Thunderbolt is a town located in
Chatham County, Georgia
Chatham County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Georgia, on the state's Atlantic coast. The county seat and largest city is Savannah. One of the original counties of Georgia, Chatham County was created February 5, 1777, a ...
, United States, approximately five miles southeast of downtown
Savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
. As of the
2020 census, the town had a total population of 2,556. It is part of the Savannah
Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thunderbolt runs along the western shore of the
Wilmington River (a tidal river that is part of the U.S.
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...
). The town is important to Georgia's shrimping industry, with scores of docks for shrimping trawlers. The town's picturesque atmosphere and seafood restaurants draw many local visitors.
History
An early variant name was "Warsaw". The
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...
incorporated the town as "Warsaw" in 1856. Coincidentally,
Casimir Pulaski
Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski (; March 4 or 6, 1745 October 11, 1779), anglicised as Casimir Pulaski ( ), was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called "The Father of American cavalry" or "The So ...
, who was born in
Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a grea ...
, died in Thunderbolt. An act of legislature officially changed the town's name to "Thunderbolt" in 1921.
According to tradition, Thunderbolt was named from an incident when lightning strike caused a
spring to open up.
Fort Thunderbolt, colloquially referred to as the Thunderbolt Battery, was built to protect the city of Savannah from invading Union forces advancing from Whitemarsh Island.
Geography
Thunderbolt is located at 32°1'56" North, 81°3'6" West (32.032111, -81.051733).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.8 km), of which 1.3 square miles (3.3 km) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.5 km) is water.
Demographics
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 2,556 people, 1,091 households, and 516 families residing in the town.
See also
*
Samuel Bowen, who grew the first
soybeans
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed.
Soy is a key source of f ...
introduced to North America in Thunderbolt.
References
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Towns in Chatham County, Georgia
Towns in Georgia (U.S. state)
Savannah metropolitan area
Populated coastal places in Georgia (U.S. state)