Fort Gaines is a city in and the county seat of

Clay County, Georgia Clay County is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 2,848, making it the third-least populous county in Ge ...

, United States. It has a population of 995 as of the 2020 census.

History

The present town of Fort Gaines was founded in 1816 as protection against the indigenous Creeks and prospered due to riverboat trade. Though it was named for General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, he did not arrive there with the 4th Infantry of the United States Army until 1816. A fort of the same name had been built in 1814 nearby on the Chattachoochee River. In 1854, Fort Gaines was designated seat of the newly formed Clay County. According to ''The Floridian'' newspaper of 1840, in Fort Gaines were the Chattahoochee Female College and the Independent College for Young Men, boarding schools (not colleges, as that word is traditionally used today). "The writer esteems that the society and location of Fort Gaines for literary purposes, so far as the education of youths is concerned, equal to that of

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

eorgia"

Geography

Fort Gaines is located along the western edge of Clay County at (31.614226, -85.048317). Its western boundary is the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It ...

, which is also the state line with

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 ...

. Walter F. George Lock and Dam crosses the river between the northern side of Fort Gaines and Alabama, forming Walter F. George Lake, also known as Lake Eufaula. Georgia State Routes 37, 39, and 266 all run through the city. GA-37 runs east–west just south of the downtown area, leading east to Edison and west 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 ...

(as Alabama State Route 10). GA-39 runs north–south through the center of town as Hancock Street, leading north to Georgetown and southeast to Blakely. GA-266 begins just north of the city and leads northeast to

Cuthbert Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( – 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...

. 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 ...

, Fort Gaines has a total area of , of which is land and , or 37.99%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 995 people, 336 households, and 212 families residing in the city.

2000 census

At the 2000

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, there were 1,110 people, 429 households and 287 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 519 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 67.93%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 31.08%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.09%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 0.54% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population. There were 429 households, of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 31.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.07. Age distribution was 28.7% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 21.0% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 72.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 65.8 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $18,30, and the median family income was $20,909. Males had a median income of $20,417 versus $14,875 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $12,481. About 34.7% of families and 40.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 53.2% of those under age 18 and 26.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Clay County School District

The Clay County School District holds pre-school to grade nine, and consists of one elementary school, one middle school, and one ninth-grade education building. The district has 27 full-time teachers and over 358 students.School Stats
Retrieved June 4, 2010. High school aged students attend 10-12th grade in adjoining Randolph County, Georgia. *Clay County Elementary School *Clay County Middle School *Ninth-Grade Academy

Notable people

* Frances Sage Bradley, rural physician *

Mackey Sasser Mack Daniel Sasser (born August 3, 1962), nicknamed "The Hacker", is an American former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1987 through 1995 for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets and S ...

, baseball player * Charles Driebe, music artist manager, known for managing Blind Boys of Alabama

References

External links

Founding of Fort Gaines historical marker
from the

Digital Library of Georgia The Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) is an online public collection of documents and media about the history and culture of the state of Georgia, United States. The collection includes more than a million digitized objects from more than 200 Georgi ...

Fort Gaines
historical marker
In the Confederacy
historical marker
Queen City of the Chattahoochee
historical marker
Site of Fort Gaines Female College
historical marker
Mt. Gilead Baptist Church
historical marker {{authority control Gaines Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Clay County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia populated places on the Chattahoochee River Gaines 1816 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)