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 ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
.
History
Dawson was founded in 1856 as seat of the newly formed Terrell County. It was incorporated as a town in 1857 and as a city in 1872. Terrell was an important site in the 1960s, when the county in which it is located was labeled "Terrible Terrell" by the SNCC.
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
helped raise money to rebuild three black churches that were burned in the area.
In 1976, five African-American youths were charged with the murder of a white customer in a roadside convenience store. The crime and pretrial proceedings garnered national attention. The five young men, one of whom was a juvenile, charged in the case were known as " The Dawson Five". The court dropped the charges against the group of five; Roosevelt Watson, Henderson Watson, J.D. Davenport, Johnnie B. Jackson, and George Poor, when it found evidence of police misconduct, including coerced confessions, intimidation and improper identification procedures.
Eufaula, Alabama
Eufaula is the largest city in Barbour County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census the city's population was 13,137.
History
The site along the Chattahoochee River that is now modern-day Eufaula was occupied by three Muscogee Cree ...
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
is 63 mi (101 km) northwest.
The city is located at (31.773969, -84.440870).
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 th ...
, 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 off ...
, there were 4,414 people, 1,577 households, and 1,080 families residing in the city.
2000 census
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 inc ...
of 2000, there were 5,058 people, 1,791 households, and 1,276 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,967 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 21.49%
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 ...
, 77.26%
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 ...
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.
There were 1,791 households, out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.9% 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 ...
living together, 32.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,140, and the median income for a family was $25,511. Males had a median income of $26,006 versus $18,629 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 $10,752. About 31.6% of families and 36.3% 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 ...
, including 49.8% of those under age 18 and 26.0% of those age 65 or over.
Climate
This area climate is characterized by warmer, humid summers and is generally mild to cold in the winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
system, Dawson has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Education
Terrell County School District
The
Terrell County School District
The Terrell County School District is a public school district in Terrell 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 Unit ...
holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. The district has 98 full-time teachers and over 1,764 students.
*Cooper-Carver Elementary School
* Terrell County Middle High School
Private education
*
Terrell Academy
Terrell Academy is a private K3-12 school in Dawson, Georgia, seat of Terrell County. It serves 380 students. The school has a controversial history as a segregation academy.
History
Terrel was founded in 1970 as a segregation academy. In the s ...
Nearby Albany has three colleges to which students may easily commute:
Darton State College
Darton State College was a public college in Albany, Georgia. It was part of the University System of Georgia and had its higher enrollment, 6,097 students, in 2011. Prior to its merger with Albany State University in 2016, the college offered 84 ...
* Otis Redding - American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, and talent scout, considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...
,
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
, and
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
U.S. National Guard
The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.Wayland Flowers - puppeteer best known for his puppet known as "Madame"
* Bessie Jones - gospel/folk singer
* Benjamin J. Davis - attorney who defended man trying to organize a union from insurrection charges; elected as New York City Councilman after move to New York; Communist Party leader in 1930s
* Robert J. Jones - Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; former President of the State University of New York at Albany
* Walter Washington - elected as first mayor of Washington, D.C. after the city was granted home rule by Congress
* Dawson Five - five black Dawson residents who were wrongly charged with the 1976 murder of a white man. Due to forced confession and other police misconduct the case was dropped in 1977.
*
Cole Swindell
Colden Rainey Swindell (born June 30, 1983) is an American rock music singer and songwriter. He has written singles for Craig Campbell, Thomas Rhett, Scotty McCreery, and Luke Bryan, and has released four albums for Warner Bros. Records Nashvill ...