Lamar County, Georgia
Lamar County is a County (United States), county in the West Central Georgia, West Central region of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 18,500. The county seat i ...
, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,755, up from 5,972 at the 2000 census. The city is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Lamar County and is just outside of the
Atlanta metropolitan area
Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...
.
Barnesville is located northwest of Macon and south of
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 ...
. It was called the "Buggy Capital of the South", as the town produced about 9,000 buggies a year around the turn of the 20th century. Each year in the third week of September the town hosts an annual Buggy Days celebration.
History
Barnesville was founded in 1826 and named for Gideon Barnes, proprietor of a local tavern. Barnesville served as a major hospital site for wounded southern troops during the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Local families took wounded soldiers into their homes and treated them, with highly successful recovery rates. Major General William B. Bate, CSA of Hardees Corps., wounded in Atlanta at Utoy Creek on August 10, 1864, was treated here. After the war, General Bate was elected governor of
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
and served in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
until his death in 1912. He commented on his successful recovery as a result of the kindness of the local populace in Barnesville.
Educator Helena B. Cobb founded the Helena B. Cobb Institute in Barnesville in the early 1900s. It was modeled after
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...
's
Tuskegee Institute
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...
and educated African American girls as the only school within the CME Church for women. In 1920, Barnesville was designated seat of the newly formed Lamar County.
Weather events
On the morning of April 28, 2011, at 12:38 A.M., a tornado rated EF3 on the
Enhanced Fujita Scale
The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated EF-Scale) is a scale that rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage a tornado causes. It is used in the United States and France, among other countries. The EF scale is also unofficially ...
with winds touched down in Pike County, south of Meansville. The tornado went on to destroy several homes in Barnesville. Two deaths occurred in Barnesville along Grove Street. The tornado also destroyed a Chevron gas station and a church in Barnesville. Three tractor trailers were blown off
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...
at approximately 1:02 A.M. This tornado was part of the
2011 Super Outbreak
The 2011 Super Outbreak was the largest, costliest, and one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks ever recorded, taking place in the Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern United States from April 25 to 28, 2011, leaving catastrophic destruc ...
.
Geography
Barnesville is located south of the center of Lamar County at (33.053090, -84.156217).
U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miam ...
passes through the western, southern, and eastern outskirts of the city on a bypass; the highway leads northwest to
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...
and east to Forsyth. U.S. Route 341 branches off US 41 on the south side of Barnesville and leads southeast to
Perry
Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...
, where it rejoins US 41.
Georgia State Route 18
State Route 18 (SR 18) is a state highway that travels west-to-east through portions of Troup, Harris, Meriwether, Pike, Lamar, Monroe, Jones, Wilkinson, and Twiggs counties in the western and central parts of the U.S. state ...
follows US 41 around the southern and eastern sides of Barnesville but leads west to Zebulon. State Route 36 follows the western side of the Barnesville bypass and leads northeast to
Jackson
Jackson may refer to:
Places Australia
* Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region
* Jackson oil field in Durham, ...
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 ...
, Barnesville has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.78%, are water.
Barnesville sits on a low ridge at an elevation of above sea level. Hog Mountain rises above the city to the north, with a summit elevation of . The north side of the city drains via Big Towaliga Creek to the Little Towaliga River, the Towaliga River, and eventually the
Ocmulgee River
The Ocmulgee River () is a western tributary of the Altamaha River, approximately 255 mi (410 km) long, in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the westernmost major tributary of the Altamaha.Macon. The south end of the city drains via Tobler Creek to the Flint River, and the west side drains via Little Potato Creek, then Potato Creek, to the Flint River. Because the Ocmulgee River ultimately drains to the Atlantic Ocean and the Flint River ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico, Barnesville sits on the
Eastern Continental Divide
The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a drainage divide, hydrological divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard drainage basin, watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico wat ...
.
Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,292 people, 2,056 households, and 1,028 families residing in the city.
Education
Lamar County School District
The Lamar County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 143 full-time teachers and over 2,600 students.
*Lamar County Elementary School
*Lamar County Primary School
*Lamar County Middle School
* Lamar County Comprehensive High School
Private education
*St. George's Episcopal School (K-12)
*Rock Springs Christian Academy
*Covenant Heart Academy
Higher education
*
Gordon State College
Gordon State College is a public college in Barnesville, Georgia, United States. A member of the University System of Georgia (USG), Gordon State's spring 2023 enrollment was 2,846 students.
Gordon College became a four-year state college in ...
Annual events and festivals
The Barnesville-Lamar County
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
hosts three annual festivals each year.
*The BBQ & Blues Festival is held the last weekend in April and features an FBA(Florida Barbeque Association) certified cooking competition, food vendors, arts and crafts vendors, and live entertainment throughout the weekend.
*The Summer in the Sticks Country Music Concert is held the 3rd Saturday in July and features live bands, food vendors, and arts and crafts vendors.
*The Buggy Days Festival celebrates Barnesville's heritage as the Buggy Capital of the South during the late 1800s. Buggy Days is held on the third full weekend in September.
Featured in media
Music
Barnesville was the location of an auto accident that killed 16-year-old Jeanette Clark, who was on a date with J.L. Hancock, also 16, on December 22, 1962. This accident was rumored to be the inspiration of the hit song " Last Kiss" written by Wayne Cochran, Joe Carpenter, Randall Hoyal & Bobby McGlon (1961). Hancock was driving a 1954 Chevrolet on the Saturday before Christmas with some friends. In heavy traffic on U.S. Highway 341 their car hit a tractor-trailer carrying a load of logs. Clark, Hancock and Wayne Cooper were killed. Cochran lived on Georgia's Route 19/41 when he wrote "Last Kiss", only 15 miles away from the crash site. He rerecorded "Last Kiss" for release on King Records in 1963 and dedicated it to Clark, a fact which probably explains the association of the song with the tragic crash.
Television
The 2018
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received List of awards and nom ...
, filmed many of its exterior scenes for the fictional town of Wind Gap, Missouri, in Barnesville and the surrounding area. A large mural reading "Welcome to Wind Gap" remains in the town painted by artist Andrew Patrick Henry.
Victor Henry Hanson
Victor Henry Hanson (1876-1945) was an American publisher.
Biography
Hanson was born on January 16, 1876, in Barnesville, Georgia, to Henry Clay Hanson and Anna O. (Bloodworth) Hanson. His father was a newspaperman who for years he owned and ed ...
, publisher
*
Louise Smith
Louise Smith (July 31, 1916, in Barnesville, Georgia – April 15, 2006) was tied for the second woman to race in NASCAR at the top level. She was known as "the first lady of racing."
She went as a spectator to her first NASCAR race at the Dayt ...
,
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...