Fayetteville ( ; locally ) is a city in and 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 Fayette 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 18,957, up from 15,945 at the 2010 census. Fayetteville is located south of

downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...

History

Fayetteville was founded in 1822 as the seat of the newly formed Fayette County, organized by European Americans from territory ceded by force the

Creek people 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 WoodlandsIndian removal from the

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

. Both city and county were named in honor of the Revolutionary War hero the French

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

. Fayetteville was incorporated as a town in 1823 and as a city in 1902. The area was developed for

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

plantations, with labor provided by enslaved African Americans, who for more than a century comprised the majority of the county's population. Fayetteville became the trading town for the agricultural area. In the first half of the 20th century, as agriculture became more mechanized, many African-American workers left the area in the Great Migration to northern and midwestern industrial cities, which had more jobs and offered less oppressive social conditions. A reverse migration has brought new residents to the South, and the city of Fayetteville has grown markedly since 1980, as has the county. The city's population increased from 2715 in 1980 to 18,957 in 2020.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 18,957 people, 6,833 households, and 4,833 families residing in the city.

Government

The city has a mayor-council form of elected government. Five council members are elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

, in non-partisan post, and the mayor is elected at-large in a non-partisan race. In 2015 Ed Johnson was elected mayor, the first African American to serve in the position. The retired US Naval Commander and pastor of Fayette County's oldest black church is described as a consensus builder. In 2011 Johnson was elected as the first black member of the city council after having served three terms as president of the local chapter of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

.Tammy Joyner, "Fayetteville’s first black mayor is ‘bridge builder’"
''Atlanta Journal-Constitution,'' 7 November 2015; accessed 13 December 2016
''Al-jazeera'' (US), 16 February 2016; accessed 12 December 2016 Johnson was re-elected in 2019.

Education

The city is served by the Fayette County Board of Education. In 2016, a soundstage at Pinewood Studios was open for educational use by the

Georgia Film Academy The Georgia Film Academy (GFA) is a not-for-profit entertainment arts program based in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a collaboration of the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia created in 2015 by Georgia state leader ...

. In late 2020, the Georgia Film Academy partnered with Trilith and the University of Georgia to launch its Master of Fine Arts film program; students would work and live in Trilith during their second year. Trilith also has a small K-12 school called the Forest School.

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 ...

has a campus in Fayetteville.

Points of interest

The Fayette County Courthouse, built in 1825 four years after the county and town's founding, is the oldest surviving courthouse in Georgia. It is located in the center of the Fayetteville town square. Since the construction of a new courthouse, the 1825 building has been adapted for use as the local welcome center. It holds offices for Fayetteville Main Street and the Fayette County Development Authority. The

Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House The Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House in Fayetteville, Georgia, one block west of the city's courthouse square, was built in 1847. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. Description and history It is an antebellum Greek R ...

was built in 1855 by John Stiles Holliday, uncle of the western gambler John Henry "Doc" Holliday. The

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel that was published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel ''Gone With the Wind (novel), Gone ...

Library, built in 1948 and named in honor of the author, serves as the headquarters of the Fayette County Historical Society. Among its holdings are Civil War and genealogical records. The residence formally occupied by deceased

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...

and his

nuclear family A nuclear family (also known as an elementary family, atomic family, or conjugal family) is a term for a family group consisting of parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single ...

until June 2007, within which a high-profile double-murder and suicide tragedy occurred, is located in Fayetteville.

Trilith Studios Trilith Studios is an American film and television production studio located south of Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta in Fayette County, Georgia. Originally known as Pinewood Atlanta Studios, the studio has been used to produce many films and televisio ...

, then Pinewood Atlanta Studios, opened here in 2014; it was a joint venture between British company

Pinewood Group Pinewood Group Limited (formerly Pinewood Group plc and Pinewood Shepperton plc) is a British multinational film studio and television studio company with headquarters in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. The group runs Pinewood Studios a ...

and River's Rock LLC, an independently managed trust of the

Cathy family ''Cathy'' is an American gag-a-day comic strip, drawn by Cathy Guisewite from 1976 until 2010. The comic follows Cathy, a woman who struggles through the "four basic guilt groups" of life: food, love, family, and work. The strip gently pokes fu ...

, founders of the

Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A, Inc. ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in Chicken burger, chicken sandwiches. Headquarter ...

fast-food chain. In 2020 River's Rock bought out Pinewood's share of the studio. It is the largest film and television production studio in the United States outside the state of California. The studio has produced many large budget films, including several in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

such as '' Avengers: Infinity War'', '' Avengers: Endgame'', and ''

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

''. In 2016, the Pinewood Forest mixed-use complex was launched. Located across the street from the studio, it features homes along with plans for "a movie theater, restaurants, boutique hotels, retail and office space", built using environmentally friendly building materials. In 2020, when the studio was renamed Trilith Studios, Pinewood Forest was renamed the Town at Trilith. In April 2021, ''Atlanta'' magazine ranked the community ninth in their top ten metro Atlanta vibrant city centers list; the community was also the newest featured on the list.

Notable people

* Andrew Adams, football player for the

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*Aliyah Bah, musical artist known by her stage name Aliyah's Interlude * Brian Branch, football player for the

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Paris Bennett Paris Ana'is Bennett (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer who finished in fifth place on the fifth season of the reality television talent show, ''American Idol''. Biography Early years Bennett was born in Rockford, Illinois, to Jameci ...

, ''American Idol'' Season 5: fifth place finalist *

, Canadian professional wrestler and murderer *

Brandon Boykin Brandon Boykin (born July 13, 1990) is an American former professional football cornerback. He played college football at Georgia and was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL draft. He was also a member of the P ...

, former NFL player for the

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Zac Brown Zachry Alexander Brown (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the country Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Brown ...

, Grammy Award-winning country music singer *

Tonya Butler Tonya Lynn Butler (born October 20, 1980) is an American athlete who is the first woman ever to score a field goal in a college football game. She accomplished this feat on September 13, 2003, as a placekicker for the University of West Alabama ...

, football player for the

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Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

Phil Cofer Philip Cofer (born June 19, 1996) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles. Early life and high school career Cofer is the son of NFL linebacker Mike Cofer. ...

, basketball player for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

Matt Daniels Matthew Daniels (born September 27, 1989) is an American professional football coach and former player who is the special teams coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played in the NFL as a safety. Dani ...

, football player for the

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John Deraney John Deraney (born September 5, 1983) is an American former professional football punter and placekicker. He played for the NC State Wolfpack football program from 2003 to 2006, handling punts, kickoffs, field goals, and extra points. He also s ...

, football player for the

Creflo Dollar Creflo Augustus Dollar Jr. (born January 28, 1962) is an American pastor, televangelist, and the founder of the non-denominational Christian World Changers Church International based in College Park, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Dollar also hea ...

televangelist Televangelism (from ''televangelist'', a blend of ''television'' and ''evangelist'') and occasionally termed radio evangelism or teleministry, denotes the utilization of media platforms, notably radio and television, for the marketing of relig ...

Hugh M. Dorsey Hugh Manson Dorsey (July 10, 1871 – June 11, 1948) was an American lawyer from Georgia. He was the prosecuting attorney in the Leo Frank prosecution of 1913, that subsequently led to a lynching after Frank's death sentence was reduced to lif ...

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 ...

Kyle Dugger Kyle Dugger (born March 22, 1996) is an American professional football safety for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Lenoir–Rhyne Bears. Early life Dugger primarily played basket ...

, football player for the

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Mike Duke Michael Terry Duke (born December 7, 1949) is an American businessman. He served as the fourth chief executive officer of Walmart from 2009 to 2013.Kavilanz, Parija BWal-Mart names new CEO: World's largest retailer says international chief Mike Du ...

, former CEO of

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

* Niko Goodrum, Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers * Mike Hilton, NFL defensive back * Ufomba Kamalu, NFL defensive end for the

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Emmanuel Lewis Emmanuel Lewis (born March 9, 1971) is a retired American actor, best known for playing the title character in the sitcom '' Webster''. He was one of American television's biggest stars in the mid-1980s. Early career Lewis was born in Brooklyn, N ...

, actor, '' Webster'' * Sam Martin, football player for the

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Christopher Massey Christopher Michael Massey (born January 26, 1990) is an American rapper and actor, best known for his role as Michael Barret on the Nickelodeon television series ''Zoey 101'' (2005–2008) and ''Zoey 102'' (2023). Career Massey started his a ...

, actor, musician, director, film producer *

Kyle Massey Kyle Orlando Massey (born August 28, 1991), also known mononymously as Massey, is an American former actor and rapper. He starred in the Disney Channel sitcoms ''That's So Raven'' and its spin-off ''Cory in the House'', in which he played Cory ...

, actor, musician, ''Dancing with the Stars'' *

Ann Nesby Ann Nesby (born Lula Ann Bennett; July 24, 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and producer known for her work in R&B, gospel, and dance music. She rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the Grammy Award-winning group Sounds of Black ...

, Grammy Award-winning singer and actress *

Kelley O'Hara Kelley Maureen O'Hara (born August 4, 1988) is an American former professional association football, soccer player. She represented the United States women's national soccer team, United States national team on 160 occasions, winning two FIFA ...

, player for

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and

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in the National Women's Soccer League; Olympic and World Cup champion *

Paul Orndorff Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Champions ...

, professional wrestler * Plumb (born Tiffany Arbuckle Lee), songwriter, recording artist, performer and author *

Keshia Knight Pulliam Keshia Knight Pulliam (born April 9, 1979) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress. She landed her breakthrough role as Rudy Huxtable, on the NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show'' (1984–1992), and became the youngest person to ...

, actress, ''

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'', ''Tyler Perry's House of Payne'' *

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(born Darren Matthews), English professional wrestler * Nellie Mae Rowe, folk artist *

Ferrol Sams Ferrol Aubrey Sams, Jr. (September 26, 1922 – January 29, 2013) was an American physician and novelist. Early life and education Sams was born to Mildred Matthews and Ferrol Aubrey Sams, Sr, in Fayette County, Georgia, United States. The young ...

, author * Jabari Smith Jr., NBA forward for the

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, leader of

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* Christian Taylor, track and field athlete, Olympic gold medalist * Anna Watson, "The World's Strongest Cheerleader" *

Gary Anthony Williams Gary Anthony Williams (born March 14, 1966) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He has voiced the character Uncle Ruckus on ''The Boondocks'', General Horace Warfield in '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty'' and Dr. Richard Tygan in '' ...

, actor and star of ''Special Agent Oso'' on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

* Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, professional American wrestler, also known as ‘The Iron Shiek’

References

External links

City of Fayetteville official website

Fayetteville Downtown Development Authority
{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Fayette County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)