Grovetown is a city in

Columbia County, Georgia Columbia County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 156,010. The legal county seat is Appling, but the ''de facto'' seat of county government is Evans.

, United States. It is part of the Augusta metropolitan area as well as the

Central Savannah River Area The Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) is an unofficial trading and marketing region in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina, spanning thirteen counties in Georgia and seven in South Carolina. The term was coined in 1950 by C.C. McCol ...

. The 2019 population estimate was 15,152. The mayor is Gary Jones.

History

From the building of the Georgia Railroad, which travels through the city until at least the 1860s, the community was known as "Belair". The city was chartered by the Georgia Legislature and officially incorporated on January 1, 1881. The name of the small village purportedly came from the old Grove Baptist Church that was founded in 1808. A poet famous in the post-Civil War era, Paul Hamilton Hayne, moved to Copse Hill in the Parham Road area in the 1860s. He solicited 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 ...

to establish the Grovetown post office. The first U.S. mail service was inaugurated on September 28, 1877, with Charles Clifford as

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

. Mr. Clifford was also the

train depot A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one railwa ...

agent and the owner of the corner store. The first railroad depot was a small structure built in 1878–79. The last depot was an ornate structure built in 1891 at a cost of $5,041.74. It served the citizens of Grovetown until 1970, when passenger trains no longer traveled on the Augusta–

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 ...

line. It was demolished in 1973. Many wealthy and influential Augusta residents had summer homes in Grovetown, escaping the heat and disease of the city. They commuted on the old "Picayune" train, relying on its frequent service. The Rosland Hotel, later known as the "Eagle", was built in the 1880s. Its huge rotunda was frequently used for church gatherings, suppers, parties, and dances. It later became a

boarding house A boarding house is a house (frequently a family home) in which lodging, lodgers renting, rent one or more rooms on a nightly basis and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months, or years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and ...

and burned in the 1970s. The Church of Christ is now located on the site. Several country stores were established on Old Wrightsboro Road near the railroad crossing. One was S. F. Poole's store, where the gazebo now stands at the corner with Robinson Avenue, with a "philosophers' bench" by the door. During the early days, many famous residents lived in the Grovetown area: Hayne, the literary figure; Stewart Phinizy and James Tobin, cotton brokers; Charles Phinizy, banker and railroad president; Dr. H. H. Steiner, physician; and John Dodge, pharmacist and

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

enthusiast. Dodge brought his stable from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and built a large home and racetrack. With the construction of

Camp Gordon Fort Gordon, formerly known as Fort Eisenhower and Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established southwest of Augusta, Georgia in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cy ...

in 1942, Grovetown experienced rapid growth; it was no longer a small agricultural town. Due to its close proximity to Fort Gordon (now

Fort Eisenhower Fort Gordon, formerly known as Fort Eisenhower and Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established southwest of Augusta, Georgia in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cy ...

), Many military families looked to Grovetown for housing. Gradually, more and more retired military saw the benefits of living in the small town and population began to grow and stabilize.

Annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

and multi-housing construction has increased the population of the formerly quiet town. Currently, Grovetown has a population of approximately 15,000, up from the 1990 census figure of 3,596. A variety of stores, dining establishments, schools, and churches add to the town's culture. Services include

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, ...

al facilities, a public safety department, two

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

and sewer services, a

senior center A senior center (or senior centre or older adult center) is a type of community center where older adults congregate for fellowship with others to fulfill many of their social, physical, emotional, and intellectual needs. A regular part of senio ...

, and museum.

Geography

Grovetown is located in southern Columbia County. Downtown Augusta is east. The northern boundary of

is south. 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 ...

, Grovetown has a total area of , of which , or 0.23%, is water.

Climate and weather extremes

Grovetown has yet had some extreme weather. The strongest tornado was an EF2 on October 31, 2019. Hurricane Helene hit the town on September 27, 2024. The highest temperature was 108 °F both on August 10, 2007, and on August 21, 1983. The coldest temperature was −1 °F set on January 21, 1985.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 15,577 people, 4,028 households, and 2,986 families residing in the city.

Parks and recreation

City parks include the Liberty Park Community Center, and Goodale Park, which is named after Joseph Daniel "Danny" Goodale Jr., a

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is an individual who performed active Army, ground, Navy, naval, or Air force, air service in the South Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed fo ...

who died in 1969. The city has also added Kiddie Park, as well as Historical Park. Friendship Park is located at the Veterans wall on Robinson Ave and is referred to as Freedom Park. They also have a Wildflower Park at the corner of Robinson Ave. and Johns Street.

Education

Grovetown Middle School, Grovetown Elementary School, Grovetown Highschool, and Cedar Ridge Elementary School are located in the city limits of Grovetown.Columbia Middle School, Brookwood Elementary School, Euchee Creek Elementary School, and Baker Place Elementary School are located near the city.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Grovetown is mainly served by Georgia State Route 223 (SR 223), locally known as Robinson Avenue from just northwest of

's Gate 2 to the

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their ...

with Harlem–Grovetown Road and as

Wrightsboro Road Wrightsboro Road is a major road in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia, traveling through the northwestern part of McDuffie County, the extreme northern part of Warren County, the southeastern part of Wilkes County, the so ...

past this point. It is also served by SR 388 east of this intersection. Here, SR 388 takes on the Wrightsboro Road name until an intersection with Katherine Street. At this intersection, the

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

turns left onto Horizon South Parkway, while Wrightsboro Road continues toward Augusta. Harlem–Grovetown Road connects the city with

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

. There are railroad tracks of

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 ...

that extend through Grovetown, used mostly by freight trains.

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Columbia County, Georgia Augusta metropolitan area