Buena Vista ( ) is a city in Marion 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. It is part of the

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

metropolitan statistical area. The population was 1,585 at the 2020 census, down from 2,173 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Formerly known as "Pea Ridge", the city changed its name to Buena Vista in honor of Zachary Taylor's victory in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. 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 Marion County. It is the birthplace of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

legend

Josh Gibson Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. In 1972, he became the second Negro league player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, National ...

and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient Luther H. Story.

History

Buena Vista was first settled in 1818 by settlers from Georgia. A postal office was established in 1837, and it was incorporated as a town. In 1850, the seat of Marion County was transferred to Buena Vista from Tazewell. Buena Vista was incorporated as a city in 1891, and again in 1920. In 1906, a major fire destroyed much of Buena Vista, however it was rebuilt with brick soon after. Following the fire, the town received an influx of European immigrants.

Geography

Buena Vista is in central Marion County in western Georgia. Georgia State Routes 26 and 41 cross in the center of town. SR 26 leads west to Cusseta and southeast to Ellaville, while SR 41 leads north to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and south to Preston. State Route 137 leads northeast to Tazewell and west-northwest to Union. 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 ...

, Buena Vista has a total area of , of which , or 1.68%, are water. The city is part of the

Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from th ...

watershed. Sitting atop a ridge, it is drained by three separate stream systems. To the northeast is Oochee Creek, an east-flowing tributary of Buck Creek, which runs to the Flint River at Montezuma. The southeast part of the city drains to

Muckalee Creek Muckalee Creek (pronounced MUHK-uh-lee) is a creek in southwest Georgia (U.S. state). It originates southeast of Buena Vista and flows south-southeast for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Nat ...

, which joins the Flint River at Albany. The west side of Buena Vista drains to Peacock Ditch, a tributary of

Kinchafoonee Creek Kinchafoonee Creek ( ) is a creek in southwest Georgia. It originates near Buena Vista and flows southeasterly for to the Flint River near Albany, Georgia Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Located on ...

, which joins Muckalee Creek at Albany.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,585 people, 722 households, and 478 families residing in the city.

Education

Marion County School District serves pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one primary school (grades: pre-k through 5th) and a middle/high school (grades: 6th-12th). The district has 108 full-time teachers and over 1,686 students. *L. K. Moss Primary School *Marion County Middle High School—www.marion.k12.ga.us The Marion County School District is in the process of opening a new middle/high school. The structure will sit on 200 acres of land in the middle of the county and is scheduled to open for the 2012–13 school year.

Infrastructure

The city is served by

Georgia State Route 26 State Route 26 (SR 26) is a State highway (US), state highway that travels west-to-east through portions of Chattahoochee County, Georgia, Chattahoochee, Marion County, Georgia, Marion, Schley County, Georgia, Schley, Macon County, G ...

Georgia State Route 41 State Route 41 (SR 41) is a state highway that runs south-to-north through portions of Calhoun, Randolph, Terrell, Webster, Marion, Talbot, Meriwether, and Coweta counties in the southwestern and west-central parts of the U.S. sta ...

, and Georgia State Route 137.

Notable people

, Negro leagues baseball player and

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

* Roosevelt Jackson, oldest living Negro leagues baseball player (minor leagues only) * Eddie Owens Martin, creator of Pasaquan * Luther H. Story, Korean War

recipient

Gallery

File:Marion County Courthouse (NRHP) Buena Vista, GA.JPG, The Marion County Courthouse is located in Buena Vista. It was added to 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 ...

on September 18, 1980. File:Buena Vista, GA City Hall.JPG, Buena Vista City Hall File:Buena Vista, GA Post Office (31803).JPG, Buena Vista Post Office ( ZIP code: 31803) File:Marion County, GA Public Library.JP
Marion County Public Library
File:Josh Gibson Water Tower; Buena Vista, GA.JPG, A water tower in Buena Vista proudly proclaims the town to be the " Home of Josh Gibson". The

was born in Buena Vista on December 21, 1911. File:Pasaquan (NRHP) Buena Vista, GA.JPG, " Pasaquan" is a seven-acre compound near Buena Vista created by

outsider art Outsider art is Fine art, art made by Autodidacticism, self-taught individuals who are untrained and untutored in the traditional arts with typically little or no contact with the Convention (norm), conventions of the art worlds. The term ''ou ...

ist Eddie Owens Martin (1908–1986), known as "St. EOM". The site is maintained by the Pasaquan Preservation Society. It was added to the

on August 27, 2008. File:Shiloh-Marion Baptist Church and Cemetery (NRHP) Buena Vista, GA.JPG, The

Shiloh-Marion Baptist Church and Cemetery Shiloh-Marion Baptist Church and Cemetery is a historic place in Buena Vista, Georgia. The Greek Revival style church building was constructed in 1835 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is a one-story one-room wo ...

, located just south of Buena Vista near the Webster County line, was added to the

on May 17, 1984. File:Drane-Stevens House (NRHP) Buena Vista, GA.JPG, The Drane-Stevens House, located in Buena Vista, was added to the

on July 28, 1999. File:Alfred and Jane Ables House (NRHP) Buena Vista, GA.JPG, The Alfred and Jane Ables House, located in Buena Vista, was added to the

on August 9, 2002.

References

{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Marion County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Columbus metropolitan area, Georgia Outsider art