Elberton is the largest city in Elbert 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 4,653 at the 2010 census. 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 Elbert County. Elberton is known as the "granite capital of the world".

History

Settled in the 1780s, Elbert was designated seat of the newly formed Elbert County in 1790. It was incorporated as a town in 1803 and as a city in 1896. Like Elbert County, Elberton is named for

Samuel Elbert Samuel Elbert (1740November 1, 1788) was an American merchant, soldier, slave owner, and politician from Savannah, Georgia. Elbert fought in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, commanding the victorious American colonial forces ...

Geography

Elberton is located near the center of Elbert County. 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 ...

, Elberton has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.72%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,640 people, 1,754 households, and 997 families residing in the city.

Economy

Granite

Elberton claims the title "granite capital of the world". The city's post-

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

history has largely revolved around the industry, following the opening of the first commercial quarry and manufacturing plant by Nathaniel Long in 1889. As the industry grew in the early 1900s, so did Elberton's importance on the passenger and freight railroad lines, bringing many travelers and businessmen to the city and leading to its heyday. Several granite monuments, including the now-destructed Georgia Guidestones, are located in or near Elberton. Elberton's Granite Bowl seats 20,000 and formerly featured a retired

Sanford Stadium Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States (also known as UGA). The 93,033-seat stadium is the ninth-largest American football stadium in the NCAA ...

(

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

) scoreboard. The city is home to the Elberton Granite Museum and Exhibit, with a notable exhibit being "'' Dutchy"'', a Confederate monument made of granite that was removed from the town square due to its appearance.

Southeastern Power

Since 1950, Elberton has served as the headquarters of the Southeastern Power Administration, a division of the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

. The authority markets power generated by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

across the southern United States. The authority recently moved from its downtown headquarters in the former Samuel Elbert Hotel to a new building on Athens Tech Drive on the western end of the city.

Government

Elberton operates under a council-manager form of government. In this style of government, the

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city, the five-person elected council serves as a board of directors, and the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

performs more ceremonial duties and presides over council. The City of Elberton operates Elberton Utilities, a comprehensive utility system which includes electric, gas, water, sewer, cable television, and internet services. The Elbert Theatre reopened in 2001 after extensive renovations.

Education

Elbert County School District

The city is served by the Elbert County School District. One learning center, one primary school, one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school are located within the city. The district has 194 full-time teachers and over 3,079 students. The school system is one of the county's largest employers.

Private education

Elberton Christian School was located on Rhodes Drive in the city, but has closed.

Colleges and universities

Athens Technical College operates a full satellite campus on the western end of the city, near the elementary school, middle school, and high school.

Media

Elberton is currently served by one newspaper, ''The Elberton Star,'' though several others (including the ''Elbert County Examiner'' and the ''Elbert Beacon,'' both of which merged with the ''Star'') have covered the city over the years. The ''Star'' has been published since 1887. The ''Anderson (S.C.) Independent-Mail'' publishes a daily Northeast Georgia edition which covers the Elberton area. The city is served by four local radio stations. WSGC-AM 1400, which plays an

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 ...

format, is one of Georgia's oldest, having been on the air since 1947. WSGC-FM 92.1 and WXKT-FM 100.1 play

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 ...

while WLVX-FM 105.1 specializes in R&B. Elberton is in the Greenville-

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...

- Asheville

television market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

, though local cable and satellite providers also carry stations from the

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 ...

market.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

Highways in Elberton include: *

Georgia State Route 17 State Route 17 (SR 17) is a state highway that travels northwest–southeast in the east-central and northeastern parts of the U.S. state of Georgia. The highway connects the Savannah metro area to the North Carolina state line, no ...

* Georgia State Route 72 *

Georgia State Route 77 State Route 77 (SR 77) is a State highway (US), state highway that travels south-to-north through portions of Hancock County, Georgia, Hancock, Greene County, Georgia, Greene, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, Oglethorpe, Elbert County, Ge ...

* Interstate 85

Airports

Elberton and Elbert County are served locally by the Elbert County-Patz Field Airport, located just east of the city on State Route 72.

Railroad

For many years, Elberton was an important passenger and freight stop on the main line of the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

. The line is now operated by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

and remains in use for freight transportation. A spur line connects Elberton to a main line of the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

(formerly Southern Railway).

Healthcare

Elbert Memorial Hospital, founded in 1950, is a 25-bed acute care critical access hospital with emergency, surgical, and rehabilitation facilities.

Notable people

* Brent Adams, NFL

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

for

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

and

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

Amos T. Akerman Amos Tappan Akerman (February 23, 1821 – December 21, 1880) was an American politician who served as United States Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant from 1870 to 1871. A native of New Hampshire, Akerman graduated from Dartmou ...

U.S. Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...

under

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

, fought railroad corruption and the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

* William Wyatt Bibb, appointed first

governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

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 ...

, 1813–1816 *

Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American American football, football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the National Football League (NFL), and the American Football League (AFL). ...

, 14-term U.S. congressman, 1933–1961 * Clark Gaines, NFL

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

* George Rockingham Gilmer, two-term

governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

, U.S. congressman * Derek Harper,

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

and 16-year

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

* Corra May Harris, early 20th century author, lived at Farm Hill * Nancy Hart, Revolutionary War heroine * Stephen Heard,

, 1780–1781 * William H. Heard, former slave, clergyman and U.S. ambassador to

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

* Joseph Rucker Lamar, former

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

justice *

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

, of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

, lived in Elbert County * Juanita Marsh, third female judge in Georgia, 2020 Georgia Women of Achievement inductee *

Arnall Patz Arnall Patz (June 14, 1920 – March 11, 2010) was an American medical doctor and research professor at Johns Hopkins University. In the early 1950s, Patz discovered that oxygen therapy was the cause of an epidemic of blindness among some 10,000 ...

, discovered cause of blindness in premature infants and helped develop laser treatment of diabetic retinopathy * Charles Tait,

, 1809–1819 * Wiley Thompson, U.S. congressman and Indian agent, oversaw removal of

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

s from Florida (

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

) * Daniel Tucker, preacher, possible subject of " Old Dan Tucker" song * Chester Willis, former NFL halfback

Sister cities

Elberton has a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

, Mure, Kagawa, Japan, as designated by

Sister Cities International Sister Cities International (SCI) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the goal of facilitating partnerships between communities within the United States and other countries by establishing sister cities. Sister cities are agreements of ...

.Elberton's Sister City Program
, Retrieved June 26, 2010.

References

External links

City of Elberton official website

at City-Data.com
New Georgia Encyclopedia: Granite
{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Elbert County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)