Bacon County Courthouse Alma is a city in Bacon County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States, and the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,433. Alma is known as Georgia's

blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' with the genus ''Vaccinium''. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) ...

capital, and hosts a Blueberry Festival each June.

History

Alma was founded in 1900 as a stop on the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

. It was incorporated as a city in 1906 and designated seat of the newly formed Bacon County in 1914. There are two theories about the origin of the name of the town. The first is that it was named for the wife of a traveling salesmen, Alma Sheridan; the other is that it was named for the initial letter of the four state capitals Georgia has had: Augusta,

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, Milledgeville, and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. There are four sites in Alma listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

: Alma Depot, Bacon County Courthouse, Bacon County School, and the Rabinowitz Building.

Geography

Alma is located in southeastern Georgia at (31.541543, -82.466666). The city is located along U.S. Routes 1 and 23 (Pierce Street). The two run through the center of the city together before splitting just north of the city. U.S. 1 connects the city with Baxley, to the north, and U.S. 23 connects the city with Hazlehurst, to the northwest. U.S. 1/23 also lead south together to Waycross. Other highways that run through the city include Georgia State Routes 32 (16th Street) and 64 (Market Street). 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 city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 11.27%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,433 people, 1,005 households, and 620 families residing in the city.

Education

Alma is served by the Bacon County School District. The district has 126 full-time teachers and over 1,900 students,Free District Report
Retrieved May 29, 2010. and operates these schools: *Bacon County Elementary School *Bacon County Primary School *Bacon County Middle School * Bacon County High School Alma is also served by

Coastal Pines Technical College Coastal Pines Technical College (CPTC) is a community college in Waycross, Georgia, with six branches in other cities. It has a thirteen-county service delivery area (SDA), covering a total of 7,433 square miles, which is the largest SDA in the ...

Notable people

* Harry Crews, novelist, playwright, short story writer and essayist * Braswell Deen, U.S. Representative from Georgia; moved to Alma * Daniel W. Lee, recipient of Congressional Medal of Honor * Walter J. Leonard, former president of Fisk University * William M. Wheeler, U.S. Representative from Georgia

References

External links

City of Alma official website

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