Powder Springs is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in Cobb 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 13,940 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population for 2019 of 15,758. The 12,000-capacity Walter H. Cantrell Stadium is located in Powder Springs. It is used mostly for football and soccer matches.

History

The town of Powder Springs was incorporated as Springville in 1838 in the lands of two

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

leaders.

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

had been discovered in Georgia 10 years earlier, and the first European-American settlers came to find gold. The settlers found little gold in the mines at Lost Mountain and off Brownsville Road. It was at about this time that the Cherokee people were forced off their land and removed to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

west of the Mississippi River on the Trail of Tears. Springville was renamed Powder Springs in 1859. The name was derived from the seven springs in the city limits. The water in these springs contains some 26

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

s that turn the surrounding sand black like

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

– hence the earlier name of Gunpowder Springs.

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

history includes a skirmish at Lattermore's Mills on June 20, 1864, which was a part of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain and General Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. Many slaves escaped the plantations in this area to join Sherman's forces and gain freedom. In 2015, the city elected its first black mayor, Al Thurman. He was the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

to be elected as a mayor in Cobb County, but was one of several elected in small towns in Georgia in 2015.Timothy Pratt, "New black mayors make a difference, one Georgia town at a time"
''Aljazeera'' (US), 16 February 2016; accessed 12 December 2016

Geography

Powder Springs is located in southwestern Cobb County at (33.865933, -84.680349). U.S. Route 278 (C. H. James Parkway) passes through the city west of its center, leading southeast to Austell and northwest to

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. Downtown

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 ...

is to the east via US 278 and Interstate 20. 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 ...

, Powder Springs has a total area of , of which , or 0.17%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 16,887 people, 5,125 households, and 3,899 families residing in the city.

2000 census

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 12,481 people, 4,004 households, and 3,267 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,101 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the city was 57.89%

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 ...

, 37.38% Caucasian, 0.20% Native American, 1.08% Asian, 0.06%

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 ...

, 1.72% from other races, and 1.67% 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 4.32% of the population. There were 4,004 households, out of which 50.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.4% were non-families. 14.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.39. In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.8% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 36.9% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $56,486, and the median income for a family was $59,392. Males had a median income of $41,345 versus $31,774 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 $19,776. About 5.8% of families and 8.5% 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 11.8% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

*Powder Springs Park *Powder Springs Trail System * Silver Comet Trail

Education

Powder Springs Public Schools are part of the Cobb County School District, including McEachern High School, located on the site of the former Native American burial ground and the former Seventh District Agricultural and Mechanical ( A&M) School. The late Georgia Senator Richard B. Russell attended the Seventh District A&M School. The administrative building of McEachern High School is named for Senator Russell. Other schools in Powder Springs include Hillgrove High School, Tapp Middle School, Dobbins Middle School, Powder Springs Elementary School, Lovinggood Middle School, Varner Elementary, Compton Elementary, Kemp Elementary, Still Elementary, and Vaughan Elementary.

Media

''The Bright Side'' is a newspaper serving Powder Springs and several other small cities.

Notable people

* Rory Anderson (born 1992), former NFL tight end, selected in seventh round of 2015 NFL draft; played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

* Gregg Bishop, film director, screenwriter and producer; born in Powder Springs * Pat Cannon (1904–1966), United States Representative from Florida; born in Powder Springs * Andrew Carleton (born 2000), soccer player * Kenyan Drake (born 1994), running back in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, selected in third round of 2016 NFL draft; played college football at

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 ...

, where he was a three-time SEC champion (

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

), a BCS national champion (

), and CFP national champion (

). * Chuma Edoga (born 1997), offensive tackle for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

* Evan Engram (born 1994), tight end for

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

, selected in first round of 2017 NFL draft; played college football at Ole Miss * Mark Lee (born 1973), guitarist for Christian rock band Third Day, born in Powder Springs * Jason Lively (born 1967), actor, born in Powder Springs * Robyn Lively (born 1972), actress; born in Powder Springs * Shaquell Moore (born 1996), professional soccer player for Nashville SC, and the United States Men's National Team. * Myles Rowe (born 2000), professional racing driver competing in the USF Pro 2000 Championship, the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Champion * Taylor Trammell (born 1997), outfielder for

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

* Tiffany Whitton (born 1987), woman who lived in Powder Springs at the time of her 2013 disappearance

References

External links

City of Powder Springs official website
at City-Data.com {{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Cobb County, Georgia 1838 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)