Cordele is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Crisp County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, United States. The population was 11,147 at the 2010 census. Cordele calls itself the

Watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...

Capital of the World.

History

Cordele was incorporated on January 1, 1888, and named for Cordelia Hawkins, eldest daughter of Colonel Samuel Hawkins, the president of the

Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway The Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway (SA&M) was a historic railroad located in the U.S. states of Georgia and Alabama. SA&M was built in the 1880s running between Montgomery, Alabama and Lyons, Georgia. It would be completed to Savannah, ...

. In November 1864, the area that is now Cordele served as the temporary capital of Georgia. During the last days of the Confederacy, Georgia's war governor

Joseph E. Brown Joseph Emerson Brown (April 15, 1821 – November 30, 1894), often referred to as Joe Brown, was an American attorney and politician, serving as the 42nd Governor of Georgia from 1857 to 1865, the only governor to serve four terms. He also se ...

used his rural farmhouse to escape the wrath of

Sherman's March to the Sea Sherman's March to the Sea (also known as the Savannah campaign or simply Sherman's March) was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864, by William Tecumseh Sherman, major ...

. During that time, the farmhouse, which Brown called "Dooly County Place," served as the official capital for only a few days. It was replaced in 1890 by the Suwanee Hotel, located in what became downtown Cordele. The hotel was destroyed by a fire in late 1994 and was rebuilt. Cordele was founded in 1888 by J.E.D. Shipp of Americus. The town was located at the junction of two major railroads – the Savannah, Americus & Montgomery line, and the

Georgia Southern & Florida The Georgia Southern and Florida Railway , also known as the ''Suwanee River Route'' from its crossing of the Suwanee River, was founded in 1885 as the Georgia Southern and Florida ''Railroad'' and began operations between Macon, GA and Valdosta, ...

. As the railroads brought more people and business to the newly settled territory, Cordele experienced phenomenal growth. Before 1905 Cordele was located in southern Dooly County, from the county seat in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. With Cordele's continued progress, many in the community felt the need for a seat of government to be closer than Vienna. Crisp County was formed in 1905 by taking a portion of southern Dooly County, and Cordele became its county seat. By August 1930, Cordele housed the Crisp County Hydroelectric System, the first county-owned electric system. Located on the

Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from the u ...

, the

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

plant continues to operate, and the resulting Lake Blackshear has attracted residents to its waterfront properties. On April 2, 1936, a tornado struck Cordele, killing 23 people.

Geography

Cordele is located north of the center of Crisp County at (31.964178, -83.777277).

U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...

passes through the city as Seventh Street and leads north to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and south to

Ashburn __NOTOC__ Ashburn may refer to: Places Canada *Ashburn, Ontario United States *Ashburn, Georgia *Ashburn, Chicago, Illinois, a community area **Ashburn (Metra), a Metra station serving the area * Ashburn, Missouri * Ashburn, Virginia, an unincorpo ...

. U.S. Route 280 (16th Avenue) crosses US 41 in the center of the city and leads east to

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

and west to Americus.

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

passes through the east side of the city, with access from exits 99, 101, and 102, and leads north to Macon and south to the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

state line. State Route 300 leads from the south side of the city southwest to Albany. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, Cordele has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.82%, is water.

Climate

Cordele has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa''), with mild winters and hot, humid summers.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 10,220 people, 3,874 households, and 2,453 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 11,608 people, 4,303 households, and 2,839 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,782 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 31.90%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 65.03%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.06% Native American, 0.84%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 1.19% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.91% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.95% of the population. There were 4,303 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 30.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.22. In the city, the population was spread out, with 31.6% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $17,615, and the median income for a family was $21,677. Males had a median income of $23,253 versus $17,282 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $12,746. About 38.1% of families and 41.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 59.2% of those under age 18 and 26.7% of those age 65 or over.

Cordele City Commissioners

Five citizens of Cordele are elected to serve as the City Commissioners. The current Cordele City Commissioners are: Jeanie Bartee, Wesley Rainey, Royce Reeves, Vesta Beal Shephard, and Chairman John Wiggins

Representation in the Georgia State Legislature

In the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia ...

, the City of Cordele is represented by Sen. Carden Summers. In the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

, the City of Cordele is represented by Rep. Noel Williams Jr.

Representation in the United States House of Representatives

In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, the City of Cordele is represented by Rep.

Sanford Bishop Sanford Dixon Bishop Jr. (born February 4, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for , serving since 1993. He became the dean of Georgia's congressional delegation after the death of John Lewis. A member o ...

Georgia Veterans State Park

To the west of Cordele town centre and located on Route 280 is the large Georgia Veterans State Park, which lies on the eastern edge of Lake Blackshear. This facility provides many outdoor activities for ex members of the US armed services. There are also interesting displays of preserved military aircraft and helicopters and army tanks and other fighting vehicles. These displays are open to public viewing during daylight hours

Arts and culture

Cordele was featured in the eighteenth episode of the Small Town News Podcast, an improv comedy podcast that takes listeners on a fun and silly virtual trip to a small town in America each week, in which the hosts improvise scenes inspired by local newspaper stories.

Annual cultural events

Cordele hosts an annual Watermelon Festival each June.

Museums and other points of interest

In 1968 a

Titan I The Martin Marietta SM-68A/HGM-25A Titan I was the United States' first multistage intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), in use from 1959 until 1962. Though the SM-68A was operational for only three years, it spawned numerous follow-on mod ...

missile was erected by the Rotary Club of Cordele at the intersection of I-75 and U.S. 280 East.

Sports

Cordele is home to

Crisp Motorsports Park CRISP may refer to: * Center for Research in Security and Privacy, largest research center for Computer security, IT security in Europe * C-language Reduced Instruction Set Processor, an AT&T microprocessor design * Chesapeake Regional Information ...

, a 3/8-mile asphalt oval. It is home to the annual pre-season race known as SpeedFest, which is sanctioned by the

Champion Racing Association Champion Racing Association (CRA) is a stock car racing sanctioning body based in the Midwestern United States. It was founded in 1997 by Glenn Luckett and R. J. Scott, who then sold the company to Bob Sargent's Track Enterprises in 2022. All CRA ...

(CRA) organization and run in late January. The event features a 125-lap race for the CRA Jegs All-Star Tour (crate late models) and a 200-lap race for the ARCA/

CRA Super Series The CRA Super Series is a super late model stock car racing series owned and operated by the Champion Racing Association. It is a touring series based in the Midwestern United States, which competes at paved short ovals. It was formerly known as t ...

(super late models).

Education

Crisp County School District

The Crisp County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 266 full-time teachers and over 4,337 students. *Crisp County Primary *Crisp County pre-k *Crisp County Elementary School *Crisp County Middle School * Crisp County High School

Infrastructure

Major highways

/ SR 401 *

State Route 7 The following highways are numbered 7. For roads numbered A7, see list of A7 roads. Route 7, or Highway 7, may refer to: International * AH7, Asian Highway 7 * European route E07 * European route E007 Afghanistan *Kunduz-Khomri Highway (A7) ...

* U.S. Route 280 / State Route 30 * State Route 33 * State Route 90 * State Route 257 * State Route 300 (Georgia-Florida Parkway) The Cordele Inland Port is operated by a private company, Cordele Intermodal Services, which offers rail service via the

Heart of Georgia Railroad The Heart of Georgia Railroad is a shortline railroad created in 1999 to lease and operate of track owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation between Mahrt, Alabama and Vidalia, Georgia, in the United States. The railroad has since expan ...

and

Georgia Central Railroad The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...

, from their rail ramp in Cordele to the

Georgia Ports Authority The Georgia Ports Authority, which was founded in 1945 and chaired by US. Colonel, Inventor and Engineer Dr. Blake Van Leer, operates port facilities in the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia's primary deepwater ports are located in Savannah and ...

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

. Two class I railroads

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

and

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

pass through Cordele. Shortline Railroad, Heart of Georgia currently interchanges with CSX in downtown Cordele.

Notable people

Buster Brown Buster Brown is a comic-strip character created in 1902 by Richard F. Outcault. Adopted as the mascot of the Brown Shoe Company in 1904, Buster Brown, along with Mary Jane, and with his dog Tige, became well known to the United States of America ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and R&B singer born in Cordele *

Preston Dennard Preston Jackson Dennard (born November 28, 1955, in Cordele, Georgia) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers. He played college football at the University ...

, former wide receiver for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

* Janie Lou Gibbs, serial killer who poisoned her husband, three sons, and grandson. She was convicted in 1967. *

Mac Hyman Mac or MAC most commonly refers to: * Mac (computer), a family of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * A variant of the word macaroni, mostly used in the name of the dish mac and cheese * Mac, ...

, fiction writer known for his best-selling novel ''

No Time for Sergeants ''No Time for Sergeants'' is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was later adapted into a teleplay on ''The United States Steel Hour'', a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chron ...

'' and ''Take Now Thy Son''; born in Cordele and a lifelong resident * T. J. Jackson, Olympian and NFL wide receiver *

Marcus Lamb Marcus Daron Lamb (October 7, 1957 – November 30, 2021) was an American televangelist, prosperity theologian, minister, Christian broadcaster, and anti-vaccine advocate. He was the co-founder, president, and CEO of the Daystar Television Net ...

, president of international Christian TV network Daystar *

Arthur Lucas Arthur Lucas (December 18, 1907 - December 11, 1962), originally from the United States, U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, was one of the last two people to be executed in Canada, on 11 December 1962. Lucas had been convicted of the m ...

, convicted murderer and one of the last two people to be executed in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

* Deworski Odom, sprinter; born in Cordele *

Jody Powell Joseph Lester "Jody" Powell, Jr. (September 30, 1943 – September 14, 2009) was an American political advisor who served as a White House press secretary during the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Powell later co-founded a public relations firm. E ...

, served as the White House Press Secretary under President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

; born in Cordele * Andre Ramsey, offensive lineman for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Tree Rollins Wayne Monte "Tree" Rollins (born June 16, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, ...

, former NBA basketball player and Cordele native who attended Crisp County High School * Quay Walker, linebacker for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

* Joe Williams, jazz singer and ''Cosby Show'' grandfather; born in Cordele * Noel Williams Jr. - Insurance agent and politician. * Deborah Woodson, singer and author; born in Cordele

Bibliography

*Ogden, Bob. Aviation Museums and Collections of North America. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. Tonbridge, Kent. 2007. .

References

External links

City of Cordele official website

''Cordele Dispatch''
local newspaper
O'Neal Historic District

at City-Data.com
{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Crisp County, Georgia Micropolitan areas of Georgia (U.S. state) County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1888 1888 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)