Climax is a small town in

Decatur County Decatur County is the name of various past and present counties in the United States, all named for Stephen Decatur: *Decatur County, Georgia *Decatur County, Indiana *Decatur County, Iowa *Decatur County, Kansas *Decatur County, Tennessee *Decatu ...

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 town was named "Climax" because it is located at the highest point of the railroad between

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, and the Chattahoochee River. The population was 280 at the 2010 census.

History

Climax was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted in 1833, and named for its lofty elevation. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the place in 1905 as the "Town of Climax", with the municipal corporate limits extending in a one-half mile radius from the town's central water well.

Geography

Climax is located in eastern Decatur County at (30.877194, -84.431975). It sits on the crest of Curry Hill, a

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

that forms the southwestern side of the Flint River valley.

U.S. Route 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short dista ...

passes through Climax, leading west to Bainbridge, the Decatur County seat, and east to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

. 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 t ...

, the town of Climax has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 297 people, 116 households, and 78 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 134 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 56.90%

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 o ...

, 41.08%

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 ...

, 0.34% Native American, 0.34% 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 1.35% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 3.37% of the population. There were 116 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.27. In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,250, and the median income for a family was $33,250. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $17,083 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 town was $11,666. About 9.6% of families and 9.8% 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 13.2% of those under the age of eighteen and 6.8% of those 65 or over.

Swine Time Festival

Climax's annual festival is held on the first Saturday after

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

. The event is attended by 35,000 people annually, a large number in light of Climax's sub-300 population. Contests and events include best-dressed pig, corn shucking,

hog calling Hog calling, or pig calling, is the art of making a call to encourage pigs to approach the caller. Competitions in hog calling are held. Calls To attract pigs (or family), the calls are based on four strategies: a male call to encourage terri ...

, eating chitterlings, pig racing, syrup making, baby crawling, and the great greased pig chase. The festival is kicked off with a parade down Main Street that leads up to the event grounds. There is also a beauty contest for different age groups where the winner is crowned ''Miss'' and ''Little Miss Swine Time''.

References

External links

Swine Time FestivalClimax
historical marker {{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Decatur County, Georgia