Fort Valley 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 ...

Peach County Peach County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 27,695. Its county seat is Fort Valley. Founded in 1924, it is the state's newest county, taken from Houston and ...

, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780. The city is in the

Warner Robins Warner Robins (typically ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston and Peach counties in the central part of the state. It is currently Georgia's eleventh-largest incorporated city, with an estimated population of 80,308 in th ...

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

and the Macon–Warner Robins

combined statistical area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

History

The town's name is a mystery, as it has never had a fort. Historians believe that the name was mistakenly changed in a transcription error when the post office was named; the area was originally thought to have been called Fox Valley. Founded in 1836, Fort Valley was incorporated as a town in 1854 and as a city in 1907. In 1924 it was the designated seat of the newly formed Peach County. Fort Valley was the backdrop for a '' Life'' feature story in the March 22, 1943 edition. The World War II-era story focused on the town's sponsoring of the "Ham and Egg Show," a contest held by African-American farmers to highlight ham and poultry production in Peach County, Georgia.

Geography

Fort Valley is located at (32.55, -83.89). The city is located in the central part of the state along U.S. Route 341, which is the main route through the city. Via U.S. 341, Roberta is 15 mi (24 km) northwest, and Perry is 12 mi (19 km) southeast. Georgia State Routes 49, 96, and

540 __NOTOC__ Year 540 ( DXL) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1293 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...

(Fall Line Freeway) also run through the city. GA-49 leads northeast 11 mi (18 km) to Byron and southwest 8 mi (13 km) to Marshallville. GA-96 leads east 16 mi (26 km) to

and west 13 mi (21 km) to

Reynolds Reynolds may refer to: Places Australia *Hundred of Reynolds, a cadastral unit in South Australia *Hundred of Reynolds (Northern Territory), a cadastral unit in the Northern Territory of Australia United States * Reynolds, Mendocino County, Calif ...

. The Fall Line Freeway runs north of the city as a four-lane divided highway, leading northeast to Byron with GA-49 and west to Reynolds with GA-96. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

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 8,780 people, 3,040 households, and 1,685 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,005 people, 3,050 households, and 1,878 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,303 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 22.10% White, 74.65% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.25%

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 ...

, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.85% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or

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 ...

people of any race were 4.37% of the population. There were 3,050 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.9% 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, 30.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% 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 3.20. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 16.9% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $19,646, and the median income for a family was $24,206. Males had a median income of $27,016 versus $20,110 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,815. About 31.8% of families and 37.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.3% of those under the age of 18 and 17.3% of those 65 and older.

Economy

Fort Valley is the corporate headquarters of the

Blue Bird Corporation The Blue Bird Corporation (originally known as the Blue Bird Body Company) is an American bus manufacturer headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. Best known for its production of school buses, the company has also manufactured a wide variety o ...

, a large manufacturer of activity

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es and

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

es, which opened its first Fort Valley facility in 1935.

Athletics

Football

Despite being a city of less than 10,000 people, Fort Valley boasts one of the best football teams in the state. The Peach County High Trojans have played in eight state title games since 1990, and have made the playoffs every year since. * 1992 AAA State Runners-Up * 1998 AAA State Runners-Up * 2003 AAA State Runners-Up * 2005 AAA State Champions * 2006 AAA State Champions * 2009 AAA State Champions * 2011 AAA State Runners-Up * 2017 AAA State Runners-Up

Track and field

* 1993 AAA 4x100 Relay State Champions (Greg Streeter, Jacquez Green, Marcus Robinson, Melvin Oats)

Arts and culture

Points of interest

Massee Lane Gardens Massee Lane Gardens (9 acres) are botanical gardens focusing on camellias, located at the American Camellia Society headquarters, 100 Massee Lane, Fort Valley, Georgia. They are open to the public for an admission fee. The gardens were origina ...

's headquarters, currently their only Georgia plant

Education

Public schools

The

Peach County School District The Peach County School District is a public school district in Peach County, Georgia, United States, based in Fort Valley. It serves the communities of Byron, Fort Valley, Perry, and Warner Robins. Schools The Peach County School District h ...

holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. The district has 270 full-time teachers and over 3,927 students. *Byron Elementary School *Hunt Elementary School *Kay Road Elementary School *Byron Middle School *Fort Valley Middle School * Peach County High School

Colleges and universities

The city is home to Fort Valley State University, a historically-black college.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

U.S. Route: * U.S. Route 341 State Routes: *

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) ...

* State Route 42 *

State Route 49 The following highways are numbered 49: Australia * Queensland State Route 49 **Wide Bay Highway **Bunya Highway **Moonie Highway **Balonne Highway * Central Coast Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 49 * British Columbia Highway 49 * Manitoba High ...

* State Route 96

Health care

* The Medical Center of Peach County

Notable people

Louie Crew Erman Louie Clay (né Erman Louie Crew Jr.) (1936–2019) was an American professor emeritus of English language, English at Rutgers University. He was best known for his long and increasingly successful campaign for the acceptance of gay and l ...

, emeritus professor at Rutgers University, poet and activist, taught at Fort Valley State from 1973–1979 *

Antone Davis Antone Eugene Davis (born February 28, 1967) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle and guard in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1990s. He played one year of football fo ...

, former National Football League offensive lineman, born in Fort Valley * Jacquez Green, former National Football League wide receiver and

punt returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

, born in Fort Valley *

Harold Houser Harold Alexander Houser (March 31, 1897 – September 3, 1981) was a United States Navy Rear admiral, and the governor of American Samoa from September 10, 1945, to April 22, 1947. Biography Houser was born in Fort Valley, Georgia to Emmett a ...

, United States Navy

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

, and the 35th

Governor of American Samoa This is a list of governors, etc. of the part of the Samoan Islands (now comprising American Samoa) under United States administration since 1900. From 1900 to 1978 governors were appointed by the Federal government of the United States. Since ...

, born in Fort Valley * Edward H. Hurst, Brigadier general in the Marine Corps and recipient of Navy Cross, born in Fort Valley * Louis Ivory, former

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

running back, 2000 Walter Payton Award winner, born in Fort Valley *

Kearis Jackson Kearis Jamarcus Jackson (born December 9, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia. Early years Jackson attended Peach County. In his sen ...

, wide receiver for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

* Benny Johnson, NFL player * Pete Johnson, former NFL player * Greg Lloyd, Sr., former NFL player, attended Fort Valley State 1983-86 * Dannie Lockett, former NFL player * Randy McMichael, former NFL player for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and the St.Louis Rams * Marcus Robinson, former National Football League wide receiver, born in Fort Valley * Tim Watson, former American football safety in the National Football League, born in Fort Valley

References

External links

Fort Valley Georgia
portal style website, government, business, library, recreation and more

- comprehensive statistical data and more about Fort Valley
Info

{{authority control 1836 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Micropolitan areas of Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Peach County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)