Smithville, Georgia
City in Georgia, United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Smithville is a city in Lee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 593 in 2020. It is part of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan statistical area.
Smithville, Georgia | |
|---|---|
Smithville Governmental Building and Library | |
 Location in Lee County and the state of Georgia | |
| Coordinates: 31°54′7″N 84°15′19″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Lee |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.54 sq mi (6.59 km2) |
| • Land | 2.54 sq mi (6.59 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 330 ft (100 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 593 |
| • Density | 233.0/sq mi (89.98/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 31787 |
| Area code | 229 |
| FIPS code | 13-71464[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0356540[3] |
| Website | cityofsmithvillegeorgia |
History
A post office was established at Smithville in 1871.[4] The community was named after the local Smith family.[5] The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Smithville as a town in 1863.[6]
The Morgan Farm is located near Smithville, and is a late-19th century historic, rural African American farmstead recognized as a Centennial Farm (1995) by the state of Georgia, and listed as on the National Register of Historic Places (1998).[7]
Geography
Smithville is located in northwestern Lee County at 31°54′7″N 84°15′19″W (31.902073, -84.255336).[8] It is bordered to the north by the Sumter County line.
U.S. Route 19 runs through the west side of the city, leading south 12 miles (19 km) to Leesburg, the Lee county seat, and north 13 miles (21 km) to Americus. Georgia State Route 118 passes through the center of Smithville, leading east 12 miles (19 km) to Leslie and southwest 14 miles (23 km) to Dawson.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2), all of it recorded as land.[9] Muckaloochee Creek forms the northeast border of the city. The creek is a south-flowing tributary of Muckalee Creek and part of the Flint River watershed.
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 320 | — | |
| 1900 | 597 | — | |
| 1910 | 574 | −3.9% | |
| 1920 | 761 | 32.6% | |
| 1930 | 777 | 2.1% | |
| 1940 | 619 | −20.3% | |
| 1950 | 676 | 9.2% | |
| 1960 | 732 | 8.3% | |
| 1970 | 713 | −2.6% | |
| 1980 | 867 | 21.6% | |
| 1990 | 804 | −7.3% | |
| 2000 | 774 | −3.7% | |
| 2010 | 575 | −25.7% | |
| 2020 | 593 | 3.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1850-1870[11] 1870-1880[12] 1890-1910[13] 1920-1930[14] 1940[15] 1950[16] 1960[17] 1970[18] 1980[19] 1990[20] 2000[21] 2010[22] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 163 | 27.49% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 403 | 67.96% |
| Native American | 2 | 0.34% |
| Asian | 5 | 0.84% |
| Other/Mixed | 8 | 1.35% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 12 | 2.02% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 593 people, 239 households, and 143 families residing in the city.
Education
Public schools are operated by the Lee County School District. Students are zoned to Lee County High School.
Notable people
- John Batts (1814–1878), planter and politician
- Bessie Jones (1902–1984), gospel and folk singer
- Bill McAfee (1907–1958), baseball player and mayor
- Tampa Red (1904–1981), also known as Hudson Woodbridge, Chicago blues and hokum musician in Blues Hall of Fame
- William J. Sears (1874–1944), congressman, from Florida
- Ja'Lia Taylor (born 1989) first woman to run for mayor of Smithville, academia, social justice activist[24]
Gallery
Dismuke Public Safety Building, houses the Smithville Police Department
Smithville Post Office
