McRae–Helena is a city in the U.S. 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 ...

, formed on January 1, 2015, by the merger of the two cities of McRae and

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

. McRae–Helena is 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 Telfair County. It is the largest city in Telfair County, with a population of 6,253 in 2020. This includes the population held as inmates at McRae Correctional Institution.

History

On January 1, 2015, McRae and the adjacent town of

merged to form McRae–Helena. This merge was initiated when Helena discovered it could no longer manage its wastewater supply. While it seemed to make sense to have nearby McRae take over Helena's water services, it would have not only reduced Helena's revenue, but left Helena with only two municipal services. The cities were united under House Bill 967, sponsored by Representative Jimmy Pruett of the 149th district. It was signed into law by Governor

Nathan Deal John Nathan Deal (born August 25, 1942) is an American politician and former lawyer who served as the 82nd governor of Georgia from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, he previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Deal served ...

on April 10, 2014.

Geography

McRae–Helena is located in northern Telfair County at (32.064508, -82.898251). 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 land area of and a total area of . The

Little Ocmulgee River The Little Ocmulgee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 21, 2011 tributary of the Ocmulgee River in the U.S. state of Georgia Georgia most commonly refers t ...

flows just northeast of the city limits, while Sugar Creek passes through the southwest border of the city.

Transportation

Several highways travel through McRae–Helena Area. U.S. Route 23 (US 23), along with US 341/ SR 27 travel through the city as a

one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...

using Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (formerly Railroad Street), heading northwest to Eastman and Oak Street heading southeast to Hazlehurst, while US 280/ US 319/ US 441/ SR 30/ SR 31 travel through as Third Avenue, crossing US 23/US 341/SR 27 in the center of the city. US 280/SR 30 heads northeast to Vidalia and west to Cordele, while US 319/US 441/SR 31 heads south to the small town of

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

and north to

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 ...

. Major railroad lines include the former

Macon and Brunswick Railroad The Macon and Brunswick Railroad ran from Macon, Georgia to Brunswick, Georgia. Its construction was interrupted by the American Civil War, and initially only ran from Macon to Cochran, Georgia. The gauge line was completed and extended to the ...

, now the Brunswick Division of

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

which passes through both former cities, and a former

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

line now owned by the

Heart of Georgia Railroad The Heart of Georgia Railroad is a shortline railroad created in 1999 to lease and operate of track owned by the Georgia Department of Transportation between Mahrt, Alabama and Vidalia, Georgia, in the United States. The railroad has since expan ...

that passed only through Helena. A junction between these lines exists in the former Helena.

Sites of interest

Located in downtown McRae–Helena is Liberty Square, home of a

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

replica that is one-twelfth the size of the original. The square is also the site of a replica of the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...

and a marble memorial to Telfair County residents who died in military service. On the outskirts of McRae–Helena is the Talmadge Home. This historic home was occupied by two former Georgia governors,

Eugene Talmadge Eugene Talmadge (September 23, 1884 – December 21, 1946) was an attorney and American politician who served three terms as the 67th governor of Georgia, from 1933 to 1937, and then again from 1941 to 1943. Elected to a fourth term in November ...

and Herman Eugene Talmadge. McRae–Helena was the birthplace of

Marion B. Folsom Marion Bayard Folsom (; November 23, 1893 – September 27, 1976) was an American government official and businessman. He served as the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare from 1955 to 1958 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Biogr ...

(1893–1976), a longtime executive of the

Eastman Kodak Company The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

who served as the

United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

during the

Eisenhower administration Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following his landslide victor ...

. Famous

railfan A railfan, train fan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff, anorak (British English), gunzel (Australian English), trainspotter (British English) or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally in ...

photographer William B. Folsom is buried in McRae–Helena.

Education

Telfair County School District

The Telfair County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 112 full-time teachers and over 1,648 students. * Telfair County Elementary School * Telfair County Middle School * Telfair County High School * Telfair County Pre-K

Higher education

* Oconee Fall Line Technical College - McRae–Helena Campus

Demographics

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates, there were people and households. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were housing units at an average density of .To calculate density we use the land area figure from the places file in The racial makeup of the city was 41.6% White, 34.0% Black or African American, 10.5% some other race, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, and 0.2% Asian, with 13.5% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 24.6% of the population. Of the households, 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% had seniors 65 years or older living with them, 40.3% were married couples living together, 2.1% were couples cohabitating, 18.1% had a male householder with no partner present, and 39.5% had a female householder with no partner present. The median household size was and the median family size was . The age distribution was 24.5% under 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was years. For every 100 females, there were males. The median income for a family household was $ and the median income for a non-family household was $. 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 ...

was $. Males working

full-time job A full-time job is employment in which workers work a minimum number of hours defined as such by their employer. Overview Fulltime employment often comes with benefits that are not typically offered to part-time, temporary, or flexible worke ...

s had median earnings of $ compared to $ for females. Out of the people with a determined poverty status, 42.1% 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 ...

. Further, 73.8% of minors and 28.0% of seniors were below the poverty line. In the survey, residents self-identified with various ethnic ancestries. People of Scotch-Irish descent made up 13.7% of the population of the town, followed by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

at 3.1%, English at 3.0%, Irish at 1.8%, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

at 0.9%.

Economy

Major employers in McRae–Helena include: * McRae Correctional Institution * City of McRae–Helena *

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

Bottling Plant * Golden Peanut Company * Telfair State Prison *

Little Ocmulgee State Park Little Ocmulgee State Park & Lodge is a Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia state park located north of McRae–Helena, Georgia, McRae-Helena on the Little Ocmulgee River. Part of the park was initially built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during ...

* Cook Petro * Griffins Warehouse–McRae, LLC

References

External links

City of McRae–Helena official website

''Telfair Enterprise'' newspaper
{{DEFAULTSORT:McRae-Helena, Georgia 2015 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Telfair County, Georgia Cities in Wheeler County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 2015