Calhoun is a city in Gordon 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. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,949. Calhoun 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 Gordon County.

History

In December 1827, Georgia had already claimed the Cherokee lands that became Gordon County and other counties. A small town called "Dawsonville" was created and founded in Gordon County, named for the owner of an early general store. Dawsonville was later renamed "Calhoun" to honor

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. Born in South Carolina, he adamantly defended American s ...

, following his death in 1850. Gordon County's inferior court called an election for the selection of the county seat, offering voters a choice between a site on the Western & Atlantic Railroad (near Adairsville) or a site more centrally located within the county. Voters chose a site along the railroad, so the inferior court designated Calhoun as county seat in 1851. The legislature incorporated Calhoun in an act approved on January 12, 1852. On January 5, 1861, Georgia seceded from the Union as a prelude to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Calhounians joined the Confederacy. Most warfare took place elsewhere, but on May 16, 1864, Calhoun was near where the Union General

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

and Confederate General

Joseph E. Johnston Joseph Eggleston Johnston (February 3, 1807 – March 21, 1891) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and the Seminole Wars. After Virginia declared secession from ...

postured before the Battle of Adairsville during Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. Oakleigh, the home of Dr. Wall, was used by Sherman as his headquarters at that time. A tornado on March 20, 1888, leveled much of Calhoun. A devastating fire on October 23 of that year destroyed most of what remained.

Geography

Calhoun is located west of the center of Gordon County at (34.499898, -84.942584), along the Oostanaula River where it is joined by Oothkalooga Creek. It is part of the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ac ...

Alabama River The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa River, Tallapoosa and Coosa River, Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka, Alabama, Wetumpka. Over a co ...

watershed.

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 center of town as Wall Street, and

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 ...

runs along the eastern edge of the city, with access from Exits 310, 312, 315, 317, and 318. I-75 leads north to

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, and south to

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 ...

. US-41, running parallel to I-75, leads north to Resaca and south to Adairsville. Georgia State Route 156 runs west out of town as West Line Street, leading to Armuchee, and heads east out of town as Red Bud Road, leading to Red Bud. Georgia State Route 373 (East Line Street and Dews Pond Road) leads east to

Cash In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In book-keeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-i ...

Georgia State Route 136 State Route 136 (SR 136) is a State highway (US), state highway that travels west-to-east through portions of Dade County, Georgia, Dade, Walker County, Georgia, Walker, Gordon County, Georgia, Gordon, Murray County, Georgia, Murray, ...

(North River Street) leads northwest to LaFayette.

Georgia State Route 53 State Route 53 (SR 53) is a west-to-east State highway (US), state highway located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The highway travels from the Alabama state line west of Cave Spring, Georgia, ...

passes through the southern part of Calhoun, leading east to Fairmount and southwest to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. 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 of Calhoun has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.64%, is water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Calhoun has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 16,949 people, 6,088 households, and 4,001 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 10,667 people, 4,049 households, and 2,672 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,298 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 77.91%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.56%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.42% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.14%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 11.61% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. 17.07% of the population was

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 4,049 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $33,618, and the median income for a family was $42,310. Males had a median income of $27,616 versus $25,018 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $19,887. About 12.5% of families and 16.8% 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 20.8% of those under age 18 and 19.1% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Museums and other points of interest

*The

Rock Garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...

containing miniature castles, churches, and other structures * New Echota Historic Site, first Cherokee capital *Roland Hayes Museum at the Harris Arts Center *Oakleigh/Gordon County Historical Society *Premium Outlets of Calhoun * Phil Reeve Stadium *Sam's Treehouse

Education

Calhoun City School District

The Calhoun City School District serves

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

to grade twelve, and consists of two

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s, a

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

, and a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, separate from the county

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

. The district has 166 full-time teachers and over 2,666 students. *Calhoun Early Learning Academy - grades Pre-K–K *Calhoun Primary School - grades 1–3 *Calhoun Elementary School - grade 4–6 *Calhoun Middle School - grades 7–8 * Calhoun High School

Gordon County School District

The Gordon County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of six elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools, serving the area outside the

city limit City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate li ...

s. The district has 365 full-time teachers and over 6,259 students. * Red Bud Elementary Grades Pre-K–5 * W.L Swain Elementary Grades Pre-K–5 * Belwood Elementary School Pre-K–5 * Sonoraville Elementary School Pre-K–5 * Fairmount Elementary School Pre-K–5 * Max V. Tolbert Elementary School Pre-K–5 * Ashworth Middle School Grades 6–8 * Red Bud Middle School Grades 6–8 *

Gordon Central High School Gordon Central High School is a grade 9–12 public high school in Calhoun, 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 Geo ...

Grades 9–12 * Sonoraville High School Grades 9–12

Religious schools

Seventh-day Adventist

* John L. Coble Elementary School - K–8th grades * Georgia-Cumberland Academy - boarding 9–12 high school

Higher education

* Georgia Northwestern Technical College (formerly Coosa Valley Technical College)

Media

Print

The twice-weekl
''Calhoun Times''
established in 1870 is Gordon County's oldest operating business. With home delivery print editions each Wednesday and Saturday, the paper also has a website and various social media. The current editor is Blake Silvers.

Radio and TV

Although well outside of

metro Atlanta 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 ...

, Calhoun is considered part of the

television market, the ninth-largest DMA according to

Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

. Cable TV service is offered through Comcast Cable, which provides one

public, educational, and government access Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television special ...

(PEG)

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...

channel named WEBS cable 3. There are now four radio stations having Calhoun as their

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

: * WEBS AM 1030, playing

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

s on local Xfinity cable channel 3; station originally broadcast on AM 1110, from approximately 1965–1990. *

WIPK WIPK (94.5 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Calhoun, Georgia. The station's broadcast is held C. Steve Hegwood, through licensee Core Communicators North LLC. Coverage area WIPK transmits from east-southeast ...

FM 94.5, owned by WEBS, went on-air in late 2011 with a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

format. * WJTH AM 900, playing

; frequency was earlier assigned to WCGA, which broadcast from approximately 1950–1975. ** W269CC 101.7, transmitting WJTH programming from WJTH tower, but having nearby Adairsville as the city of license. * WLOJ-LP 102.9, religious (owned and operated by the Calhoun

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

). Many other stations from

, Atlanta, and

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

are also available across northwest Georgia, though reception of these often depends on weather.

Notable people

Elias Boudinot Elias Boudinot ( ; May 2, 1740 – October 24, 1821) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, statesman, and early abolitionist and women's rights advocate. During the Revolutionary War, Boudinot was an intelligence officer and prisoner-of-wa ...

(1802–1839), born Gallegina Uwati, also known as Buck Watie,

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

leader who believed that acculturation was critical to the tribe's survival; influential in the period of removal to the West. *

Ken Carson Kenyatta Lee Frazier Jr. (born April 11, 2000), known professionally as Ken Carson, is an American rapper and record producer from Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Carson initially gained attention for his SoundCloud releases and collab ...

(2000-), American rapper * Charlie Culberson Major League Baseball player * Kris Durham, professional football player; wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders * Roland Hayes (1887–1977), world-renowned lyric tenor, considered the first African-American male concert artist to receive wide acclaim both at home and internationally, born here and attended Calhoun schools * Tre Lamb, college football coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. * Bert Lance (1931–2013), businessman, and former director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Carter administration * James Beverly Langford (1922–1996), lawyer, businessman, and Georgia state legislator * John Meadows III (1944–2018), Businessman, Mayor of Calhoun, and Georgia state legislator * Larkin Poe, music duo. *

Sequoyah Sequoyah ( ; , , or , , ; 1770 – August 1843), also known as George Gist or George Guess, was a Native American polymath and Constructed script, neographer of the Cherokee Nation. In 1821, Sequoyah completed his Cherokee syllabary, enabl ...

(English: George Gist or George Guess) (c.1767–1843), Cherokee, inventor of the Cherokee Syllabary. This was the only time in recorded history that a member of a non-literate people independently created an effective writing system. He was also the namesake of California's giant ''

Sequoia sempervirens ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus ''Sequoia (genus), Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast ...

'' redwood tree. * William Thompson (1848–1918), Olympic gold medal winner * Stand Watie (1806–1871), Cherokee leader and

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

general * Dale Willis (1938–),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player

References

External links

City of Calhoun official website

Calhoun-Gordon Arts Council

''Calhoun Times''

New Echota Historic Site

Calhoun, GA. May 16, 1864
historical marker {{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Gordon County, Georgia Micropolitan areas of Georgia (U.S. state) County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)