Whigham is a city in Grady 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. The population was 471 at the 2010 census, down from 631 in 2000.

History

The community was named after Robert Whigham, a local merchant. 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 directly ...

incorporated Whigham as a town in 1896. It was incorporated again as a city in 1970.

Geography

Whigham is located in western Grady County at (30.884219, -84.324927).

U.S. Route 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short dista ...

passes through the center of town as Broad Avenue; it leads east to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, 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 ...

, and west to Bainbridge.

Valdosta Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457. Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2021 had a ...

is to the east, and

Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...

, is to the west. Whigham is located halfway between

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, and

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. 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 , or 0.98%, is water.

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 631 people, 179 households, and 134 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 212 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 61.01%

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 ...

, 35.34%

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 ...

, 0.79% Native American, 2.06% 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 0.79% 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 2.54% of the population. There were 179 households, out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% 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, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.1% were non-families. 24.0% 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 2.78 and the average family size was 3.31. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 18.7% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 28.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,639, and the median income for a family was $26,042. Males had a median income of $22,813 versus $17,000 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 $11,103. About 25.2% of families and 25.9% 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 42.9% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Grady County School System operates area public schools. Whigham School, a K-8 school, is in Whigham. Cairo High School in

serves Whigham.Schools
" '' Grady County Schools''. Retrieved on April 9, 2009.

Notable people

The

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...

guitarist, songwriter, and singer

Johnnie Marshall Johnnie B. Marshall Jr. (born June 2, 1961) is an American electric blues guitarist, songwriter, and singer. His best known songs are "''Found Another Woman''" and "''98 Cents in the Bank''". Discovered by Johnny Rawls in the mid 1990s, Marshall ...

was born in Whigham in 1961. The Plath family, who have a show on

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

Ernest Riles Ernest Riles (born October 2, 1960) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman. From 1985 through 1993, Riles played for the Milwaukee Brewers (1985–1988), San Francisco Giants (1988–1990), Oakland Athletics (1991 ...

, former infielder for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

lived here during his time with the Giants.

References

{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Grady County, Georgia