Climax is a small town in
Decatur County,
Georgia, United States. The town was named "Climax" because it is located at the highest point of the railroad between
Savannah, Georgia, and the
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatta ...
. The population was 280 at the 2010 census.
History
Climax was
platted in 1833, and named for its lofty elevation. The
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...
incorporated the place in 1905 as the "Town of Climax", with the municipal corporate limits extending in a one-half mile radius from the town's central water well.
Geography
Climax is located in eastern Decatur County at (30.877194, -84.431975).
It sits on the crest of Curry Hill, a
escarpment that forms the southwestern side 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 the u ...
valley.
U.S. Route 84 passes through Climax, leading west to
Bainbridge, the Decatur County seat, and east to
Cairo.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town of Climax has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 297 people, 116 households, and 78 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 134 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 56.90%
White, 41.08%
African American, 0.34%
Native American, 0.34% from
other races, and 1.35% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 3.37% of the population.
There were 116 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% 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 t ...
living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.1% 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 3.27.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $26,250, and the median income for a family was $33,250. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $17,083 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $11,666. About 9.6% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 13.2% of those under the age of eighteen and 6.8% of those 65 or over.
Swine Time Festival
Climax's annual festival is held on the first Saturday after
Thanksgiving. The event is attended by 35,000 people annually, a large number in light of Climax's sub-300 population. Contests and events include best-dressed pig, corn shucking,
hog calling, eating
chitterlings
Chitterlings (), sometimes spelled chitlins or chittlins, are the small intestines of domestic animals. They are usually made from pigs' intestines. They may also be filled with a forcemeat to make sausage.''Oxford English Dictionary'', 1st editi ...
, pig racing, syrup making, baby crawling, and the great
greased pig chase
Pig wrestling (also known as pig scramble and with the variants hog wrestling and greased pig catching) is a game sometimes played at agricultural shows such as state and county fairs, in which contestants, try to hold onto a pig. In the most ...
. The festival is kicked off with a parade down Main Street that leads up to the event grounds. There is also a beauty contest for different age groups where the winner is crowned ''Miss'' and ''Little Miss Swine Time''.
References
External links
Swine Time FestivalClimaxhistorical marker
{{authority control
Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)
Cities in Decatur County, Georgia