
Bainbridge is a city in
Decatur County Decatur County is the name of various past and present counties in the United States, all named for Stephen Decatur
Commodore (United States), Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was a United States Navy of ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, United States. The city is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Decatur County.
As of the
2020 census, the city had a population of 14,468, up from 12,697 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the
Bainbridge, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area and a principal city in the
Tallahassee—Bainbridge, FL-GA Combined Statistical Area.
History
The first European settlement in what is today Bainbridge was a
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
set up by James Burges in the late 18th century. From him comes the name Burges's Bluff. The town was named after U.S. Navy Commodore
William Bainbridge, commander of the
USS ''Constitution'' ("Old Ironsides"), and was incorporated on December 22, 1829.
In 1824, Bainbridge was designated seat of the newly formed Decatur County.
On October 10, 2018, Bainbridge fell victim to
Hurricane Michael. The storm left widespread damage through the city limits, including downed trees, power lines, and structural damage. Many residents affected suffered severe damage to their homes.
Geography
Bainbridge is located in the center of Decatur County. The city is in southwestern Georgia along U.S. Routes
27 and
84, which form a bypass around the southern part of the city. U.S. Route 27 leads southeast to
Tallahassee, Florida, and north to
Columbus. U.S. Route 84 leads east to
Thomasville and northwest to
Dothan, Alabama. Other highways which run through the city include Georgia State Routes
97,
253,
309, and
311.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 6.40%, is water.
Bainbridge is located on the
Flint River, which flows southwest to meet the
Chattahoochee. Together they form the
Apalachicola River
The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately long, in the state of Florida. The river's large drainage basin, watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) River Basin, drains an area of approximately ...
which flows to the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
. At the junction of the two rivers, the
Jim Woodruff Dam forms
Lake Seminole. A system of
locks at the dam allows barge traffic to travel between the inland port at Bainbridge and the Gulf of Mexico.
Demographics
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 14,468 people, 4,471 households, and 3,111 families residing in the city.
Economy
It was announced in December 2019 that Brazil-based gun manufacturer
Taurus had been granted a $39 million tax-incentive package to move from the Miami, Florida area to Bainbridge in return for creating 300 jobs. The package includes $20 million for construction, $7.9 million in tax credits, $4.5 million for infrastructure, $4.3 million in property-tax abatements, and $3 million for equipment, in addition to a land lease arrangement of $1/year for of land. The subsidy totals $130,000 per job.
Arts and culture
Arts
* The Firehouse Gallery Art Gallery
* Bainbridge Little Theatre
Annual cultural events
River Town Days is held each year the second weekend of March.
The Swine Time Festival and Decatur County Fall Festival and Fair are annual events.
National Register of Historic Places
The
Decatur County Courthouse was constructed in 1902, and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
Also listed on the Register is the
First African Missionary Baptist Church.
[ with ]
Public library
The Decatur County Gilbert H. Gragg Library is located in Bainbridge. The library serves the population of Decatur County and acts as the headquarters for the
Southwest Georgia Regional Library.
Education
Decatur County School District
The
Decatur County School District holds pre-school to grade 12, and consists of two primary schools, one elementary school, one middle school, and a high school. The district has 384 full-time teachers and over 5,782 students.
Schools include:
*Jones-Wheat Primary School (grades PreK-2)
*West Bainbridge Primary School (grades PreK-2)
*Hutto Elementary School (grades 3–5)
*Bainbridge Middle School (grades 6–8)
*
Bainbridge High School (grades 9–12)
Other schools
*Grace Christian Academy (PreK-12)
*Spring Creek Charter Academy (PreK-10)
Parks and recreation
The Bainbridge-Decatur County
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
opened on September 15, 1986. Its building had a cost of $1,000,000.
[ - Author was the interim CEO of the YMCA.]
Infrastructure
Transportation
The city is a seaport linked to the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
via Florida's
Apalachicola River
The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately long, in the state of Florida. The river's large drainage basin, watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) River Basin, drains an area of approximately ...
. Officially known as
Port Bainbridge, these facilities are managed entirely by the
Georgia Ports Authority.
The
Decatur County Industrial Air Park, located northwest of the city, provides general aviation service to the community.
Notable people
*
James Butler, NFL player
*
Alfred Corn, poet and essayist; born Bainbridge, raised in Valdosta
*
Marvin Griffin, former Georgia governor
*
Miriam Hopkins, Academy Award-nominated film actress
*
Paul Kwilecki, documentary photographer
*
Jason Lancaster, Singer and guitarist of Mayday Parade, singer of Go Radio, and solo career
*
Dameon Pierce, NFL player - Houston Texans
*
Brian Powell, former MLB pitcher - Drafted by
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
*
David Ross,
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
, two-time World Series champion, ''
Dancing with the Stars'' contestant
*
Kirby Smart, head football coach for the
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
*
Travis Smith, former drummer of Trivium
*
Young Stribling, professional heavyweight boxer
References
Further reading
*
External links
City of Bainbridge official website"Bainbridge" entryin ''New Georgia Encyclopedia''
South Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive- Digital Library of Georgia
{{authority control
Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)
Cities in Decatur County, Georgia
County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)
Bainbridge, Georgia