Albany, Georgia

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City of Albany, Georgia
—  City  —

Seal
Nickname(s): The Good Life City, The Artesian City
Location in Dougherty County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 31°34′56″N 84°9′56″W / 31.58222°N 84.16556°W / 31.58222; -84.16556Coordinates: 31°34′56″N 84°9′56″W / 31.58222°N 84.16556°W / 31.58222; -84.16556
Country United States
State Georgia
County Dougherty
Incorporated (city) December 27, 1838
Government
 • Mayor Dorothy Hubbard (D)
Area
 • City 55.9 sq mi (144.7 km2)
 • Land 55.5 sq mi (144.8 km2)
 • Water 0.3 sq mi (0.9 km2)
Elevation 203 ft (62 m)
Population (2010)[1]
 • City 77,434 (city proper)
 • Density 1,385.5/sq mi (535.0/km2)
 • Metro 164,069
  2007 metro pop. est.[2]
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s) 229
FIPS code 13-01052[3]
GNIS feature ID 0310424[4]
Website Albany, Georgia

Albany is a city in and the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, in the southwestern part of the state.[5] It is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area and the southwest part of the state. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the ninth-largest city in Georgia.[1] The website dailyfinance.com lists Albany as the fourth poorest city in the United States.[6]

Contents

[edit] History

The area where Albany is located was formerly inhabited by the Creek Indians. They called it Thronateeska after their word for "flint" because of the mineral flint that was found near the river there.[7] The Creeks used this flintstone to make tools and weapons like arrowheads.

Nelson Tift, the founder of Albany, Georgia

A businessman named Nelson Tift from Connecticut settled along the Flint River in October 1836 after Indian removal transported the Creek to western lands beyond the Mississippi River. He named his new town Albany after the capital of New York because both sat at the navigable heads of rivers. The town of Albany was laid out by Alexander Shotwell in 1836. It was incorporated as a city by an act of the General Assembly of Georgia on December 27, 1838.[8]

So many planters settled there with enslaved laborers that by 1840, Dougherty County was majority black. The center of cotton plantations, Albany was in a prime location for shipping cotton to markets by steamboats on the river. Tift hired Horace King, a former slave and bridge builder, to construct a toll bridge over the river in 1858. King's bridge house still stands.

Nicknames for Albany include:
    • The Artesian City
    • The Good Life City
    • The Pecan Capital of the World
    • The Quail Hunting Capital of the World

Albany later became an important railroad hub in southwestern Georgia, with seven lines entering the town. An exhibit on trains is located at the Thronateeska Heritage Center in the former railroad station.

While integral to the economic life of the town, the Flint River has flooded regularly with resulting property damage, particularly in 1841 and 1925. On February 10, 1940, a severe tornado hit Albany, killing eighteen people and caused large-scale damage. Late twentieth-century floods have been extreme. In 1994, a severe flood was caused by rainfall from Tropical Storm Alberto and killed 14 people and displaced 22,000. From this disaster came improvements, with the state supporting a $150 million renovation of the Albany State University campus, making it one of the most expensive. In addition, new improved housing was built on the south side of town to replace what had been destroyed. In 1998, the Flint River crested at 35 feet (11 m) above its bed and flooded parts of the city. Areas near the city are being adapted for other uses, with a riverfront walkway and a new aquarium built over a tributary creek. Such projects are making another use of the river.

Albany, Texas, was named in 1873 by county clerk William Cruger after his former home of Albany, Georgia.

On April 11, 1906, the Carnegie Library, created by matching funds from the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, was opened downtown. Originally a segregated facility under Jim Crow laws, it was not open to African Americans until after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. It functioned as a library through 1985. In 1992, after renovation, the building was reopened as the headquarters of the Albany Area Arts Council.

In 1912, the downtown U.S. Post Office and Courthouse building opened. Other federal projects have been important to the city and region. In 1937, Chehaw Park was constructed as a part of a New Deal program under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression.

W. E. B. Du Bois wrote about Albany in his book, The Souls of Black Folk (1903). He described it as a typical African-American majority-populated rural town in the Deep South. Du Bois discussed the culture, agribusiness, and economy of the region. Du Bois described Albany as a small town where local sharecroppers lived. Much of the soil had been depleted of nutrients because of intensive cotton cultivation, and people found it hard to make a living. Once a bustling small city full of cotton gins and whose planters were dependent on slave labor, Albany had declined steadily in the late 19th century. After emancipation and the disruption of the Civil War, the local economy suffered. Du Bois wrote that Dougherty County had many decaying one-room slave cabins and unfenced fields. Despite the problems, local folklore, customs, and culture made Albany a notable small city in the South.

Since that time, the city has founded the Albany Museum of Art, which has one of the best African and African-American art collections in the Southeast.

Major changes came with the expansion of military facilities in the city. In the summer of 1940, Major Peacock of the U.S. Army approached the Albany Chamber of Commerce about locating an U.S. Army Air Corps training base near Albany. Construction of the base and of the airfield by the Army Corps of Engineers began March 25, 1941. The airfield was temporarily deactivated after World War II, between August 15, 1946 and September 1, 1947. After the beginning of the Cold War and the founding of the U.S. Air Force in late 1947, the airfield was reactivated and upgraded with runways for a U.S. Air Force base. It was named Turner Air Force Base. The Air Force used this base for very heavy bomber jets, such as the B-52 Stratofortress. A number of other Air Force units were also housed at this Air Force Base.

[9] as the base was renamed. Among them were the 1370th Photomapping Group,[10] and refueling and maintenance functions. The Turner Air Force Base was abandoned by the Air Force. During the 1950s and 1960s, so many white servicemen and associated workers arrived that the town briefly became majority white for the first time since 1870.

In 1967 the base was transferred for use by the U.S. Navy. Naval Air Station Albany was used as the shore base of nearly all the Navy's RA-5C Vigilante twin-jet, carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft. This naval base was permanently deactivated and relinquished to civilian control in 1974. In 1979, the Miller Brewing Company purchased part of the old naval base's property to build a new brewing plant.[11] In 1951, the U.S. Marine Corps established a logistics base on the eastern outskirts of Albany.

In 1960, the population of Albany reached 50,000 people. In 1961-1962, African Americans in Albany played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement (see the Albany Movement). They led protests and non-violent demonstrations to end segregation of public facilities, restore their dignity, and gain the ability to vote. Assisted by activists from SCLC, CORE, SNCC, and the NAACP, African Americans and supporters took a stand to fight segregation through nonviolence. The city repealed its Jim Crow laws in 1963, but it took federal legislation to secure the franchise.

The decline in military bases and railroad restructuring led to job losses. Much of the white population moved to suburbs out of the city, which became majority African American in the 1970s. Struggling with a poor economy, in 1988, Albany made national headlines as the "Murder Capital of America," with the highest murder rate per capita in the United States. Other cities have since taken that title.

In 2011, Albany made headlines throughout the nation when Tom Knighton, owner of Knighton Media, Inc, announced that his company was purchasing The Albany Journal. This was notable because Knighton Media was formed to managed Knighton's blog, Laws-n-Sausages, and was the first time known where a blog had purchased a newspaper anywhere in the world.[12][13][14]

[edit] Geography

Albany is located at (31.582273, -84.165557)[15].

The total area is 0.59% water. Albany lies in a belt of historically rich farmland in the East Gulf coastal plain, on the banks of the Flint River.

[edit] Neighborhoods

 It has been suggested that East Albany, Georgia be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2011.

See main article: List of subdivisions in Albany, Georgia

[edit] Climate

Climate data for Albany, GA
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 83
(28)		 86
(30)		 93
(34)		 97
(36)		 102
(39)		 106
(41)		 107
(42)		 104
(40)		 106
(41)		 99
(37)		 97
(36)		 85
(29)		 107
(42)
Average high °F (°C) 60
(16)		 65
(18)		 72
(22)		 78
(26)		 85
(29)		 90
(32)		 93
(34)		 92
(33)		 88
(31)		 80
(27)		 71
(22)		 63
(17)		 78
(26)
Average low °F (°C) 35
(2)		 38
(3)		 45
(7)		 50
(10)		 59
(15)		 67
(19)		 70
(21)		 70
(21)		 65
(18)		 52
(11)		 44
(7)		 38
(3)		 53
(12)
Record low °F (°C) 1
(−17)		 11
(−12)		 10
(−12)		 27
(−3)		 39
(4)		 46
(8)		 57
(14)		 56
(13)		 37
(3)		 28
(−2)		 14
(−10)		 6
(−14)		 1
(−17)
Precipitation inches (mm) 6.12
(155.4)		 4.78
(121.4)		 5.71
(145)		 3.54
(89.9)		 3.86
(98)		 4.88
(124)		 6.32
(160.5)		 4.38
(111.3)		 3.77
(95.8)		 2.46
(62.5)		 3.78
(96)		 3.80
(96.5)		 53.40
(1,356.4)
Source: [16]

[edit] Demographics

[edit] MSA

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Albany, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had an estimated population of 164,069 and ranked #234 in the U.S. in 2007.[17] The MSA consists of Dougherty, Terrell, Lee, Worth, and Baker Counties.

[edit] City

The postmodern Albany Government Center downtown

As of the census of 2000, there were 76,939 people, 28,620 households, and 18,883 families residing in the city[3]. The population density was 1,385.5 people per square mile (535.0/km²). There were 32,062 housing units at an average density of 577.3 per square mile (222.9/km²).

The racial makeup of the city was 64.80% African American and Black, 33.21% White, 0.21% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.23% of the population.

Of the 28,620 total households, 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 25.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. Households of individuals made up 28.8% of the total, and 9.6% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 13.0% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,639, and the median income for a family was $33,843. Males had a median income of $30,204 versus $22,268 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,485. About 21.5% of families and 27.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.7% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Economy

An M88 Recovery Vehicle at the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany undergoes depot maintenance in 2005.

Although Albany has expanded considerably in the past few decades, it still has the friendly environment of a Southern town. Today, although the city is surrounded by pecan groves, pine trees, farms and plantations, almost none of the population is employed in agriculture.

Health care, education and the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany are the largest employers. Manufacturing, transportation, and retail trade are also important foundations of Albany's economy and the city acts as a hub for commerce in southwest Georgia.

On December 17, 2008, Cooper Tire and Rubber, one of Albany's largest employers, announced plans to close the local manufacturing facility. Approximately 1,400 employees at the plant were projected to lose their jobs.

[edit] Top nine non-governmental employers in Dougherty County

(excludes the City of Albany, Dougherty County, and the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany)

[edit] Other notable companies

[edit] Arts and Culture

In 1972 the manager of a local theater, Mr. Jenkins, was convicted of "distributing obscene material" for showing the film Carnal Knowledge, in Jenkins v. Georgia.

[edit] Museums and the arts

Albany Municipal Auditorium
The new archway over Oglethorpe Boulevard at Front Street welcomes visitors to downtown Albany.
The Rosenberg Brothers Department Store, now headquarters of The Albany Herald.
Ray Charles statue, centerpiece of Ray Charles Plaza
Ray Charles Plaza in Downtown Albany

In addition, the city sponsors an annual music festival.

[edit] Registered historic places


[edit] Sports

Club Sport League Venue Logo
Albany Panthers Arena Football Southern Indoor Football League, East Conference, Southern Division James H. Gray, Sr. Civic Center

[edit] Parks and monuments

[edit] Government

The new Federal Courthouse in downtown Albany is dedicated in honor of the civil rights attorney C.B. King of Georgia.

Elected officials include a mayor and six city commissioners, all of whom serve four-year terms. The commissioners represent the wards from which they are elected. There is also an appointed city manager who acts as the chief administrative officer. The city has been governed by a city commission and city manager since January 14, 1924. [26]

[edit] Education

The Dougherty County School System and several private schools provide primary and secondary education. Private schools include Far Horizons Montessori School, Deerfield-Windsor School, Sherwood Christian Academy, Byne Memorial Baptist School, St. Teresa's Catholic School, Life Christian School, A School for Children (The Vertical High School Academy), and Young Unlimited Minds Institute (YUMI). Albany has four public high schools, six public middle schools, and sixteen public elementary schools.[27]

Albany is the location of the historically black Albany State University, founded as a pre-collegiate school in 1903, as part of the drive for education among African Americans. It also has Darton College, a community college. Albany State is notable as one of the few historically black colleges to be part of the University System of Georgia.

The state-run Albany Technical College [16] teaches post-secondary vocational and occupational training subjects.

[edit] Media

[edit] Newspapers

  • The Albany Herald [17]
  • The Albany Southwest Georgian historically Black Newspaper founded by A.C. Searles
  • The Albany Journal Published since 1939; Kevin Hogencamp is current editor and publisher.
  • The Metro Gazette The Metro offers positive news about the community and the people they know – a new and decidedly different concept for this area! Founded in 2010 by Judith Hampton-Thompson, graduate of The Ohio State University Journalism School.

[edit] Television stations

[edit] FM radio stations

  • 88.5 W203AT (religious; translator for KEAR)
  • 89.3 WBJY (religious)
  • 90.3 WAEF (religious)
  • 90.7 WWXC (religious, bluegrass)
  • 91.7 WUNV (NPR - news, classical) [28]
  • 92.7 WASU (Albany State University - college, jazz, urban)
  • 93.1 WSRD (religious, talk)
  • 96.3 WJIZ (urban)[22]
  • 97.3 WRAK "973 Hit Music Now" (Top 40)[29]
  • 98.1 WMRZ "Kiss" (adult urban)[23]
  • 100.3 WOBB "B-100"(country)[24]
  • 101.7 WQVE "V101.7"(Urban AC)[25]
  • 102.1 WNUQ "Q102" (Top 40)[26]
  • 102.5 W273AE (religious; translator for WYFK)
  • 103.5 WJAD "Rock 103" (classic and mainstream rock) (Leesburg, Georgia)[27]
  • 104.5 WKAK "K-Country" (country)[28]
  • 105.5 WZBN "Power 105...The King" (Holy Hip Hop and Contemporary Gospel)[29]
  • 106.1 KLOV (Christian Contemporary)
  • 107.7 WEGC "Mix 107.7" (adult contemporary)

[edit] AM radio stations

  • 960 WJYZ (gospel)
  • 1250 WSRA (ESPN sports)
  • 1450 WGPC (sports)
  • 1590 WALG (news, talk)

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] Transportation

Southwest Georgia Regional Airport (ABY) is serviced by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a regional carrier for Delta. Both UPS and DHL use the airport as a sorting facility.

Freight rail service is provided by Georgia Southwestern Railroad, Georgia and Florida Railway, and Norfolk Southern Railway. Georgia and Florida Railway has its headquarters in Albany.

There is a Greyhound bus station in downtown Albany. Albany Transit System, operated by the city since 1974, provides fixed-route and paratransit services in Albany and Dougherty county, including service to the airport. The main transfer station is downtown.

Albany is located on Georgia State Route 300 (Georgia-Florida Parkway).

The intersection of Lonesome & Hardup was named the fourth wackiest street name according to a 2006 poll by Car Connection website.[30]

[edit] Health care

Albany is the home of a not-for-profit regional health system with a 26-county cachement area with Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital [30] at its hub.

[edit] People

Composer, pianist, and singer Ray Charles

[edit] Albany natives

Name Notability Reference
Deion Branch Super Bowl MVP football player
Ray Charles Pianist, songwriter and soul singer
Alice Coachman Olympic gold medal high jumper
William L. Dawson U.S. Representative from Illinois
Leroy Gilbert Chaplain of the United States Coast Guard
Harry James Big Band leader and jazz trumpeter
Alexander Johnson professional basketball player
Hamilton Jordan former White House Chief of Staff
Ray Knight World Series MVP, also managed the Cincinnati Reds
Merritt Ranew Milwaukee Braves baseball player
Wallingford Riegger Conductor and composer
Bobby Rush U.S. Representative from Illinois
Daryl Smith professional football player
Montavious Stanley professional football player
Ray Stevens country music singer
Russell Malone jazz guitarist

[edit] Notable residents

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)
Name Notability Reference
Nellie Brimberry became the first Postmistress of a major U.S. Post Office in 1910
Paula Deen chef and host of Paula's Home Cooking on the Television Food Network
Jim Fowler animal expert and host of the television show, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom
Lee James Olympic silver medalist weightlifter attended Westover High School in Albany
Wadsworth Jarrell artist
Rob Jones 2010 Grammy Award Winning Designer [31]
Alex Kendrick
Stephen Kendrick,		 filmmakers and authors, reside in Albany
Haley Kilpatrick the founder of Girl Talk Inc.
Nancy Lopez Professional Golfer
Kregg Lumpkin professional football player
Field Mob rap duo signed to Disturbing Tha Peace Records
Jo Marie Payton actress that played in Family Matters and The Proud Family
Buster Posey World Series Champion and 2010 NL Rookie of the Year with the San Francisco Giants was born and raised in nearby Leesburg, Georgia
D. A. Powell American poet, author of Chronic and Cocktails, born in Albany
Stephen Tanner bassist for the band Harvey Milk
Angelo Taylor Olympic gold medal hurdler
Mark Taylor Former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
Travis Richter Record producer, Dubstep producer Modified Noise, guitarist and screamer/singer for From First To Last, now lead singer of The Human Abstract
Main category: People from Albany, Georgia

{{member|name=Taylor Ann Dupriest|nota Beauty Pageant Queen,Actress,Reality Television Personality from Kid Nation when she was Town Councilwoman for the yellow district fom Day 1 to Day 16.her motto was "DEAL WITH IT"

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/1301052.html
  2. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007 (CBSA-EST2007-01)" (CSV). 2007 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2008-03-27. http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2007/CBSA-EST2007-01.csv. Retrieved 2008-05-22. 
  3. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  4. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  5. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  6. ^ http://www.dailyfinance.com/photos/10-laredo-texas/4545992/
  7. ^ "http://www.heritagecenter.org/about.html". http://www.heritagecenter.org/about.html. 
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ "Turner AFB". http://www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/Turner_AFB.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-11. 
  10. ^ "1370th Photomapping and Charting Group". http://www.1370th.com/index.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-11. 
  11. ^ "History of Turner Field Albany Georgia". http://www.turnerfield-miller.com. Retrieved 2006-05-11. 
  12. ^ [2]
  13. ^ [3]
  14. ^ [4]
  15. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
  16. ^ "Average Weather for Albany, GA - Temperature and Precipitation". Weather.com. July 2011. http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/fitness/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USGA0009. Retrieved August 27, 2010. 
  17. ^ U.S. Metropolitan Areas by Population and Growth, U.S. Census Bureau, 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
  18. ^ http://www.flintriverquarium.com/ImaginationTheater.aspx
  19. ^ http://www.heritagecenter.org/planetarium.html
  20. ^ http://www.albanysymphony.org/munic.html
  21. ^ http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc2352.php
  22. ^ http://www.downtownalbany.info/PHOTOS/BridgeHouse.jpg
  23. ^ http://www1.surfsouth.com/~mtzion/
  24. ^ http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc15585.php
  25. ^ http://w3.gsa.gov/web/p/interaia_save.nsf/1fd3e688294c3a74852563d3004975f4/53ecda1746d76afc852565d900539edf?OpenDocument
  26. ^ "Board on City Commissioners". Official City of Albany and Dougherty County Website. City of Albany, GA. http://www.albany.ga.us/content/1798/2877/default.aspx. Retrieved 11 October 2011. 
  27. ^ Dougherty County School System http://www.dougherty.k12.ga.us/schools/schools.htm
  28. ^ http://www.ontheradio.net/radiostations/wunvfm.aspx
  29. ^ http://973hitmusicnow.com/main.html
  30. ^ See the entry for September 19 on Ben Scott, Schott's Miscellany Calendar 2009 (New York: Workman Publishing Company, 2008).
  31. ^ "Animal Rummy Designs". http://www.animalrummy.com. 

[edit] Further reading

  • Carolyn Clive, Frances Davis, and Tom Liner, eds., Glancing Backward: Albany, Georgia, 1836-1986 (Albany, Ga.: Dougherty County School System and Sesquicentennial Publication Committee, 1986).
  • Lee W. Formwalt, "A Garden of Irony and Diversity," in The New Georgia Guide (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996).
  • Joseph Winthrop Holley, You Can't Build a Chimney from the Top: The South through the Life of a Negro Educator (New York: William-Frederick Press, 1948).
  • Thronateeska Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, History and Reminiscences of Dougherty County, Georgia (1924; reprint, Spartanburg, S.C.: Reprint Co., 1978).
  • Works Progress Administration, Historical Background of Dougherty County, 1836-1940 (Atlanta: Cherokee, 1981).

[edit] External links


Phenix City, Alabama Columbus Macon
Union Springs, Alabama Tifton
   Albany    
Eufaula, Alabama Thomasville Valdosta
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  1. ^ a b c Augusta, Columbus, and Athens are consolidated city-counties, but have independent municipalities within them, so the balance is used here.
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