Smithville, Georgia

Smithville is a city in Lee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 575 at the 2010 census, down from 774 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Albany, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

A post office was established at Smithville in 1871. The community was named after the local Smith family. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Smithville as a town in 1863.

Geography

Smithville is located in northwestern Lee County at (31.902073, -84.255336). It is bordered to the north by the Sumter County line.

U.S. Route 19 runs through the west side of the city, leading south to Leesburg, the Lee county seat, and north to Americus. Georgia State Route 118 passes through the center of Smithville, leading east to Leslie and southwest to Dawson.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it recorded as land. Muckaloochee Creek forms the northeast border of the city. The creek is a south-flowing tributary of Muckalee Creek and part of the Flint River watershed.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 593 people, 239 households, and 143 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 774 people, 270 households, and 198 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 305 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 28.81% White, 70.28% African American, 0.39% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.

There were 270 households, out of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 27.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 25.6% 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 2.87 and the average family size was 3.44.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.5% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,500, and the median income for a family was $37,083. Males had a median income of $29,375 versus $19,286 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,193. About 23.3% of families and 27.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 34.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools are operated by the Lee County School District. Students are zoned to Lee County High School.

Notable people

* Bessie Jones (1902-1984), gospel and folk singer
* Bill McAfee (1907-1958), baseball player and mayor
* William J. Sears (1874-1944), congressman from Florida
* Jeffery Waters (1989-2019), second African American to serve as Command Master Chief of Naval Air Station Jacksonville (2016-2019)

Ja'Lia Taylor
(1989-Present) First woman to run for Mayor of Smithville. First African American to receive a PhD in Special Education from Smithville, Ga. Founder of KimRose Brown Academy and Founder of Rare Genetics by Lia Jai'
* Hudson Woodbridge (1904-1981), aka Tampa Red, musician in Blues Hall of Fame

Gallery

File:Dismuke_Public_Safety_Building,_Smithville_Police_Department.jpg, Dismuke Public Safety Building, houses the Smithville Police Department
File:Smithville_Post_Office.jpg, Smithville Post Office

References

External links

Smithville
- State of Georgia

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Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)
Cities in Lee County, Georgia
Albany metropolitan area, Georgia