Thomaston, Georgia
Encyclopedia
Thomaston is a city in and the county seat of Upson County
, Georgia
, United States
. The population was 9,638 at the 2006 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Thomaston, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs
-Gainesville, Georgia
-Alabama
(part) Combined Statistical Area
. 76% of Thomastonians completed the 2010 census.
Thomaston was incorporated on June 11, 1825, and designated as the seat of Upson County. The town was named for General Jett Thomas, an Indian fighter in the War of 1812. He is also credited with assisting in the construction of the state capitol at Milledgeville in 1805-7 and Franklin College on the campus of the University of Georgia in 1806.
The town was laid out with parallel streets running north and south, east and west, with the courthouse square in the center of town.
The judges of the inferior court had the authority to sell lots to individuals on a one-third cash basis with two years to complete the payment. This money was used to build the first courthouse, which was completed in 1828. The second courthouse was completed in 1852, and the present courthouse was erected in 1908. In the southeast corner of the square is a cannonball mounted on a marble base, said to be the first fired at Fort Sumter, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. P. W. Alexander, a noted correspondent during the Civil War (1861–65) and a citizen of Upson County, retrieved it.
A few miles south of the square is one of the oldest houses in Thomaston, the Pettigrew-White-Stamps House. Built by John E. Pettigrew in 1833, it currently serves as the Upson Historical Society Museum. The African American Museum is housed in a late 1920s three-room shotgun-style house.
The Civil War erupted on Thomaston's soil on April 18, 1865, nine days after Confederate general Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, when Union cavalry raiders moving from Columbus to Macon embarked on three days of devastation in Upson County. The raiders, led by Major General James Harrison Wilson, looted homes, destroyed three of Upson's cotton mills, and set fire to a steam locomotive. In 1866 Thomaston's African Americans held an emancipation celebration, which has continued every year since; celebrated in May, it is the country's longest-running commemoration of freedom from slavery.
During the twentieth century Thomaston's economy was primarily based on the manufacture of textiles and tire cord. Granted a charter in 1899, Thomaston Mills shipped textiles worldwide and served as a major source of economic stability and urban growth, along with B. F. Goodrich's tire cord mill, Martha Mills. East Thomaston (established by Thomaston Mills) and Silvertown (for workers at Martha Mills, later WesTek) were typical of southern mill towns of the time.
holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 279 full-time teachers and over 5,009 students.
Thomaston was once again chosen among 120 towns across the nation to be listed in Norman Crampton's new book, "Making Your Move to One of America's Best Small Towns." According to an article in The Thomaston Times
, dated November 4, 2002, the new book described Thomaston as "a perfect place for people looking to leave the fast-paced city life for a more relaxing environment". A press release says the book is for those "looking to raise a family in a storybook American town."
of 2000, there were 9,411 people, 3,862 households, and 2,386 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,039.4 people per square mile (401.5/km²). There were 4,152 housing units at an average density of 458.6 per square mile (177.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.75% White, 35.30% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races
, and 0.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.77% of the population.
There were 3,862 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were married couples
living together, 21.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 77.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,695, and the median income for a family was $33,093. Males had a median income of $31,168 versus $20,420 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $18,193. About 18.4% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.3% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.
Industry in the city is driven primarily by manufacturing which makes up 36.5%. The second largest industry is educational, health, and social service comprising 21.0%. The third largest industry is retail trade at 11.6% of the total industry in Thomaston. The remaining portions of industry include agriculture, construction,wholesale trade, transportation, information, finance, management, administration, arts & entertainment, food service, recreation, accommodation, and public administration.
Upson County, Georgia
Upson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is a part of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area . It was created on December 15, 1824. As of 2000, the population was 27,597. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 27,562...
, 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 9,638 at the 2006 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Thomaston, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs
Sandy Springs, Georgia
Sandy Springs is a city in north Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. With a 2010 population of 93,853, Sandy Springs is the sixth-largest city in the state and the second-largest city in Metro Atlanta. Sandy Springs is located in north Fulton County, Georgia, just south of...
-Gainesville, Georgia
Gainesville, Georgia
-Severe Weather:Gainesville sits on the very fringe of Tornado Alley, a region of the United States where severe weather is common. Supercell thunderstorms can sweep through any time between March and November, but are concentrated most in the spring...
-Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
(part) Combined Statistical Area
Combined Statistical Area
The United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
. 76% of Thomastonians completed the 2010 census.
History
The town was laid out with parallel streets running north and south, east and west, with the courthouse square in the center of town.
The judges of the inferior court had the authority to sell lots to individuals on a one-third cash basis with two years to complete the payment. This money was used to build the first courthouse, which was completed in 1828. The second courthouse was completed in 1852, and the present courthouse was erected in 1908. In the southeast corner of the square is a cannonball mounted on a marble base, said to be the first fired at Fort Sumter, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. P. W. Alexander, a noted correspondent during the Civil War (1861–65) and a citizen of Upson County, retrieved it.
A few miles south of the square is one of the oldest houses in Thomaston, the Pettigrew-White-Stamps House. Built by John E. Pettigrew in 1833, it currently serves as the Upson Historical Society Museum. The African American Museum is housed in a late 1920s three-room shotgun-style house.
The Civil War erupted on Thomaston's soil on April 18, 1865, nine days after Confederate general Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Virginia, when Union cavalry raiders moving from Columbus to Macon embarked on three days of devastation in Upson County. The raiders, led by Major General James Harrison Wilson, looted homes, destroyed three of Upson's cotton mills, and set fire to a steam locomotive. In 1866 Thomaston's African Americans held an emancipation celebration, which has continued every year since; celebrated in May, it is the country's longest-running commemoration of freedom from slavery.
During the twentieth century Thomaston's economy was primarily based on the manufacture of textiles and tire cord. Granted a charter in 1899, Thomaston Mills shipped textiles worldwide and served as a major source of economic stability and urban growth, along with B. F. Goodrich's tire cord mill, Martha Mills. East Thomaston (established by Thomaston Mills) and Silvertown (for workers at Martha Mills, later WesTek) were typical of southern mill towns of the time.
Thomaston-Upson County School District
The Thomaston-Upson County School DistrictThomaston-Upson County School District
The Thomaston-Upson County School District is a public school district in Upson County, Georgia based in Thomaston, Georgia, USA. It serves the communities of Hannahs Mill, Lincoln Park, Salem, Sunset Village, The Rock, Thomaston, and Yatesville, Georgia....
holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 279 full-time teachers and over 5,009 students.
- Upson-Lee North Elementary School
- Upson-Lee South Elementary School
- Upson-Lee Middle School
- Upson-Lee High SchoolUpson-Lee High SchoolUpson-Lee High School is a secondary school in Thomaston, Georgia. It is the only high school in Upson County.-Facilities:The Thomaston-Upson Board of Education has approved a site for the Performing Arts Center . It will be located on the south side of the school and just east of the parking lots....
National recognition
In 1986 Thomaston was chosen to be one of the Top 100 Small Towns in America Towns and again in 1995, because Thomaston offers slow-paced southern charm and hospitality.Thomaston was once again chosen among 120 towns across the nation to be listed in Norman Crampton's new book, "Making Your Move to One of America's Best Small Towns." According to an article in The Thomaston Times
The Thomaston Times
The Thomaston Times is a newspaper published in Thomaston, Georgia and printed in LaGrange Georgia. After a change of ownership in June 2007, *...
, dated November 4, 2002, the new book described Thomaston as "a perfect place for people looking to leave the fast-paced city life for a more relaxing environment". A press release says the book is for those "looking to raise a family in a storybook American town."
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 9,411 people, 3,862 households, and 2,386 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 1,039.4 people per square mile (401.5/km²). There were 4,152 housing units at an average density of 458.6 per square mile (177.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.75% White, 35.30% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.53% 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 0.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.77% of the population.
There were 3,862 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% 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, 21.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 77.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,695, and the median income for a family was $33,093. Males had a median income of $31,168 versus $20,420 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 $18,193. About 18.4% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.3% of those under age 18 and 13.9% of those age 65 or over.
Industry in the city is driven primarily by manufacturing which makes up 36.5%. The second largest industry is educational, health, and social service comprising 21.0%. The third largest industry is retail trade at 11.6% of the total industry in Thomaston. The remaining portions of industry include agriculture, construction,wholesale trade, transportation, information, finance, management, administration, arts & entertainment, food service, recreation, accommodation, and public administration.
Notable residents
- John Brown GordonJohn Brown GordonJohn Brown Gordon was one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted Confederate generals during the American Civil War. After the war, he was a strong opponent of Reconstruction and is thought by some to have been the titular leader of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia during the late 1860s. A member of the...
– One of Robert E. LeeRobert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's most trusted Confederate generals during the American Civil War, and was the governor of Georgia from 1886 to 1890. - Bill HartmanBill HartmanWilliam Coleman "Bill" Hartman, Jr. was an American football running back in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins before World War II. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1937 with a B.S., where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity...
– An American football running back for both the Georgia Bulldogs and Washington Redskins before World War II. - Cedric SmithCedric Smith (painter)Cedric Smith is an African American artistic painter. He was born in Philadelphia in 1970. He grew up in Thomaston, Georgia, where he moved with his family when he was a young boy. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia Business His first gallery show was at the Barbara Archer Gallery in...
– African American painter - Pascal "Pappy" English - Survivor Cast Member
- Evelyn Hanna - Author of the novel Blackberry Winter (1938)
- Susan Cody Pruskin - Author of many romance novels under the pen names Suzanne Ashley and Delia Carnell.
- Coy Bowles - a member of the Zac Brown Band
- Wayne CochranWayne CochranWayne Cochran is an American soul singer, known for his outlandish outfits and white pompadour. He is sometimes referred to as The White Knight of Soul....
- Musician, Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders - John HollimanJohn HollimanJohn Holliman was an American broadcast journalist. He was a member of the original reporting corps for CNN, serving as its agriculture correspondent after serving in the same capacity for Associated Press Radio in Washington, DC...
- broadcast journalist best known as one of the CNN "Boys of Baghdad" during the first Persian Gulf War - Remington Dodgen - Former pitcher in the Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Royals organization
- Marion Montgomery (poet)Marion Montgomery (poet)Marion Montgomery was an American poet, novelist, educator, and critic. He died Nov. 22, 2011, in Crawford, Georgia. For more than 30 years he was a professor of English at the University of Georgia....
- American poet, novelist, educator and critic ; close friend and critic of Flannery O'ConnorFlannery O'ConnorMary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries... - Chas Short - 4 year letterman at Furman University, standout punter, WolfGang member