Fleming, Georgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fleming, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Mount Olivet United Methodist Church in Fleming | |
  Fleming  Fleming | |
| Coordinates: 31°52′51″N 81°25′35″W / 31.88083°N 81.42639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Liberty |
| Elevation | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 31309 |
| Area code | 912 |
| GNIS feature ID | 326291[1] |
Fleming is an unincorporated community in Liberty County, Georgia, United States. The community is 10.2 miles (16.4 km) east-northeast of Hinesville. A post office at Fleming was established in 1869[2]: 53 and remained in operation until March 9, 2013; it still has its ZIP code, 31309.[3][4] As of the United States Census 2010, the population of the 31309 ZIP Code Tabulation Area was 1,210.[5]
Fleming was established after the Civil War as a railroad depot. It was convenient for officials of the nearby freedmen's bureau, which was a few miles away. The community is named after William Fleming, a resident who owned a plantation adjacent to the original townsite.[2]: 52
By 1886, it was a center for farming and naval stores. Along with a railroad depot and a post office, it also had a general store and a wheelwright.[2]
Mount Olivet Methodist Church was established in Fleming in 1843 by John Stacy and Hannah McCall Adams.[2] Another church, the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, was established in 1913. Within 5 years, the name of the church was changed to the Fleming Baptist Church.[2]: 74
Fleming's population was 130 residents in 1887.[6] The population had grown to 212 by 1925.[7] In 1953, Fleming had a population of 400, with only one telephone.[8]
There was a soil and water field station, the Tidewater Experiment Station,[9] (or the Southern Tidewater Experiment Station)[10] in Fleming in the 1950s and 1960s.[11]
A passenger train and a freight train collided in Fleming on January 17, 1953.[12] Two people died and 85 others were injured. The Interstate Commerce Commission stated that the crash's cause was "excessive speed".[13]
In 2002, local postal worker Sallie Gaglia was murdered in the Fleming Post Office during a robbery of $1,175 in money orders. Local man Meier Jason Brown was arrested and later sentenced to death for the crime. He is currently imprisoned at United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute.[14][15][16]
The Fleming Post Office was robbed in 2010.[17] Services were suspended shortly afterwards due to constant vandalism, low traffic, less than two hours of work being needed per day, and average daily sales being below $50.[18] Postal services were relocated to nearby Richmond Hill, in Bryan County.[18] The Post Office officially ended operations on March 9, 2013; the community it still has its ZIP code, 31309.[4]
