Washington, Georgia

Washington, Georgia
City
City of Washington
The Robert Toombs House State Historic Site
Location in Wilkes County and the state of Georgia
Washington Location of Washington in the US
Coordinates: 33°44′12.5″N 82°44′21.5″W / 33.736806°N 82.739306°W / 33.736806; -82.739306Coordinates: 33°44′12.5″N 82°44′21.5″W / 33.736806°N 82.739306°W / 33.736806; -82.739306
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Wilkes
Settled	1774
Incorporated	1804
Founded by	Stephen Heard
Named for	George Washington
Government
• Mayor	Ames Barnett
• Council	Washington City Council
Area
• Total	7.8 sq mi (20.3 km2)
• Land	7.8 sq mi (20.3 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	607 ft (185 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	4,134
• Estimate (2016)[1]	3,978
• Density	548/sq mi (211.6/km2)
Demonym(s)	Washingtonian
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	30673
Area code(s)	706/762
FIPS code	13-80704[2]
GNIS feature ID	0356620[3]
Website	cityofwashingtonga.gov

Washington is the county seat of Wilkes County^[4], Georgia, United States. Under its original name Heard's Fort, it was briefly the state capital, and is noted as the place where the Confederacy voted to dissolve itself, effectively ending the American Civil War. The population was 4,295 at the 2000 census. The city is often referred to as Washington-Wilkes, to distinguish it from other places named Washington.

Origins

Heard's Fort was established in 1774 by Stephen Heard. The settlement served as the temporary capital of Georgia from February 3, 1780, until early 1781.^[5]

American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Kettle Creek, one of the most important battles of the American Revolutionary War to be fought in Georgia, was fought on February 14, 1779, in Wilkes County, about eight miles (13 km) from present day Washington. The battle resulted in a victory for the American Patriots who took 75 prisoners, and killed roughly 70 Loyalists, while losing 32 men.

American Civil War

Although no major battles of the Civil War were fought in or near Washington, the city has the distinction of being the location where Jefferson Davis held the last meeting with the Confederate cabinet. On April 3, 1865, with Union troops under Ulysses S. Grant poised to capture Richmond, Jefferson Davis escaped for Danville, Virginia, together with the Confederate cabinet. After leaving Danville, and continuing south, Davis met with his Confederate Cabinet for the last time on May 5, 1865 in Washington, along with a hand-picked escort led by Given Campbell, including his personal Body Guard Sgt. Joseph A Higgenbotham, Jr., of Amherst/Nelson County, Virginia. The meeting took place at the Heard house^[6] (the Georgia Branch Bank Building), with fourteen officials present.

Historic sites

Several historic sites in Washington are on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Wilkes County Courthouse, the Robert Toombs House State Historic Site, the Washington-Wilkes Historical Museum,^[7] the Mary Willis Public Library,^[8] and the recently restored historic Fitzpatrick Hotel, built in 1898.^[9]

Washington's list of "firsts"

The city of Washington claims to be first in many historical events:

• First Catholic parish in Georgia 1790
• First city in the nation to be established in the name of George Washington, 1780
• First Baptist church in upper Georgia at Fishing Creek, 1783^[10]
• First Methodist church in Georgia was organized at Grant's Meeting House^[11] in Wilkes County, 1787^[12]
• First Presbyterian minister ordained in Georgia was John Springer in Wilkes County, 1790^[13]
• First Episcopal conference not under the Church of England, 1788
• First successful cotton gin perfected and set up by Eli Whitney in Wilkes county, 1795.
• First woman newspaper editor in U.S. was Sarah Porter Hillhouse^[14] who became the editor of the Monitor in 1804 (inducted into Georgia Women of Achievement in 2006).
• First cotton mill in Georgia erected on Upton Creek in Wilkes County, 1811
• First stamp mill for gold in the world was invented and put into use near Washington by Jeremiah Griffin, 1831–32.
• One of the first plastic garments ever cut in the world was in Wilkes County by Margo and Alfred Moses in February 1946.
• First seat of government of the State of Georgia, 1780.
• In 1777, Wilkes County became the first county in Georgia. Washington is the county seat of Wilkes County.
• First (and only) Revolutionary War battle won by the patriots in Georgia: the Battle of Kettle Creek, Feb. 14, 1779.

Geography

Washington is located at 33°44′7″N 82°44′29″W / 33.73528°N 82.74139°W / 33.73528; -82.74139 (33.735394, −82.741420).^[15]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.9 square miles (20 km²), of which 7.8 square miles (20 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) (0.25%) is water.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 4,134 people residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 60.4% Black, 35.3% White, 0.1% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% from some other race and 1.7% from two or more races. 1.5% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 4,295 people, 1,778 households, and 1,162 families residing in the city. The population density was 547.5 people per square mile (211.5/km²). There were 1,974 housing units at an average density of 251.6 per square mile (97.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 38.04% White, 60.75% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.05% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.47% of the population.

There were 1,778 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% were married couples living together, 24.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city, the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,667, and the median income for a family was $32,500. Males had a median income of $27,281 versus $21,230 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,659. About 17.6% of families and 23.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.7% of those under age 18 and 23.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Wilkes County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one primary school, one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school.^[17] The district has 116 full-time teachers and over 1,858 students.^[18]

• Washington-Wilkes Elementary School
• Washington-Wilkes Primary School
• Washington-Wilkes Middle School
• Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School

Dr. Rosemary Caddell is the Superintendent of Schools.^[19]

Culture

Washington is home to Robert Toombs House State Historic Site.^[20]

In popular culture

One of Washington's most lingering mysteries is that of the lost Confederate gold.^[21] As the last recorded location of the remaining Confederate gold, the Washington area is thought to be the site where it is buried. Worth roughly $100,000 when it disappeared in 1865, at 2016 prices its value would be around $3.6 million. The cable television channel A&E produced a documentary focusing on this legend.

Notable people

• Edward Porter Alexander – officer in the U.S. Army, Confederate general in the American Civil War, railroad executive
• James Osgood Andrew – bishop
• Edward McKendree Bounds – clergyman and author
• Lloyd D. Brown – United States Army Major General who commanded the 28th Infantry Division in World War II^[22]
• Ernie Harwell – broadcaster for Major League Baseball, "The Voice of the Tigers"
• Hillary Lindsey – Grammy Award–winning songwriter
• Tom Nash - professional football and baseball player
• Robert Toombs – first Secretary of State of the Confederacy, Confederate general in the Civil War

See also

• Central Savannah River Area
• Jackson Chapel
• List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state)
• List of memorials to George Washington
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilkes County, Georgia

References

Further reading

• Davis, William C., ed. (1990). Diary of a Confederate Soldier: John S. Jackman of the Orphan Brigade. American Military History. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. pp. 2, 5, 6, 164, 166–68. ISBN 0-87249-695-3. LCCN 90012431. OCLC 906557161.

External links

Government

• Official website

General information

• Geographic data related to Washington, Georgia at OpenStreetMap
• Mary Willis Public Library at Bartram Trail Regional Library System
• Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce