Sylvester, Georgia
Encyclopedia
Sylvester is the county seat of Worth County
Worth County, Georgia
Worth County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 21,967. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 21,285...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 5,990 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
and business center of Worth County
Worth County, Georgia
Worth County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 21,967. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 21,285...
and is claimed to be the Peanut Capital of the World due to its ability to produce more peanuts per acre than anywhere else in the world.
Geography
Sylvester is located at 31°31′53"N 83°50′10"W (31.531425, -83.836233).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²), of which, 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.52%) is water.
Sylvester is located on
U.S. Highway 82 at the junction of 
Georgia State Route 33Georgia State Route 33
State Route 33 is a north–south state route located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The route travels from U.S. 84/SR 38 in Boston to U.S. 41/SR 7 south of Cordele.-Route description:...
.
History
Sylvester started as a "beautiful nowhere" in 1893 and was first called "Isabella Station". When the Brunswick and Albany Railroad came through Southwest Georgia, the county seat was Isabella, which is located three miles north of the railroad. Slowly, however, the center of gravity for trade and commerce shifted south along the railroad. Two other towns, Poulan and Sumner, sprang up along the railroad in Worth county, but it was "Isabella Station" that grew and prospered the fastest. In 1894, the citizens voted to change the name to "Sylvester". In 1898, Sylvester voted to incorporate and then on December 21, 1898, the Georgia Legislature agreed to incorporate Sylvester as a city.There have been four courthouses since Worth County was created in 1853. The first courthouse was a two-story frame structure on the public square in Isabella, which was then Worth's county seat. This building burned down in 1879, and a schoolhouse was used as a temporary courthouse until a new courthouse could be built in 1893—but that structure soon burned also. A new courthouse was constructed the following year, but in 1904 the legislature changed the county seat from Isabella to Sylvester. The next year, a new courthouse was built on Sylvester's public square. In January 1982, the new Worth County courthouse also suffered major fire damage due at the hands of arsonist Max Hufstetler. Hufstetler had been arrested in Worth County for a string of home and church burglaries. He decided that if he burned down the Worth County Courthouse, then the evidence that had been seized during his arrest could not be used against him in court. On January 27, 1982, he committed arson and the Worth County Courthouse was destroyed. Max Hufstetler was later convicted of arson in the first degree and his conviction was upheld in 1984 on appeal. The courthouse was repaired and the still sits on the public square in Sylvester.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 5,990 people, 2,151 households, and 1,537 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,049.1 people per square mile (405.0/km²). There were 2,378 housing units at an average density of 416.5 per square mile (160.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 39.15% White, 59.97% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.90% of the population.
There were 2,151 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 27.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.5% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 80.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,114, and the median income for a family was $33,707. Males had a median income of $29,010 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $14,387. About 24.6% of families and 27.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.5% of those under age 18 and 29.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Worth County School DistrictWorth County School District
The Worth County School District is a public school district in Worth County, Georgia, USA, based in Sylvester, Georgia. It serves the communities of Poulan, Sumner, Sylvester, and Warwick, Georgia.-Schools:...
holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 296 full-time teachers and over 4,354 students.
- Sylvester Elementary School
- Worth County Primary School
- Worth County Middle SchoolWorth County Middle SchoolWorth County Middle School is a public middle school located in Sylvester, Georgia, USA. The school has 105 staff/faculty members and more than 900 students in grades 6 to 8. Construction of the school began in 1990....
- Worth County High SchoolWorth County High SchoolWorth County High School is a public high school located in Sylvester, Georgia, USA. The school is part of the Worth County School District which serves Worth County, Georgia.- External links :*...
Local Attractions
- T.C. Jeffords Park
- A shaded public park located in town near the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and Georgia State Route 33Georgia State Route 33State Route 33 is a north–south state route located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The route travels from U.S. 84/SR 38 in Boston to U.S. 41/SR 7 south of Cordele.-Route description:...
. The park features a stage for public performances, several covered shelters, picnic tables, a playground, tennis courts, a cooled club house, a fountain, Ole Engine 100 and Christmas decorations during the holiday season. The Peanut Festival is currently held in T.C. Jeffords Park each year.
- A shaded public park located in town near the intersection of
- Ole Engine 100
- Ole Engine 100 is a steam locomotive that ran the rails of the Georgia-Ashburn Sylvester-Camilla Railways from 1930 to 1948 until she was replaced with the next generation of train - The Diesel. In 1957, The Little Engine That Could was donated to the Worth County/Sylvester Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sylvester by Maxi Forshie (GASC railways) for a well-deserved rest. It now sits under a protective awning in T.C. Jeffords Park at the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and Georgia State Route 33Georgia State Route 33State Route 33 is a north–south state route located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The route travels from U.S. 84/SR 38 in Boston to U.S. 41/SR 7 south of Cordele.-Route description:...
. Once, children were allowed to climb and play on Ole Engine 100, however vandalism began to take place. A fence was erected to protect the great engine. The city recently repainted the locomotive.
- Ole Engine 100 is a steam locomotive that ran the rails of the Georgia-Ashburn Sylvester-Camilla Railways from 1930 to 1948 until she was replaced with the next generation of train - The Diesel. In 1957, The Little Engine That Could was donated to the Worth County/Sylvester Chamber of Commerce and the City of Sylvester by Maxi Forshie (GASC railways) for a well-deserved rest. It now sits under a protective awning in T.C. Jeffords Park at the intersection of
- Pope Park
- Shipp Park
- Gervaise Lawhorne Park
- Tyson Steel Wildlife Museum
- A museum that contains animals from around the world displayed in their natural habitat. Admission is free to the public.
- Downtown Attractions
- City Hall - Originally the Sylvester Banking Company Building
- Jesse's & Salon - Originally the Theatre Building
- Pap's Seafood - Seafood and Down-home Country Cooking
- Sylvester Local News - The oldest continuous business in Worth County. The building as built in the 1920s and the paper began in 1885 as the Sumner Free Trader. The paper's name then changed to the Sylvester Local and is now the Sylvester Local News.
- First Baptist Church
- Pinson Methodist Church
Peanut Festival
The Peanut Festival is an annual festival held on the third weekend of October in T.C. Jeffords Park to celebrate the city's status as Peanut Capital of the World. The event is sponsored by the Sylvester/Worth Chamber of Commerce and ConAgra Foods, makers of Peter Pan peanut butter. Activities include one of the largest parades in the Southeast and a beauty pageant with up to 100 contestants. Craftsmen from all over the state come to Sylvester to showcase their creations at the festival and some live entertainment and carnival attractions are usually on hand as well.Notable people
- Marion ButtsMarion ButtsMarion Stevenson Butts, Jr. is a retired professional American football running back who played 7 seasons in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers, the New England Patriots and the Houston Oilers from 1989 to 1995....
- NFL Running Back from 1989 to 1995 who played for the San Diego ChargersSan Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, and Houston Oilers. Born in Sylvester. - Rickey ClaittRickey ClaittRickey Claitt is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Bethune-Cookman College. His son, Rickey Jr., is a point guard for the Oregon State Beavers basketball team....
- NFL Running Back that played for the Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. Born in Sylvester. - Mary HoodMary HoodMary Hood is an award-winning fiction writer of predominantly Southern literature, who has authored two short story collections - How Far She Went and And Venus is Blue - and a novel, Familiar Heat...
- Award-winning author of How Far She Went, And Venus Is Blue and Familiar Heat. Graduated from Worth County High School. - Sue Monk KiddSue Monk KiddSue Monk Kidd is a writer from the Southern United States, best known for her novel, The Secret Life of Bees.- Biography :Kidd, who was born in Sylvester, Georgia, graduated from Texas Christian University with a B.S...
- Author of the New York Times bestseller, The Secret Life of BeesThe Secret Life of BeesThis is about the 2002 Sue Monk Kidd novel. For the 2008 film, see Secret Life of Bees The Secret Life of Bees is a 2002 historical novel by American author Sue Monk Kidd. It received much critical acclaim and was a New York Times bestseller...
and The Mermaid ChairThe Mermaid ChairThe Mermaid Chair is a 2005 novel written by American novelist Sue Monk Kidd, which has also been adapted as a Lifetime movie-Synopsis:...
. Born in Sylvester. - Robert L. F. SikesRobert L. F. SikesRobert Lee Fulton Sikes was a U.S. Representative from Florida.Born in Isabella, near Sylvester, Georgia, Sikes attended the public schools....
- U.S. Representative for Florida. Born in Isabella. - Sonny SkinnerSonny SkinnerSonny Skinner is an American professional golfer who plays on the Champions Tour.Skinner was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He turned professional in 1982....
- PGA Golf Pro. He turned pro in 1982. Got started in golf by caddying for his father, Henry. He attended and played golf for Abraham Baldwin Agricultural CollegeAbraham Baldwin Agricultural CollegeAbraham Baldwin Agricultural College is a State College of the University System of Georgia. Located in Tifton, Georgia, ABAC offers baccalaureate and associate degrees...
(ABAC). He shot opening-round 62, tying the Warwick Hills G&CC course record at 1997 Buick Open. - Taylor DuPriest - Featured on Kid NationKid NationKid Nation is an American reality television show hosted by Jonathan Karsh that premiered on the CBS network on September 19, 2007 created by Tom Forman Productions and Endemol USA and aired on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET...
, is a model, actress, and noted beauty queen.