Cusseta ( ) is a city in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, 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 9,565 in 2020. 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 Chattahoochee County, with which it shares a consolidated city-county government. Despite this, Cusseta is not coterminous with the county; it remains a geographically distinct municipality within the county.

History

Chattahoochee County was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on February 13, 1854. It was formed from portions of

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...

and Marion counties and named for the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

that forms its western boundary. The act appointed five commissioners to choose a site for the county seat, which they named Cusseta to commemorate the Creek Indian town that used to exist nearby. The original courthouse is preserved at the tourist attraction of Westville in

. Cusseta was incorporated as a city on December 22, 1855. It is still the only incorporated city in Chattahoochee County. Cusseta briefly prided itself on having the world's tallest man-made structure, the WTVM/WRBL-TV & WVRK-FM Tower, a guyed transmission tower built in 1962 about one mile from the city. However, it was surpassed only one year later by the KVLY-TV mast in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

. In 2003, the city and county formed a consolidated Cusseta-Chattahoochee County government.

Geography

Cusseta is located at (32.305451, -84.776929). The city is located southeast of

along U.S. Route 280, Georgia State Route 520 (known as South Georgia Parkway), and U.S. Route 27. The three highways run northwest to Columbus. U.S. Route 280 and Georgia 520 separate from U.S. Route 27 in the city, with U.S. 280 and Georgia 520 running south and east to Americus and to Albany. Other highways such as

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 137, and Georgia State Route 355 pass through or begin in the city. 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 0.66% is water. A portion of

Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

is in the city.

Demographics

According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were 1,196 people, 436 households, and 316 families residing in the city. By the 2020 census, its population was 9,565, down from 11,267 in 2010.

Education

Chattahoochee County School District

The Chattahoochee County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 85 full-time teachers and over 1000 students.School Stats
, Retrieved June 3, 2010. *Chattahoochee County Education Center *Chattahoochee County Middle School *Chattahoochee County High School

Gallery

File:Chattahoochee County, Georgia Courthouse.JPG, The Chattahoochee County Courthouse is located in Cusseta, the

. File:Cusseta, GA Post Office (31805).JPG, Cusseta Post Office ( ZIP code: 31805) File:Chattahoochee County Public Library (Cusseta, GA).JPG, Chattahoochee County Public Library File:Chattahoochee County Jail (Cusseta, GA; NRHP).JPG, Constructed in Cusseta in 1902, this two-story fireproof jail facility served the county until 1975. It is 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 ...

on March 13, 1986. File:Cusseta Industrial High School (Cusseta, GA; NRHP).JPG, The Cusseta Industrial High School is a Rosenwald School constructed from 1929 to 1930. It is listed on the

in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, on April 15, 2011. File:Cusseta First Baptist Church (Est 1839).JPG, Cusseta First Baptist Church, the oldest church in Cusseta, was established in 1839.

References

External links

City of Cusseta
at Georgia.gov
Official website
of the Unified Government of Cusseta-Chattahoochee County
Cusseta School
historical marker {{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Chattahoochee County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Columbus metropolitan area, Georgia Georgia populated places on the Chattahoochee River 1854 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Consolidated city-counties