Dublin is a city and

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 Laurens 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. The population was 16,074 at the 2020 census.

History

The City of Dublin, Georgia was incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly on December 9, 1812, and made the county seat of Laurens County, Georgia. The original postmaster, Jonathan Sawyer, named the town Dublin after the capital of his Irish homeland,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Dublin, according to a historical marker at the town's main

Oconee River The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it join ...

bridge, was one of the last encampments at which Confederate President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

and his family stayed before being captured by Union forces in May 1865. Between 1880 and 1910, five railroads connected through Dublin and two bridges were built over the Oconee River. This infrastructure allowed the town to become a major cotton trading and export center for central Georgia. By the early 1920s, however, the boll weevil infestation led to successive cotton crop failures, causing economic collapse and population loss. On April 17, 1944,

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

gave his first public speech, "The Negro and the Constitution" at First African Baptist Church in Dublin.

Geography

Dublin is located in north-central Laurens County. The town, named such because the Middle Georgia

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

reminded Irish settlers of terrain in their native country, was founded on the Oconee River, which starts in the foothills of the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

in northern Georgia before combining with 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.Altamaha, a river which then proceeds to its mouth on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The Oconee forms the eastern boundary of Dublin, separating it from the city of East Dublin. 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 town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.59%, are water.

Location

The city is located in the central part of the state along

Interstate 16 Interstate 16 (I-16), also known as Jim Gillis Historic Savannah Parkway, is an east–west Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Georgia. It carries the hidden designation of State Route 404 (SR 404) for it ...

. Access to the city can be found from exits 49, 51, 54, and 58. Via I-16,

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

is east, and Macon is northwest. US routes 80, 319, and

441 __NOTOC__ Year 441 (Roman numerals, CDXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cyrus of Panopolis, Seleucus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 119 ...

also run through the city. US 441 connects the city to Milledgeville, northwest, and McRae–Helena, south. Numerous state and local highways also run through the city.

Historic districts

Dublin has two historic districts designated by 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 ...

: the Dublin Commercial Historic District and the Stubbs Park–Stonewall Street Historic District. The Dublin Commercial Historic District consists of the original downtown commercial core, including the earliest extant building in the district: the Hicks Building, dating to 1893. The historic district contains 78 contributing properties, including the Dublin Carnegie Library First National Bank Building, and the former United States Post Office building. Structures within the district represent a wide range of architectural styles, including

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...

, Neoclassical,

Commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

, and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

. The Stubbs Park-Stonewall Street Historic District is located west of Dublin's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. The district contains 470 contributing properties, most of which are residential homes constructed between the late 1910s to the early 1940s. The predominant architectural styles of the area consist of Craftsman,

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

, Folk Victorian, and Georgian Cottage. In addition to historic residences, the district contains properties including historic churches, historic cemeteries, and Dublin's first public park, Stubbs Park.

Climate

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, there were 16,074 people, 6,459 households, and 3,944 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 7,224 housing units.

Dublin micropolitan statistical area

Dublin is the principal city of the Dublin micropolitan statistical area, a micropolitan area that covers

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

and Laurens counties, and had a combined population of 58,759 at the 2020 census.

Government

Dublin's city government is made up of a mayor and a city council composed of seven council members. Four of the council members represent wards, or districts, within the city boundaries; the remaining three members are considered council members at large, representing the entire city as legislative members. Dublin was chosen as a City of Excellence by the Georgia Municipal Association and ''Georgia Trend'' magazine in 2000. This distinction recognized Dublin as one of the ten best managed and most livable cities in Georgia when evaluated on areas like public safety, cultural activities, fiscal management, and downtown viability. In 2005, Dublin was designated as a "Signature Community" by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Dublin was also recognized by the American Association of Retirement Communities (AARC) as a Seal of Approval Community in 2009. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Dublin Post Office and the Court Square Station in Dublin. The Carl Vinson Veterans Administration Medical Center is located in Dublin. It was originally commissioned as Naval Hospital Dublin on January 22, 1945, as an ideal location for convalescence from

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Si ...

. As such it was the site of the commissioning of Naval Medical Research Unit Four on May 31, 1946, to study the disease. The Navy transferred the hospital to the Veterans Affairs Department in November 1947, and it was subsequently named for congressman

Carl Vinson Carl Vinson (November 18, 1883 – June 1, 1981) was an American politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for over 50 years and was influential in the 20th century expansion of the U.S. Navy. He was a member of the Democrati ...

who was responsible for getting it built in Dublin. Today, the medical center provides a range of services to veterans in Middle and South Georgia, including primary care, mental health, ambulatory and urgent care, optometry, women's health, and extended care. The medical center features a 340 operating-bed facility and has approximately 1,100 employees. Dublin's Laurens County Library is known for its

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

department, with archives and records going back two hundred years.

Arts and culture

Theatre Dublin

Theatre Dublin, originally known as the Martin Theater, was constructed in 1934 in Dublin's Historic Downtown Commercial District. The theatre features

architectural design, with flat symmetrical wall surfacing and horizontal bands, in addition to an overhanging marquee and neon sign. Since its renovation in 1996, Theatre Dublin has served as a performing arts center for Dublin-Laurens County and surrounding areas. The theatre houses a regular variety of events and performances, including musical artists, plays and performances, orchestras, concerts, and showings of both classical and contemporary films.

Dublin Carnegie Library

The Dublin Carnegie Library was built in 1904 by a grant from

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

. It is located in Dublin's Historic Downtown Commercial District, and the Dublin Carnegie is one of only three surviving Carnegie Libraries in the state of Georgia listed on the

and still in its original form. The Dublin Carnegie served as public library for the region until the 1960s, at which point the city and county constructed a larger public library. In the late 1970s, the Dublin Carnegie Library was structurally stabilized and maintained by the Dublin-Laurens Historical Society. For more than 35 years, the building served as the home of the Dublin-Laurens Museum. In 2014, the Dublin-Laurens Museum moved to a new location, leaving the Dublin Carnegie Library unoccupied. The Dublin Downtown Development Authority then renovated the building to its historic stature, restoring many of the building's original features. Since the renovation by the DDA in 2014, the Dublin Carnegie has served as an event space and fine arts gallery, featuring local and statewide art displays.

Education

Public schools

The Dublin City School District, which includes areas in the Dublin city limits,
Text list
/ref> holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, a high school, and an alternative school. The district has approximately 2,400 students as of 2016. *Hillcrest Elementary School *Susie Dasher Elementary School *Dublin Middle School * Dublin High School *Moore Street School (Alternative) The Laurens County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and serves areas outside of the Dublin city limits.

Private schools

*Trinity Christian School

Higher education

Georgia Military College Georgia Military College (GMC) is a Public college, public military junior college in Milledgeville, Georgia. It is divided into the junior college, a military junior college program, high school, middle school, and elementary school. It was ori ...

- Dublin Campus * Oconee Fall Line Technical College - South Campus *

Middle Georgia State University Middle Georgia State University is a public university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University System of Georgia and offers programs to students on five campuses in Middle Georgia and online. Middle ...

- Dublin Campus

Notable events

Festivals

Dublin is known for its St Patrick's festival which takes place annually during March.

Sister city

* Osaki, Miyagi, Japan

Pageants

Dublin is home to several scholarship pageants, which are largely popular in the southern United States: * The Miss Saint Patrick's Scholarship pageant, sponsored by the Pilot Club, is held every year in March in conjunction with the

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

celebration. * Dublin and Laurens County's America's Junior Miss Pageant is a scholarship competition held yearly for high school juniors. The winners of both the Dublin and Laurens County pageants advance to the state pageant. Its new name is Distinguished Young Women.

In literature

Dublin, the Oconee River, and Laurens County are mentioned in the opening page of James Joyce's ''

Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish literature, Irish writer James Joyce. It was published in instalments starting in 1924, under the title "fragments from ''Work in Progress''". The final title was only revealed when the book was publishe ...

'': "nor had topsawyer's rocks by the stream Oconee exaggerated themselves to Laurens County's gorgios while they went doublin their mumper all the time." (Joyce explained in a letter: "Dublin, Laurens Co, Georgia, founded by a Dubliner, Peter Sawyer, on r. Oconee. Its motto: Doubling all the time.")

Notable people

* Jamel Ashley, retired track athlete who competed in the sprint events * Jermaine Hall, basketball player for Maccabi Ashdod of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Matt Hatchett - Businessman and politician. He is a member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

from the 150th District. * Eleanor Ison Franklin (1929–1998), medical physiologist and endocrinologist * Anthony Kewoa Johnson, retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the light heavyweight division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

* Marcos Knight, professional basketball player * J. Roy Rowland,

congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

from 1983 to 1995 and a resident of Dublin * Imagene Stewart (1942–2012), Baptist minister and activist * Demaryius Thomas, football player in the NFL for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Quincy Trouppe Quincy Thomas Trouppe (December 25, 1912 – August 10, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and an amateur boxing champion. He was a catcher in the Negro leagues from 1930 to 1949. He was a native of Dublin, Georgia. Early life ...

, baseball player in the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

Erik Walden Erik Lashawn Walden (born August 21, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and was selected by the ...

, National Football League player * Darrell Williams Jr., football player in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers * Leh Keen, racing driver

References

External links

*
City of Dublin – Official WebsiteDublin-Laurens County Chamber of CommerceDublin Carnegie LibraryDublin Downtown Development AuthorityCarl Vinson Veterans Administration Medical CenterTheatre DublinDublin St. Patricks Festival
{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Laurens County, Georgia Dublin, Georgia micropolitan area County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)