Fitzgerald is a city in and the county seat of Ben Hill County in the south central portion of the

U.S The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. state of

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 ...

. As of 2020, its population was 9,006. It is the principal city of the Fitzgerald micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Ben Hill and

Irwin Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango Co ...

counties. A small portion of Fitzgerald is in Irwin County.

History

Fitzgerald was developed in 1895 by Philander H. Fitzgerald, an

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

newspaper editor. A former drummer boy in the Union Army during the Civil War, he founded it as a community for

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

veterans–both from the Union and from the Confederacy. The majority of the first citizens (some 2700) were Union veterans. It was incorporated on December 2, 1896. The town is located less than from the site where 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 ...

was captured on May 10, 1865. Fitzgerald was an early planned city. It was laid out as a square, with intersecting streets dividing it into four wards. Each ward was divided into four blocks and each block had sixteen squares. The first two streets running north–south on the west side of the city were named after Confederate generals Lee and Johnston, whereas the first two on the east side were named after Union generals Grant and Sherman. After about a year, the residents planned a Thanksgiving harvest parade. Separate Union and Confederate parades were planned. But when the band struck up to play, the Confederates joined the Union veterans to march as one under the US flag. At the time there was increasing reconciliation nationwide between white soldiers of the North and South; historian David Blight notes that outstanding issues of race were pushed aside. In this era southern states had already begun to pass new constitutions that raised barriers to voter registration, following Mississippi's in 1890, and essentially disenfranchised most freedmen and many poor whites. By 1900, Fitzgerald was a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...

, prohibiting African Americans from living there. In recent years the unofficial, and sometimes controversial,

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

of the city has become the

red junglefowl The red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), also known as the Indian red junglefowl (and formerly the bankiva or bankiva-fowl), is a species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the a ...

, a wild chicken native to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

. In the late 1960s, a small number were released into the woods surrounding the city and they thrive to this day. In 2019, work began on a tall topiary statue of a chicken.

Geography

Fitzgerald is located in Southeast Georgia at (31.715432, -83.256464). U.S. Route 129 passes through the center of the city, leading north to

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

, Hawkinsville, and eventually Macon, and south to Ocilla,

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and Lakeland. U.S. Route 319 also passes through Fitzgerald, leading northeast to McRae and

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 ...

and southwest to Tifton. 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 , or 1.64%, is water.

Climate

Demographics

At the 2020 United States census, there were 9,006 people, 3,346 households, and 1,932 families residing in the city. By 2022 a part of the city was in Irwin County, but no people lived in that portion.

Arts and culture

The Dorminy-Massee House is now operated as a

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

. J. J. (Captain Jack) Dorminy built it in 1915 for his family; the two-story, colonial-style home 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 ...

. The Blue and Gray Museum, located in the town's AB&A 1908 railroad depot, houses several artifacts that tell the story of the town's founding. The town also has a city government owned art gallery located in the Carnegie library on the edge of downtown.

Government and infrastructure

The

U.S. 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 Fitzgerald Post Office. The city is the county seat, hosting the Ben Hill County Courthouse.

Education

The Ben Hill County School District, which includes all of Ben Hill County, conducts pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one pre-school, one primary school, an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 217 full-time teachers and over 3,395 students. * Ben Hill County PreK * Ben Hill County Primary School * Ben Hill County Elementary School * Ben Hill County Even Start * Ben Hill County Middle School * Fitzgerald High School College and Career Academy While the Irwin County portion is in the Irwin County School District,
Text list
as of 2022 no people live in that portion. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College – Ben Hill-Irwin Campus is located on the southern end of the county.

Media

* WRDO Real Radio 96.9 * Herald Leader Newspaper (Fitzgerald) ** WSWG, CBS TV ** CW44, CW TV ** WSWG2, My Network TV * WOKA Dixie Country 106.7 * WOBB B-100 * WSIZ Radio MyFM 102.3 (Fitzgerald) @ 99.9 (Douglas)

Minor league baseball teams

Fitzgerald was home to a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team in the Georgia State League from 1948, the league's first season of operation, through 1952. The team was called the Fitzgerald Pioneers. The club had no affiliation with any major league club during the five seasons of operation in the Georgia State League. After the 1952 season, the Fitzgerald Pioneers relocated to Sandersville and became the Sandersville Wacos, which were affiliated with the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

for the 1953 season. The team ended their last season in 1956, under different affiliation. Fitzgerald got a replacement team for the Pioneers in 1953 when the Moultrie Giants of the

Georgia–Florida League The Georgia–Florida League was a minor baseball league that existed from 1935 through 1958 (suspending operations during World War II) and in 1962–1963. It was one of many Class D circuits that played in the Southeastern United States during t ...

moved to town. The Moultrie club was a charter member of the Georgia–Florida League when it began operations in 1946. After relocating to Fitzgerald and becoming an affiliate of the Cincinnati Redlegs, the new edition of the Fitzgerald Pioneers lasted one season (1954) saw the team name changed to the Fitzgerald Redlegs. After two years in Fitzgerald, the club returned to Moultrie. It ceased operating in 1958 under the name Brunswick Phillies. After the Fitzgerald Redlegs left, the city was without a team for the 1955 season. The next year the Cordele club relocated to Fitzgerald after ten seasons in Cordele. They changed affiliation back to what were now called the Kansas City A's, and the Fitzgerald A's played for the 1956 season. In 1957, the club again changed its affiliation, to the Baltimore Orioles; the club was known as the Fitzgerald Orioles for the 1957 season. The Fitzgerald team relocated to Dublin, Georgia after the 1957 season and remained a Baltimore Orioles farm team; they played as the Dublin Orioles for the Georgia–Florida League's last year of operation. Fitzgerald has not had a minor league team in the 63 years since.

Notable people

* Morris B. Abram, president of

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

and civil rights leader * Brainard Cheney, author * Neal Colzie, NFL defensive back * General Raymond G. Davis,

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

, World War II hero,

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient, Commander of the

3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry division ...

in 1968–69 in

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, and Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps 1971–72 * Abner Jay, blues musician * Frances Mayes, author * Charlie Paulk, seventh pick of

1968 NBA draft The 1968 NBA draft was the 22nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 3, 1968, and May 8 and 10, 1968, before the 1968–69 season. In this draft, 14 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. co ...

* Jason Poe, NFL offensive guard * Joe Reliford, youngest professional baseball player * Lecitus Smith, NFL guard *

Forrest Towns Forrest Grady "Spec" Towns (February 6, 1914 – April 9, 1991) was an American Track and field, track and field athlete. He was the 1936 Summer Olympics, 1936 Olympic champion in the 110 m hurdling, hurdles and broke the world record in that ev ...

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

track star * Jemea Thomas, former NFL cornerback * Mary Verner, politician, Mayor of

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

References

External links

City of Fitzgerald official website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1895 Cities in Ben Hill County, Georgia Cities in Irwin County, Georgia Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Fitzgerald, Georgia micropolitan area Planned communities in the United States County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Sundown towns in Georgia (U.S. state) 1895 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)