Preston is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Webster 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, located seventeen miles west of Americus. The population was 453 at the 2000 census. From 1857 to 2009, Preston was an incorporated municipality. The community 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 Webster County.

History

Preston was founded in 1856 as the seat of Webster County. It was incorporated as a town in 1857 and as a city in 1977. In 2009, the city was disincorporated and became part of the Unified Government of Webster County.

Geography

Preston is located at (32.060789, -84.538287). U.S. Route 280, as well as Georgia State Routes 41 and 153, are the main highways through the community. U.S. Route 280 runs from east to west as Hamilton Street, leading east to Plains and west to Richland. GA-41 runs from south to north through the community and is briefly concurrent with U.S. 280 through the downtown area, leading north to Buena Vista and southwest to

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

. GA-153 begins just north of the community and leads northeast to Ellaville. 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 has a total area of , all land.

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 453 people, 190 households, and 129 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 205 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 67.77%

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 ...

, 28.26%

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 ...

, 0.22% Native American, 3.53% from other races, and 0.22% 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 3.75% of the population. There were 190 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% 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, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.93. In the town the population was spread out, with 24.5% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,750, and the median income for a family was $37,083. Males had a median income of $25,313 versus $19,464 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 $14,779. About 19.6% of families and 24.9% 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 37.3% of those under age 18 and 32.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Webster County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary-middle school and one high school. The district has 23 full-time teachers and over 405 students.School Stats
Retrieved June 30, 2010. *Webster County Elementary/Middle School * Webster County High School

Notable person

* Walter F. George - 91st

President pro tempore of the United States Senate The president pro tempore of the United States Senate (often shortened to president pro tem) is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate, after the Vice President of the United States, vice president. According to Articl ...

, born on a nearby farm.

Gallery

File:Webster County, GA Courthouse.JPG, The Webster County courthouse was built in 1915 in the Neoclassical revival style. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on September 18, 1980. File:Webster County Jails; Preston, GA (NRHP).JPG, The Webster County Jails were added to the

on March 3, 2000. File:Preston, GA Post Office (31824).JPG, Post Office in Preston ( ZIP code: 31824) File:Webster County, GA Board of Education.JPG, Webster County Board of Education

References

External links

Consolidated Government of Webster County
Including the city of Preston, Weston, and Webster County
Webster County Board of Education
including the city of Preston and Weston
Webster County Sheriff's Department
is the primary law enforcement agency for the entire county, and is an integral part of the County's system of justice. {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Webster County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places in Webster County, Georgia 1856 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Unincorporated communities in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1856 2009 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Former municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places disestablished in 2009 Consolidated city-counties