Oak Park is a city in Emanuel County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 484 at the 2010 census, up from 366 in 2000. By 2020, its population was 512.

History

The town was originally named Sol, Georgia from June to August 1880 then the town name was changed to Horace, Georgia. The town name was later changed to Oak Park, Georgia in 1904. In 1914 a

murder–suicide A murder–suicide is an act where an individual intentionally kills one or more people before killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Suicide after or during murder inflicted on others ** Suicide af ...

committed by local farmer J.A. Eubanks got national news coverage. He murdered his wife and two daughters with an axe, set fire to some farm buildings, and shot himself in the head. Before killing himself, he woke a neighbor and told them what he had done. He did leave a suicide note. Several structures were destroyed in the fire, including houses of others. He had even cut the rope for the well bucket to keep the fire from being put out. In a December 14, 1934

municipal election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...

, Oak Park elected a mayor and five-person town council composed entirely of women. The election of an all-woman government was a first for Georgia, and novel enough that the event was covered by

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and

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news stories, both calling it " Petticoat Rule". It was not a surprise to the town however, as the all-woman slate had been nominated by men when the previous mayor retired and no men volunteered to replace him. Some in the town apparently dissented, as the jail was set ablaze the night before the election and dynamite blasts were set off after it, damaging buildings. Despite that, Mrs. Solomon S. Youmans (the wife of a local physician) was elected mayor, and the council consisted of Mrs. J.D. Tyson, Mrs. G.C. Corbin, Mrs. J.J. Powell, Mrs. G.C. Williamson and Miss Ada Belle Thompson.

Geography

Oak Park is located in southern Emanuel County at (32.370747, -82.309915), along

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ...

Interstate 16 Interstate 16 (I-16), also known as Jim Gillis Historic Savannah Parkway, is an east–west Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Georgia. It carries the hidden designation of State Route 404 (SR 404) for it ...

passes through the northern part of the town, north of the original town center, with access to US 1 from Exit 90. I-16 leads east to

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 ...

and west to Macon, while US 1 leads north to Swainsboro, the Emanuel County seat, and south to

Lyons Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. 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 ...

, Oak Park has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.17%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 512 people, 238 households, and 166 families residing in the town.

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Emanuel County, Georgia Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)