Thomson, Georgia
Encyclopedia
Thomson, incorporated February 15, 1854, is a city in McDuffie County
, Georgia
, United States
. The population was 6,828 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat
of McDuffie County
. Thomson's nickname is "The Camellia City of the South", in honor of the thousands of camellia
plants throughout the city. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.
This city was once entirely owned by plantation owner John Langston. The city was named for John Edgar Thomson
of the Georgia Railroad.
The Old Rock House, built in 1785, is said to be one of Georgia's oldest documented houses with design intact. Built by Thomas Ansley, the home is said to be the home of ancestors of former president Jimmy Carter
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 1.95 square miles (5.1 km²)
Thomson is considered part of the Central Savannah River Area
geographical designation.
of 2000, there were 6,828 people, 2,609 households, and 1,792 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,726.9 people per square mile (667.4/km²). There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 732.2 per square mile (283.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 42.38% White, 56.28% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races
, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population.
There were 2,609 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.7% were married couples
living together, 28.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 81.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,179, and the median income for a family was $30,015. Males had a median income of $25,882 versus $20,607 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $14,976. 27.6% of the population and 23.8% of families were below the poverty line. 1.7% of those under the age of 18 and 100% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Hickory Hill - Home of US senator Tom Watson (Sept. 5, 1856 - Sept. 26, 1922), noted author, statesman, and lawyer; known as the father of Rural Free Delivery.
holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of four elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. The district has 262 full-time teachers and over 4,312 students.
McDuffie County, Georgia
McDuffie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on October 18, 1870. As of 2000, the population was 21,231. The 2007 Census Estimate showed a population of 21,551. The county seat is Thomson....
, 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 6,828 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....
of McDuffie County
McDuffie County, Georgia
McDuffie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on October 18, 1870. As of 2000, the population was 21,231. The 2007 Census Estimate showed a population of 21,551. The county seat is Thomson....
. Thomson's nickname is "The Camellia City of the South", in honor of the thousands of camellia
Camellia
Camellia, the camellias, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalaya east to Korea and Indonesia. There are 100–250 described species, with some controversy over the exact number...
plants throughout the city. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.
This city was once entirely owned by plantation owner John Langston. The city was named for John Edgar Thomson
John Edgar Thomson
John Edgar Thomson was an American civil engineer and industrialist. Thomson was an entrepreneur best known for his leadership of the Pennsylvania Railroad from 1852 until his death 1874, making it the largest business enterprise in the world and a world-class model for technological and...
of the Georgia Railroad.
The Old Rock House, built in 1785, is said to be one of Georgia's oldest documented houses with design intact. Built by Thomas Ansley, the home is said to be the home of ancestors of former president Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
.
Geography
Thomson is located at 33°28′2"N 82°29′58"W (33.467346, -82.499450).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 1.95 square miles (5.1 km²)
Thomson is considered part of the Central Savannah River Area
Central Savannah River Area
The Central Savannah River Area is a 13-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is also considered to include five to eight counties in South Carolina. The term was coined in 1950 by C.C. McCollum, the winner of a $250 contest held by The Augusta Chronicle to generate the best name for the...
geographical designation.
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 6,828 people, 2,609 households, and 1,792 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 1,726.9 people per square mile (667.4/km²). There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 732.2 per square mile (283.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 42.38% White, 56.28% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.23% 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 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population.
There were 2,609 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.7% 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, 28.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 81.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,179, and the median income for a family was $30,015. Males had a median income of $25,882 versus $20,607 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 $14,976. 27.6% of the population and 23.8% of families were below the poverty line. 1.7% of those under the age of 18 and 100% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Landmarks
Rock House (1785) - Oldest stone residence in Georgia.Hickory Hill - Home of US senator Tom Watson (Sept. 5, 1856 - Sept. 26, 1922), noted author, statesman, and lawyer; known as the father of Rural Free Delivery.
McDuffie County School District
The McDuffie County School DistrictMcDuffie County School District
The McDuffie County School District is a public school district in McDuffie County, Georgia, USA, based in Thomson, Georgia. It serves the communities of Dearing and Thomson, Georgia.- Schools :...
holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of four elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. The district has 262 full-time teachers and over 4,312 students.
- Dearing Elementary School
- Maxwell Elementary School
- Norris Elementary School
- Thomson Elementary School
- Thomson-McDuffie Junior High School
- Thomson Middle School
- Thomson High SchoolThomson High SchoolThomson High School , is a public high school located in Thomson, Georgia, USA. It is the only high school in the McDuffie County School District.-Alma mater:The glorious dawn, the sunset's glow,Reflects Earth's beauty here below....
Famous residents
- Zebedee ArmstrongZebedee ArmstrongZebedee B. Armstrong , aka Z.B. Armstrong, was an outsider artist best known for his doomsday calendars.Armstrong was born in Thomson, Georgia. He went to school until eighth grade. He married in 1929 and had two daughters. For much of his life, he worked picking cotton on the local Mack McCormick...
- Outsider artist. - Bill Bales - Internet entrepreneur and founding member of NapsterNapsterNapster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
- Jasper BrinkleyJasper BrinkleyJasper Jerrell Brinkley is a linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings. Brinkley played his college football career for the University of South Carolina. Brinkley was selected by the Vikings in the 5th round of 2009 NFL Draft .Brinkley started at middle-linebacker due to the injury of E. J. Henderson...
- LinebackerLinebackerA linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
for the NFL's Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
. - Chris Crenshaw - JazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trombone player and vocalist. - Vonteego CummingsVonteego CummingsVonteego Marfeek Cummings is an American professional basketball player. He is a 1.91 m combo guard who has played in the National Basketball Association during his career. He has also had a successful career in Europe where he has played in several different countries...
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
guard formerly in NBA, now playing professionally in GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. - Alberta DavisAlberta DavisAlberta Davis was the oldest American claimant.Davis died at the claimed age of 125 years 34 days. Not including immigrants, Alberta had been the oldest ostensible American from 2001 until her death in 2007, an extraordinarily long time, and the first person to claim to be 125 years old made by a...
- claimant to "oldest living American" title since 2001; claimed to have lived to be "...around 125"; however, this claim could never be confirmed. - Ray GuyRay GuyWilliam Ray Guy is a retired American football punter for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. Coming from the University of Southern Mississippi, he was the only pure punter ever to be drafted in the first round of the NFL draft when the Oakland Raiders selected him in 1973.Guy was a key member of...
- NFL punter for the Oakland RaidersOakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and namesake of the Ray Guy AwardRay Guy AwardThe Ray Guy Award is presented annually to college football's top punter by the Greater Augusta Sports Council. The award is named after punter Ray Guy, a former All-American at Southern Mississippi and an all-pro player for the Oakland Raiders.-Criteria:...
, presented each year to college football's top punter. - Richard E. HawesRichard E. HawesRichard Ellington Hawes was an officer in the United States Navy who served in World War I and World War II.-Early life, through World War I:...
- Navy admiral, WWII hero, and namesake of guided missile frigate USS Hawes. - Eddie Lee IveryEddie Lee IveryEddie Lee Ivery is a former professional American football player.-Early years through college:Ivery was born in McDuffie County, Georgia. He played high school football at Thomson High School in Thomson, Georgia...
- Running backRunning backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
for the Georgia TechGeorgia Institute of TechnologyThe Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
Yellow JacketsGeorgia Tech Yellow JacketsThe Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...
and the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
. - Millie JacksonMillie JacksonMildred "Millie" Jackson is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter and comedienne. Three of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies....
- R & B singer - Franklin LanghamFranklin LanghamFranklin Langham is an American professional golfer.Langham was born in Thomson, Georgia. He played golf at the University of Georgia from 1989 to 1991 and was named an All-American in 1991...
- PGA TourPGA TourThe PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
golfer (1992–present) - Jerry Mays - Running backRunning backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
for the Georgia TechGeorgia Institute of TechnologyThe Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
Yellow JacketsGeorgia Tech Yellow JacketsThe Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...
and 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...
. - Blind Willie McTellBlind Willie McTellBlind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
- Noted singer and blues musician, wrote "Statesboro Blues". Thomson sponsors an annual blues festival in his honor. - Chris MohrChris MohrChristopher Garrett Mohr is a former American football punter. Mohr grew up in Thomson, Georgia, where he played football at Briarwood Academy. He was recruited by the University of Alabama, where he was the team's starting punter for three years...
- NFL punter for the Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Atlanta FalconsAtlanta FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(1989–2004); published songwriter. - Ken Roberson - BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
choreographer noted for his work in the 2004 Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
winning "Avenue QAvenue QAvenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
" and "All Shook UpAll Shook Up"All Shook Up" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music and composed by Otis Blackwell. Elvis Presley's single topped the U.S. Pop chart on April 13, 1957, staying there for eight weeks. It also topped the R&B chart for four weeks, becoming Presley's second single to...
". Movie credits as choreographer include: HBO's "Lackawanna BluesLackawanna BluesLackawanna Blues is an American play written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson in 2001. It was later adapted as a television movie that aired in 2005. The play dramatizes the character of the author's primary caregiver when he was growing up in Lackawanna, New York, during the 1950s and 1960s.-Play:The...
" and Independent film "Preaching to the Choir." - Emerson SpartzEmerson SpartzEmerson Spartz is the founder of the #1 Harry Potter fansite, Mugglenet.com, and currently serves as CEO of Chicago-based Spartz Media...
- Founder and CEO of MuggleNetMuggleNetMuggleNet is a Harry Potter fansite founded by Emerson Spartz. The site is composed of news, editorials and synopses of the Harry Potter books and films, an encyclopedia of the books, an IRC network, in which the fans of Harry Potter can discuss predictions and share thoughts, a discussion forum,...
website devoted to Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
. - Danny Verdun-WheelerDanny Verdun-WheelerDanny Verdun-Wheeler is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He lasted played for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2007...
- NFL linebacker 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,...
. - Tom WatsonThomas E. WatsonThomas Edward "Tom" Watson was an American politician, newspaper editor, and writer from Georgia. In the 1890s Watson championed poor farmers as a leader of the Populist Party, articulating an agrarian political viewpoint while attacking business, bankers, railroads, Democratic President Grover...
- U.S. Senator and renowned orator of the late 19th century. Noted for establishing Rural Free Delivery, which set up rural mail service for the nation.