilton plantation, of which two slave cabins remain standing today. In the late 19th century, lumber mills thrived at the scene. Today, the bluff is occupied by Epworth By The Sea and Gascoigne Bluff Park at its southern end, with picnic tables, restrooms, and a fishing pier.

Lovely Lane Chapel
In 1880, Norman W. Dodge built St. James Union Church at Gascoigne Bluff to serve the lumber mill community. After the mills shut down, the building was deconsecrated in the 1920s and became a social hall. When the Methodists acquired the property in 1949, they renamed it Lovely Lane Chapel. The chapel is open to the public for Sunday worship services and wedding ceremonies. It is located at 100 Arthur J. Moore Drive.

World War II Home Front Museum at the Historic Coast Guard Station

The Coastal Georgia Historical Society operates the World War II Home Front Museum. The Museum is housed in the Historic St. Simons Coast Guard Station, built in 1936. Step back to April 8, 1942, when the crew from this station rescued survivors of two American ships torpedoed by a German U-boat 13 miles off St. Simons Island. Visitors of all ages will be inspired by the stories of ordinary Americans doing their part to win the war.

St. Simons Island Lighthouse Museum
The original St. Simons Island Light, built in 1811, was destroyed by Confederate troops in 1861 to prevent its use by U.S. Navy sailors. Rebuilt in 1872, it continues to operate today, owned by the Coastal Georgia Historical Society and maintained by the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. The adjacent keeper's residence Is now a museum operated by the Coastal Georgia Historical Society, featuring lighthouse exhibits and a restored keeper's dwelling. Visitors may climb the 129 steps to the observatory for panoramic views of the ocean, nearby islands, and the mainland.

Education
St. Simons Island is part of the Glynn County School District. There are two public schools on the Island: Oglethorpe Point Elementary and St. Simons Elementary, serving grades PK to 5.

Zoned schools include:
 * Oglethorpe Point Elementary School (OPES) and St. Simons Elementary School (SSES)
 * Glynn Middle School (GMS)
 * Glynn Academy (GA)

Private schools:
 * Frederica Academy – grades PK-12
 * St. Simons Christian School – grades PK-8

Notable people

 * Tina McElroy Ansa, novelist, journalist, essayist, and short-story writer.
 * Griffin Bell, former U.S. Attorney General
 * Iris Faircloth Blitch, former United States Representative to congress.
 * Morgan Brian, member of the United States women's national soccer team, World Cup Champion, Olympian
 * Alton Brown, Food Network Personality
 * Jim Brown, Hall of Fame NFL player and actor
 * Kwame Brown, Former NBA player, Glynn Academy High School
 * Jonathan Byrd, professional golfer
 * Jack Davis, cartoonist.
 * William Diehl, Award-winning novelist, New York Times Best Seller list
 * Brian Harman, professional golfer
 * Sam Hunt Part-time resident, country singer.
 * Anna Jay, professional wrestler competing at AEW.
 * Zach Johnson, professional golfer
 * Bessie Jones, gospel singer
 * Matt Kuchar, professional golfer
 * Davis Love III, professional golfer
 * Mack Mattingly, former U.S. Senator
 * J. Reginald Murphy, former editor of Atlanta Constitution, San Francisco Chronicle, and former president of National Geographic Society
 * Sam Nunn, former U.S. Senator
 * Eugenia Price, Author of the Georgia Trilogy and St. Simons Trilogy, among other historical novels.
 * Bob Schieffer, American television journalist and former anchor of the CBS Evening News
 * John Smoltz Part-time resident, retired MLB pitcher, formerly with the Atlanta Braves
 * Adam Wainwright, Former MLB pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals
 * Larry White, Vice President, Architectural Components Group Inc.
 * Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995, first disabled Miss America.

title: St. Simons, Georgia


text:
Calhoun, Georgia

Calhoun is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,949. Calhoun is the county seat of Gordon County.

History
In December 1827, Georgia had already claimed the Cherokee lands that became Gordon County and other counties. A small town called "Dawsonville" was created and founded in Gordon County, named for the owner of an early general store. Dawsonville was later renamed "Calhoun" to honor U.S. Senator John C. Calhoun, following his death in 1850.

Gordon County's inferior court called an election for the selection of the county seat, offering voters a choice between a site on the Western & Atlantic Railroad (near Adairsville) or a site more centrally located within the county. Voters chose a site along the railroad, so the inferior court designated Calhoun as county seat in 1851. The legislature incorporated Calhoun in an act approved on January 12, 1852.

On January 5, 1861, Georgia seceded from the Union as a prelude to the American Civil War. Calhounians joined the Confederacy. Most warfare took place elsewhere, but on May 16, 1864, Calhoun was near where the Union General William Tecumseh Sherman and Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston postured before the Battle of Adairsville during Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. Oakleigh, the home of Dr. Wall, was used by Sherman as his headquarters at that time.

A tornado on March 20, 1888, leveled much of Calhoun. A devastating fire on October 23 of that year destroyed most of what remained.

Geography
Calhoun is located west of the center of Gordon County at 34.5°N, -84.9425°W (34.499898, -84.942584), along the Oostanaula River where it is joined by Oothkalooga Creek. It is part of the Coosa River/Alabama River watershed.

U.S. Route 41 passes through the center of town as Wall Street, and Interstate 75 runs along the eastern edge of the city, with access from Exits 310, 312, 315, 317, and 318. I-75 leads north 49 mi to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and south 68 mi to Atlanta. US-41, running parallel to I-75, leads north 5 mi to Resaca and south 10 mi to Adairsville. Georgia State Route 156 runs west out of town as West Line Street, leading 18 mi to Armuchee, and heads east out of town as Red Bud Road, leading 8 mi to Red Bud. Georgia State Route 373 (East Line Street and Dews Pond Road) leads east 8 mi to Cash. Georgia State Route 136 (North River Street) leads northwest 30 mi to LaFayette. Georgia State Route 53 passes through the southern part of Calhoun, leading east 15 mi to Fairmount and southwest 22 mi to Rome.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Calhoun has a total area of 38.9 km2, of which 38.7 km2 is land and 0.2 km2, or 0.64%, is water.

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Calhoun has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 16,949 people, 6,088 households, and 4,001 families residing in the city.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,667 people, 4,049 households, and 2,672 families residing in the city. The population density was 915.4 PD/sqmi. There were 4,298 housing units at an average density of 368.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 77.91% White, 7.56% African American, 0.42% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 11.61% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. 17.07% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,049 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were married couples living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,618, and the median income for a family was $42,310. Males had a median income of $27,616 versus $25,018 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,887. About 12.5% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.8% of those under age 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.

Museums and other points of interest

 * The Rock Garden containing miniature castles, churches, and other structures
 * New Echota Historic Site, first Cherokee capital
 * Roland Hayes Museum at the Harris Arts Center
 * Oakleigh/Gordon County Historical Society
 * Premium Outlets of Calhoun
 * Phil Reeve Stadium
 * Sam's Treehouse

Calhoun City School District
The Calhoun City School District serves preschool to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school, separate from the county school district. The district has 166 full-time teachers and over 2,666 students.

 * Calhoun Early Learning Academy - grades Pre-K–K
 * Calhoun Primary School - grades 1–3
 * Calhoun Elementary School - grade 4–6
 * Calhoun Middle School - grades 6–8
 * Calhoun High School

Gordon County School District
The Gordon County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of six elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools, serving the area outside the city limits. The district has 365 full-time teachers and over 6,259 students.

 * Red Bud Elementary Grades Pre-K–5
 * W.L Swain Elementary Grades Pre-K–5
 * Belwood Elementary School Pre-K–5
 * Sonoraville Elementary School Pre-K–5
 * Fairmount Elementary School Pre-K–5
 * Max V. Tolbert Elementary School Pre-K–5
 * Ashworth Middle School Grades 6–8
 * Red Bud Middle School Grades 6–8
 * Gordon Central High School Grades 9–12
 * Sonoraville High School Grades 9–12

Seventh-day Adventist

 * John L. Coble Elementary School - K–8th grades
 * Georgia-Cumberland Academy - boarding 9–12 high school

Higher education

 * Georgia Northwestern Technical College (formerly Coosa Valley Technical College)

Print
The twice-weekly Calhoun Times established in 1870 is Gordon County's oldest operating business. With home delivery print editions each Wednesday and Saturday, the paper also has a website and various social media. The current editor is Blake Silvers.

Radio and TV
Although well outside of metro Atlanta, Calhoun is considered part of the Atlanta television market, the ninth-largest DMA according to Nielsen Media Research. Cable TV service is offered through Comcast Cable, which provides one public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV channel named WEBS cable 3.

There are now four radio stations having Calhoun as their city of license:

 * WEBS AM 1030, playing oldies, simulcasts on local Xfinity cable channel 3; station originally broadcast on AM 1110, from approximately 1965–1990.
 * WIPK FM 94.5, owned by WEBS, went on-air in late 2011 with a country music format.
 * WJTH AM 900, playing country music; frequency was earlier assigned to WCGA, which broadcast from approximately 1950–1975.
 * W269CC 101.7, transmitting WJTH programming from WJTH tower, but having nearby Adairsville as the city of license.
 * WLOJ-LP 102.9, religious (owned and operated by the Calhoun Seventh-day Adventist Church ).

Many other stations from Rome, Atlanta, and Chattanooga are also available across northwest Georgia, though reception of these often depends on weather.

Notable people

 * Elias Boudinot (1802–1839), born Gallegina Uwati, also known as Buck Watie, Cherokee leader who believed that acculturation was critical to the tribe's survival; influential in the period of removal to the West
 * Ken Carson (2000-), American rapper
 * Charlie Culberson Major League Baseball player
 * Kris Durham, professional football player; wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders
 * Roland Hayes (1887–1977), world-renowned lyric tenor, considered the first African-American male concert artist to receive wide acclaim both at home and internationally, born here and attended Calhoun schools
 * Bert Lance (1931–2013), businessman, and former director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Carter administration
 * James Beverly Langford (1922–1996), lawyer, businessman, and Georgia state legislator
 * John Meadows III (1944–2018), Businessman, Mayor of Calhoun, and Georgia state legislator
 * Larkin Poe, music duo.
 * Sequoyah (English: George Gist or George Guess) (c.1767–1843), Cherokee, inventor of the Cherokee Syllabary. This was the only time in recorded history that a member of a non-literate people independently created an effective writing system. He was also the namesake of California's giant Sequoia sempervirens redwood tree.
 * William Thompson (1848–1918), Olympic gold medal winner
 * Stand Watie (1806–1871), Cherokee leader and Confederate general
 * Dale Willis (1938–), Major League Baseball player

title: Calhoun, Georgia


text:
Fairmount, Georgia

Fairmount is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 720. Gordon County is home to New Echota, which was once the Cherokee Nation's capital. It was the origin of the Cherokee written language and newspaper, the Cherokee Phoenix.

The city is located near the southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Chattahoochee National Forest.

History
A post office called Fairmount has been in operation since 1850. The city was named after Fairmont, West Virginia.

Geography
Fairmount is located in southeastern Gordon County at 34.43861°N, -84.69944°W (34.438510, -84.699371), in the valley of Salacoa Creek, a northwest-flowing tributary of the Coosawattee River. U.S. Route 411 runs through the center of town as Salacoa Avenue, leading north 24 mi to Chatsworth and south 21 mi to Cartersville. Georgia State Route 53 crosses US 411 in Fairmount, leading east 18 mi to Jasper and west 17 mi to Calhoun, the Gordon County seat.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Fairmount has a total area of 4.6 km2, all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 745 people, 307 households, and 220 families residing in the city. The population density was 619.9 PD/sqmi. There were 334 housing units at an average density of 277.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 95.70% White, 3.22% African American, 0.27% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.21% of the population.

There were 307 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,893, and the median income for a family was $40,568. Males had a median income of $25,833 versus $22,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,508. About 5.2% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government
As of 2020, the mayor of the city of Fairmount is Steven Brannon. The city council is made up of Billy Mauldin, Steve Fain, and Junior Holsomback.

Notable People

 * Joe Desaavedra - Food review YouTuber with over 100k subscribers, known for food reviews of various fast food restaurants in the Fairmount area.

Schools

 * Fairmount Elementary School
 * Red bud Middle School
 * Sonoraville High School
 * Gordon Central High School (located in Calhoun, GA)

title: Fairmount, Georgia


text:
Plainville, Georgia

Plainville is a city located in Gordon County, Georgia. The population of Plainville was 313 at the 2010 census, up from 257 at the 2000 census.

History
Plainville was incorporated in 1903. The name is a transfer from Plainville, Connecticut.

Geography
Plainville is located in southwestern Gordon County at 34.40417°N, -85.0375°W (34.404212, -85.037404). The southern border of the town is the Floyd County line. Georgia State Highway 53 passes 1.5 mi east of the city, leading northeast 8 mi to Calhoun, the Gordon County seat, and southwest 14 mi to Rome.

Plainville has an area of 1.87 km2, all land.

Plainville is situated in the Ridge-and-Valley region of northwest Georgia, about 3 mi east of a bend in the Oostanaula River, an area known as "the Bend".

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 257 people, 98 households, and 68 families residing in the city. The population density was 435.5 PD/sqmi. There were 102 housing units at an average density of 172.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 97.67% White, 0.39% Native American, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.17% of the population.

There were 98 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,654, and the median income for a family was $30,000. Males had a median income of $25,625 versus $20,875 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,046. About 16.3% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.6% of those under the age of eighteen and 16.7% of those 65 or over.

title: Plainville, Georgia


text:
Ranger, Georgia

Ranger is an unincorporated community in Gordon County, Georgia, United States. The population was 107 at the 2020 census, down from 131 in 2010.

History
A post office called Ranger has been in operation since 1891. It is uncertain whether the town was named after Ranger, North Carolina, or the Confederate rangers.

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Ranger as a town in 1910.

The town was dissolved on May 3, 2023, when Governor Brian Kemp signed HB 773, which passed in late March 2023, into law. It was a result of the town not providing police, utilities, business licenses, and in addition, not holding an election since 2005. Governmental services are now provided by Gordon County.

Geography
Ranger is located in eastern Gordon County at 34.50028°N, -84.71139°W (34.500175, -84.711392). U.S. Route 411 passes through the center of town, leading north 19 mi to Chatsworth and south 5 mi to Fairmount.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.1 km2, all land.

Demographics
As of the 2010 census there were 131 people, 46 households, and 39 families.

As of the census of 2000, there were 85 people, 33 households, and 23 families residing in the town. The population density was 104.2 PD/sqmi. There were 44 housing units at an average density of 53.9 /mi2. The racial makeup of the town was 100.00% White. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.35% of the population.

There were 33 households, out of which 18.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.58.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 12.9% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 22.4% from 25 to 44, 30.6% from 45 to 64, and 28.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $26,875, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $23,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,224. There were 13.3% of families and 8.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.

Notable people

 * Tom Graves, U.S. congressman
 * Robert D. McTeer, economist

title: Ranger, Georgia