McRae was 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 Telfair 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. It was designated as the seat in 1871, after being established the previous year as a station on the

Macon and Brunswick Railroad The Macon and Brunswick Railroad ran from Macon, Georgia to Brunswick, Georgia. Its construction was interrupted by the American Civil War, and initially only ran from Macon to Cochran, Georgia. The gauge line was completed and extended to the G ...

. Upon the city's merger with adjacent Helena in 2015, the new county seat is the combined city of McRae-Helena. As of the 2010 census, McRae had a population of 5,740, up from 2,682 at the 2000 census, due largely to expansion of the city limits to incorporate the area and prison population of the

McRae Correctional Institution McRae Correctional Facility is a privately managed, low-security prison for men, owned and operated by the CoreCivic since 2000 under contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for federal prisoners. The maximum capacity of the prison is 2275 ...

, a privately owned and operated prison under contract to the federal government. The prison is a low-security facility holding adult males; it is owned and operated by

CoreCivic CoreCivic, formerly the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis. Co-founded in 1983 in Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the ...

History

McRae was founded in 1870 as station number eleven on the

. In 1871, the seat of Telfair County was transferred to McRae from

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. McRae was incorporated on March 3, 1874, and was named for a pioneering Scottish family. The community was named after Daniel M. McRae, the original owner of the town site. During the antebellum years and after the Civil War, the county had an economy largely based on cotton plantations, and McRae was a trading center. McRae was incorporated as a city in 1902. During the racial violence of the

Red Summer of 1919 Red Summer was a period in mid-1919 during which white supremacist terrorism and racial riots occurred in more than three dozen cities across the United States, and in one rural county in Arkansas. The term "Red Summer" was coined by civil ...

one Berry Washington, an elderly black man, was arrested and put in the McRae jail after defending two girls from assault. On May 25 a large mob led by a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister conspired with a McRae deputy to seize Berry Washington from jail and lynch him over in Milan. McRae and Telfair County approved construction of a private prison in the early 21st century to hold federal prisoners, in the belief that it would provide jobs to local residents. McRae Correctional Facility, a low-security prison for adult males, has been owned and operated by CCA, the largest prison company in the United States in 2015, since it opened in 2003.

Geography

McRae is located in northern Telfair County at (32.064508, -82.898251). Helena is to the northwest. Several U.S. highways pass through McRae. U.S. Routes 23 and

341 __NOTOC__ Year 341 (Roman numerals, CCCXLI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellinus and Probinus (or, less freq ...

pass through the city as Oak Street, leading northwest to Eastman and southeast to Hazlehurst, while U.S. Routes

280 __NOTOC__ Year 280 ( CCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Gratus (or, less frequently, year 1033 '' ...

, 319, and 441 pass through as Third Avenue, crossing US 23/341 in the center of town. US 280 leads northeast to Vidalia and west to Cordele, while US 319/441 leads south to the small town of

and north to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. 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 ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.77%, is water. The

Little Ocmulgee River The Little Ocmulgee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 21, 2011 tributary of the Ocmulgee River in the U.S. state of Georgia Georgia most commonly refers t ...

flows just northeast of the city limits.

Sites of interest

Located in downtown McRae is Liberty Square, home of a

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

replica that is one-twelfth the size of the original. It has a replica of the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

and a marble memorial to Telfair County residents who died in military service. On the outskirts of McRae is the Talmadge Home. This historic home was occupied by two former Georgia governors,

Eugene Talmadge Eugene Talmadge (September 23, 1884 – December 21, 1946) was an attorney and American politician who served three terms as the 67th governor of Georgia, from 1933 to 1937, and then again from 1941 to 1943. Elected to a fourth term in November ...

and Herman Eugene Talmadge. McRae was also the birthplace of

Marion B. Folsom Marion Bayard Folsom (November 23, 1893 – September 27, 1976) was an American government official and businessman. He served as the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare from 1955 to 1958 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Biogra ...

(1893–1976), a longtime executive of the

Eastman Kodak Company The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

who served as the

United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

during the

Eisenhower administration Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following a landslide victory ov ...

. Famous railfan photographer William B. Folsom is buried in McRae. 1940-2008.

Education

Telfair County School District

The Telfair County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 112 full-time teachers and over 1,648 students.School Stats
Retrieved June 27, 2010. *Telfair County Elementary School *Telfair County Middle School * Telfair County High School

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 2,682 people, 1,057 households, and 714 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,310 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 55.48%

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 ...

, 42.69%

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 ...

, 0.30%

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 ...

, 1.12% 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 0.41% 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 1.57% of the population. There were 1,057 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% 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, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.94. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,236, and the median income for a family was $37,250. Males had a median income of $29,055 versus $20,321 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 $15,911. About 16.4% of families and 19.3% 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 23.4% of those under age 18 and 25.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

* *

External links

City of McRae-Helena official website

Telfair County Chamber of Commerce

''Telfair Enterprise'' newspaper

Christiane Badgly, ''A Prison for McRae''
(50:29 minutes), 2003, made for Arte France; not yet aired in the US {{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Telfair County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Former municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places disestablished in 2015