Douglas is a city in Coffee 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. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,722. Douglas is 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 Coffee County and the core city of the Douglas, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 50,731 as of the 2010 census.

History

Douglas was founded in 1855 as the seat of the newly formed Coffee County. It was named for Senator

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

from Illinois, a renowned stump speaker who was the challenger to

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

in the presidential election of 1860. Douglas was chartered as a town in 1895 and as a city in 1897. In 1895, the railroad came to Douglas and the community began to boom. In 1909, the Georgia and Florida Railway located its offices in Douglas. The Eleventh District Agricultural & Mechanical School was established in Douglas in 1906. In 1927, South Georgia College was founded as Georgia's first state-supported junior college. During the 1920s and 1930s, Douglas was one of the major tobacco markets in the state. Much of this history is depicted in the Heritage Station Museum, located in the former Georgia and Florida Railway train station on Ward Street in downtown Douglas. Douglas has two areas listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

: the downtown and Gaskin Avenue historic districts. They were added to the list in 1989.

Geography

Douglas is located near the center of Coffee County at (31.507413, −82.850799). It is driving distance northeast of

Valdosta, Georgia Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, Lowndes County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457. Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metr ...

, driving distance northwest of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, and driving distance southeast of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. 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 ...

, Douglas has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.08%, is water. Major water bodies include Twenty Mile Creek, the Seventeen Mile River (a tributary of the

Satilla River The Satilla River rises in Ben Hill County, Georgia, United States, near the town of Fitzgerald, and flows in a mostly easterly direction to the Atlantic Ocean. Along its approximately U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset hig ...

), and Hilliard's Pond, which was once the ski show park "Holiday Beach".

Climate

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 11,722 people, 4,339 households, and 2,610 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,639 people, 3,977 households, and 2,656 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,692 housing units at an average density of . According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Douglas was: 50.78% Black or African American, 42.95% White, 0.27% Native American, 1.09% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.80% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.92% of the population. There were 3,977 households, out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 21.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,946, and the median income for a family was $36,349. Males had a median income of $26,551 versus $20,145 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,652. About 17.9% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.2% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.

Douglas Micropolitan Statistical Area

Douglas is the principal city of the Douglas Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers

Atkinson Atkinson may refer to: Places *Atkinson, Nova Scotia, Canada * Atkinson, Dominica, a village in Dominica *Atkinson, Illinois, U.S. * Atkinson, Indiana, U.S. *Atkinson, Maine, U.S. *Atkinson Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. *Atkinson, Nebraska, U. ...

and Coffee counties and had a combined population of 50,731 at the 2010 census.

Infrastructure

Highways

U.S. Route 221 U.S. Route 221 (US 221) is a Spur route, spur of U.S. Route 21. It travels from Perry, Florida, at U.S. Route 19 in Florida, US 19/U.S. Route 98 in Florida, US 98/U.S. Route 27 Alternate (Florida), US 27 Alternate to Lyn ...

(runs north-south) * U.S. Route 441 (runs north-south) *

Georgia State Route 31 State Route 31 (SR 31) is a state highway that travels south-to-north through portions of Lowndes, Lanier, Clinch, Atkinson, Coffee, Telfair, Wheeler, Dodge, Laurens, and Johnson counties in the south-central part of the U.S. state ...

(runs north-south) * Georgia State Route 32 (runs east-west) *

Georgia State Route 135 State Route 135 (SR 135) is a state highway in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It connects the Florida state line with Higgston, via Lakeland, Willacoochee, Douglas, and Hazlehurst. It travels concurrently with ...

(runs north-south) *

Georgia State Route 158 State Route 158 (SR 158) is a State highway (US), state highway that runs west-to-east through portions of Berrien County, Georgia, Berrien, Irwin County, Georgia, Irwin, Coffee County, Georgia, Coffee, and Ware County, Georgia, Ware County ...

(runs east-west) *

Georgia State Route 206 State Route 206 (SR 206) is a state highway in the southeastern part of U.S. state of Georgia. It runs southeast–northwest through portions of Ben Hill, Irwin, and Coffee counties. The route's southern terminus is in Douglas, and its north ...

(runs east-west)

Airport

* Douglas Municipal Airport

Utilities

* The Electric Department, locally owned and a member of the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, services Douglas with power. * The Natural Gas Department, member of both Georgia & American Public Gas Association and the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia, provides gas to the area. * Water and sewer service is conducted by the city's Water Department. * The Public Works Department handles yard clippings, junk items, and animal control for the city.

Economy

Confederate soldier memorial, Douglas, GA, US

Major employers

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

* Premium Peanut * Premium Waters * American Insulated Wire * Fleetwood Mobile Homes Corporation * PCC Airfoils * Pilgrim's

Agriculture

Farming plays a large role in the area's economy. Major agricultural products from the town and surrounding county include peanuts, corn, tobacco, and cotton. Chicken is also a major part of the economy.

Tourism

Douglas is home to Heritage Station Museum, which displays artifacts of the city's history. The World War II Flight Training Museum (the old 63rd Army Air Forces Contract Pilot School), Broxton Rocks, and the Ashley-Slater House are also popular tourist attractions in the area. All three were recently named among "Georgia's Hidden Treasures" in a segment on

WSB-TV WSB-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Cox Media Group, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to rad ...

. Douglas has ten public parks. There are four golf courses in and around the city. Nearby, the

General Coffee State Park General Coffee State Park is a Georgia state park located near Douglas. The park is named after politician, farmer, and military leader General John E. Coffee. The park is host to many rare and endangered species, especially in the cypress sw ...

draws more than 100,000 visitors a year and is the most popular tourist attraction in the area.

Healthcare

* Coffee Regional Medical Center *Coffee Regional Walk-In Clinic

Media

* WOKA Dixie Country 106.7 FM * WOKA Radio 1310 AM * WOUG Radio Cielo 107.3 FM * WULS Radio 103.7 FM * WDMG Radio 97.9 FM, 860 AM * WPNG Radio Shine 101.9 FM * WSIZ Radio MyFM 102.3 @ 99.9 FM * ''The Douglas News'' * ''The Douglas Enterprise'' * WSWG, CBS TV

Education

Coffee County School District

The Douglas-Coffee County area is served by the Coffee County Board of Education. The Coffee County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of eight elementary schools, a middle school, three high schools, and an alternative education center. The district has 438 full-time teachers and over 8,000 students.School Stats
Retrieved June 4, 2010. *Ambrose Elementary School *Broxton Mary-Hayes Elementary School *Eastside Elementary School *Indian Creek Elementary School *Nicholls Elementary School *Satilla Elementary School *West Green Elementary School *Westside Elementary School *Coffee Middle School * George Washington Carver Freshman Campus *Coffee County Career Academy *Coffee High School *Coffee Alternative Education Center

Private schools

First Academy
at First Baptist Church provides preschool (1 year olds - 3 year olds), pre-kindergarten, and K-12. *Citizens Christian Academy is K-12 * First United Methodist Church provides pre-kindergarten

Higher education

South Georgia State College South Georgia State College is a public college in Douglas and Waycross, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. History Eleventh District A & M School On August 18, 1906, the Georgia General Assembly enacted the Perry Act ...

is a public four-year institution of the

University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates general ...

. *

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Wiregrass Georgia Technical College (WGTC) is a public community college in Valdosta, Georgia. It is part of the Technical College System of Georgia and provides education for an eleven-county service area in south-central Georgia. The school's ...

Notable people

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

, singer, lived here for a short time while working at a local saw mill. He was a native of

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

. *

Jason Childers Jason Lee Childers (born January 13, 1975) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He is the brother of Matt Childers. Career He appeared in only 5 games for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2006. Childers played for the Sultanes ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player for the Tampa Bay Rays, member of the South Georgia College and Kennesaw State Athletic Hall of Fame *

G. Wayne Clough Gerald Wayne Clough (born September 24, 1941) is President Emeritus of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and former Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. A graduate of Georgia Tech in civil engineering, he was the first alum ...

, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and former president of Georgia Institute of Technology (1994–2008), spent his early years in Douglas. His father served as mayor. *

Greg Holland Gregory Scott Holland (born November 20, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington N ...

, country singer * Justin Lewis, co-founder and CTO of NationalField, a private, enterprise-based social network used by the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

Jennifer Nettles Jennifer Odessa Nettles (born September 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer. Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this she fronted the Atlanta-based band ...

, one-half of the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

duo

Sugarland Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, at which point Kristen Hall (vo ...

, is a native of Douglas. *

Joel Parrish Joel Parrish (born September 1, 1955) is a former American football offensive guard who played two seasons with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the eleventh round of the 1977 N ...

, football player * Willie Spence, singer and runner-up of Season 19 of

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

Maureen Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...

, drummer and occasional singer of 1960s and 1970s rock group

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

, lives in Douglas. * Greg Walker, former first baseman and hitting coach for the 2005 World Champion

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, is a native of Douglas. He was the hitting coach for the Atlanta Braves 2012–2014. *

Tyreek Hill Tyreek or Tyreke is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Tyreek Burwell (born 1992), American football player *Tyreek Duren (born 1991), American basketball player *Tyreke Evans (born 1989), American basketball player * Tyreek Hill ...

, American football player for the

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

of the National Football League (NFL). *

Wyatt Miller Wyatt Miller (born October 23, 1995) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Central Florida. Early years Miller attended Coffee High School (Georgia), Coffee High School. As ...