Waynesboro () is a city and 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 Burke 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 5,472 at the 2024 census. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. Waynesboro is 37 minutes south of downtown Augusta by car via US 25. Waynesboro is known as "The Bird Dog Capital of the World". The Waynesboro Commercial Historic District is listed on 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 ...

History

Waynesboro is located in Burke County, one of the eight original counties of Georgia. The city was named after General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...

, whose daring efforts during the Revolutionary War earned him the nickname "Mad Anthony Wayne". Although European Americans lived in the area before the Revolutionary War, the town was not laid out until 1783. The city was officially incorporated in 1883 as Waynesborough. The name was changed to Waynesboro sometime after. It developed as the trading and government center of the county, and is the site of the county courthouse and jail. President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

spent the night of May 17, 1791, in Waynesboro. A stone monument on Liberty Street marks the historical site; it stands in front of the Golden Pantry (formerly Kwik Stop). On December 4, 1864, the

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 ...

Battle of Waynesboro was fought just south of the town. Forces under Union General Judson Kilpatrick prevented troops led by Confederate General Joseph Wheeler from interfering with Union General William T. Sherman's campaign to destroy a wide swathe of the South on his march to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Geography

Waynesboro is located in the center of Burke County at (33.090482, -82.015404). U.S. Route 25 passes through the center as Liberty Street. To the north it is to downtown Augusta, and to the south it is to Statesboro. 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 ...

, Waynesboro has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.96%, is water. The city's elevation is above sea level. Pine, oak, dogwood, and other trees found in the South are in Waynesboro.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,799 people, 1,991 households, and 1,339 families residing in the city.

Economy

Nuclear power plant

On February 2, 2010, President Obama was expected to announce a total of $8.3 billion in federal loan guarantees to build and operate a pair of

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...

s in Burke County by Southern Company, an Atlanta-based energy company. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offered Southern Company's subsidiary, Georgia Power, a conditional commitment for loan guarantees for the construction of the nation's first nuclear power units in more than 30 years. The new units will be located at Plant Vogtle along the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

east of Waynesboro, where the company already owns and operates two nuclear units. The conditional commitment is for loan guarantees that would apply to future borrowings related to the construction of Vogtle units 3 and 4.

Arts and culture

The Burke County Museum traces the area's history, from plantation life to the establishment of agribusiness.

Education

K-12 education

K-12 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the world. ...

public education in Waynesboro is managed by Burke County Public Schools, which covers all of Burke County. These two elementary schools are the district's elementary facilities in Waynesboro: * Blakeney Elementary School (Grades 3–5) * Waynesboro Primary School (Pre-Kindergarten through grade 2) These are the district's secondary schools, relevant to all of Burke County: * Burke County Middle School (6–8) * Burke County High School (9–12) * Burke County Alternative School (6–12) There are three private schools which are in

unincorporated areas 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 ...

outside of the Waynesboro city limits: * Faith Christian Academy (pre K-12) * Edmund Burke Academy (Pre K-12) * Waynesboro Mennonite School (1–12)

Burke County Bears

Waynesboro is the home to the Burke County Bears high school sports teams. The Bears won the 2011 state

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

championship against the Trojans of Peach County. Back in the 1950s, the former Waynesboro High School team, the Purple Hurricanes, won the state championship, but the Bears had not won a state championship football game until 2011.

Higher education

* Augusta Technical College, Waynesboro campus

Notable people

* Jonathan Broxton,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player * Wycliffe Gordon,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

trombonist * Cornelius Washington, NFL player * Robert Lee Scott, Jr.,

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

fighter ace * Beau Jack, born Sidney Walker,

Boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

World Champion Boxer