Watkinsville is the largest city and county seat of Oconee 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. As of the 2020

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 ...

, the city had a total

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of 2,896. It served as the seat of Clarke County until 1872 when 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 that county was moved to

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, a move which ultimately led to the creation of Oconee County in 1875. It is included in the Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Watkinsville is located at (33.862818, -83.408094). According to the

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, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.31% is water. Watkinsville is located near the University of Georgia.

History

Named after colonel Robert Watkins, Watkinsville was first named in records in 1791. It was located on the dangerous western frontier of the new United States. The Methodist Church played a prominent role in the city's early history. The

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

incorporated Watkinsville in 1815. Watkinsville had previously been in Clarke County. Oconee County was created from the southwestern part of Clarke County in 1875 by the Georgia General Assembly.

1905 lynching

On June 30, 1905, Watkinsville saw one of the worst outbreaks of racial violence ever in Georgia. In one instance, eight men (seven of whom were black) were pulled from a local jail and

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of in ...

. The lynching occurred due to two events. One of which was accusations that Sandy Price, one of the black males, assaulted a white woman named Weldon Dooley at her home in Watkinsville. Secondly, unsupported rumors spread that black males had killed a white couple known as the Holbrooks. This provoked the town people further. Price tried to flee from a crowd of angry locals, who chased and fired at him. He escaped the crowd of people, but was captured by the law and placed in jail. News of Price's jailing reached the people and they began planning his killing. People from the surrounding areas gathered together and forcefully retrieved the key to the jail cells from L. H. Alken, the marshal of the local jail. According to two eyewitnesses, the mob tied the African Americans and one white man to posts outside the jail after retrieving them, then shot them multiple times with

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

s, and

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

s. The only survivor of the killings was Joe Patterson, who was shot in the head and torso, but found still breathing by the crowd. One black male inside the jail, Ed Thrasher, was spared from the lynching. Another incident occurred on 1917 that could have been racially motivated.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,896 people, 1,042 households, and 741 families residing in the city.

Government

Watkinsville is governed by a five-person elected city council, which is led by a separately elected mayor. The current mayor is Brian Brodrick, and the current city council members are Chuck Garrett, Connie Massey, Brett Thomas, Christine Tucker, and Jeff Campbell. The city clerk is Julie Klein. The City Manager is Sharyn Dickerson, formerly an Athens-Clarke Commissioner.

Education

The Oconee County School District provides

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and secondary public education services for all residents of Watkinsville. The only public school within the Watkinsville city limits is Colham Ferry Elementary School. Watkinsville has one of the best education systems in Georgia as ranked by the

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. There are also several private schools such as Westminster Christian Academy, Athens Academy, and Prince Avenue Christian School nearby.

Arts and culture

Watkinsville adopted a tagline in 2021 of "Come. Connect. Create." highlighting its desire to become a destination, its goal of better connecting its citizens and its embrace of creators of the arts and entrepreneurs. Its unofficial motto "The Artland of Georgia" is on the wall at City Hall, and was designed by the late artist Jim Shearon. The Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation or OCAF is located in Watkinsville in the old high school as part of the 1902 OCAF Center and Gallery near the Board of Education. OCAF also has recently restored "Rocket Hall," a WPA project in the 1930s. Rocket Hall, long used for school and youth basketball, is now used for exhibitions and community gatherings. Just outside Rocket Hall is the recently restored Rocket Field, an historic ball field and play area for community youth that also includes a new play structure and stage for concerts and performances. The city recently finished a $1 million renovation of the park with support from Value Added Concepts. The

Iron Horse ''Iron horse'' is a pervasive term (considered by the early twenty-first century to be transitioning into an archaic reference) for a steam locomotive and the railway on which it travels, originating in the early 1800s, when horses still powered ...

sculpture stands in a field approximately twelve miles south of Watkinsville (barely in Greene County). The city has a thriving Main Street and recently established a downtown development authority to help guide future growth and planning for downtown. It is also home to Wire Park, a hub for business, entertainment, and dining created from a former wire factory on the eastern side of town. The city also has a full industrial park and a thriving base of small businesses on its southern side, including LAD Truck Lines, IMI, Taylor's Iron, Tifosi Optics and Core Blend Fitness. The Playground of Possibilities

Transportation

Major roads

State Route 15 * Georgia 24

State Route 24 * Georgia 53

State Route 53 * US 129

U.S. Route 129 U.S. Route 129 (US 129) is an Auxiliary U.S. Route, auxiliary route of U.S. Route 29, US 29, which it Intersection (road), intersects in Athens, Georgia. US 129 currently runs for from an intersection with U.S. Route 19 in Florid ...

U.S. Route 441

Pedestrians and cycling

The city has an increasing amount of

walkability In urban planning, walkability is the accessibility of amenities within a reasonable walking distance. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport corridors designed for maximum vehicle throughput. Instead, it s ...

options available. The city adopted a new transportation plan to guide future bike and pedestrian investments. A sidewalk on VFW Drive (and a few surrounding streets) and a new sidewalk and pedestrian bridge along Harden Hill Road have enabled more citizens to safely walk downtown, and the city is currently working on plans for a sidewalk on Simonton Bridge Road and to connect to the ne
Thomas Farm Preserve
a 100-acre greenspace that will have more than five miles of trails for walking, running, and mountain biking.

Notable people

* Nathan Crawford Barnett, member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

and

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* Brady Boswell, racing driver * Alan Busenitz, baseball player * Ed Crowley, baseball player * Atticus Haygood, Methodist Bishop and Emory College president * Hank Huckaby, chancellor of

University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates gener ...

* Zach Mettenberger, former NFL quarterback for

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Jeannette Rankin Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was an American politician and women's rights advocate who became the first woman to hold federal office in the United States. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as ...

, first woman to serve in Congress * Tony Taylor, pro football player * Buck Thrasher, baseball player * John Wes Townley, retired

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driver, notable for driving Zaxby's car * Marcus Wiedower, Politician. Member of

References

External links

Watkinsville Official Website

Watkinsville Web Page at georgia.gov
{{authority control Towns in Oconee County, Georgia Towns in Georgia (U.S. state) County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Athens – Clarke County metropolitan area Former county seats in Georgia (U.S. state)