Martin is a town in Stephens and Franklin counties in the

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. The population was 381 at the 2010 census, up from 311 in 2000.

History

Martin was incorporated in 1891. Its first settler, Henry C. Black, was the

Air Line Railroad An air-line railroad was a railroad that was relatively straight, following a shorter (and thus, presumably quicker) route instead of a longer, winding route. In their heyday, which was prior to aviation, they were often referred to simply as "ai ...

agent at its station (set up in 1877) at the junction of Red Hollow Road and the railroad. Henry Black built houses and established stores around the junction, which attracted other settlers. The Red Hollow Road was an important conduit for farm products from the mountain areas to Augusta and

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

. The town was named for John Martin, a Rhode Island man who became governor of Georgia in 1782.

Geography

Martin is located in southeastern Stephens County at (34.486662, -83.185656) A small portion extends south into Franklin County. It is bordered to the north by the town of Avalon.

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 ...

passes through Martin, leading northwest to Toccoa and southeast to Lavonia. 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 town of Martin has a total area of , of which , or 0.85%, is water.

Demographics

As of the

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 ...

of 2000, there were 311 people, 127 households, and 84 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 153 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 72.03%

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 ...

, 26.37%

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 ...

, 0.96% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.32% 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 0.64% of the population. There were 127 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% 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, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% 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 3.05. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,000, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Males had a median income of $31,333 versus $19,191 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 town was $15,009. About 3.4% of families and 10.6% 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 6.0% of those under age 18 and 41.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

As of September 2011, the town of Martin has a few Main Street business. Martin Tire is an example, an automotive repair shop. During the summer of 2011 an ice cream shop was opened up with a moving water wheel decoration. There is also an antique shop and a small plant nursery that is open seasonally. Shops tend to come and go at the mercy of consumers being that Martin is such a small town. There is also a usable ball-field that very few take advantage of. It's fenced in beside the fire department and is in a fairly good spot to be used for any correlation to baseball, softball, kickball or whatever you choose to play. Martin is the location of Shepherd's Hill Academy, a private

therapeutic boarding school Therapeutic boarding school is an institution where students reside on campus and are provided with both educational and therapeutic services. These institutions first began to emerge in the late 1960s. Description A therapeutic boarding school ...

Events

Martin has an annual "Fall Festival". The festival is located in the main street of town, running approximately one quarter mile and occurs on the last Saturday of October of each year. The festival generally includes a live band, food vendors, local handmade crafts, and commercially made items.

Notable people

U.S. Congressman Phillip M. Landrum was from Martin.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Franklin County, Georgia Towns in Stephens County, Georgia Towns in Georgia (U.S. state) 1891 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1891