Barnesville, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Barnesville City Hall | |
 Flag  Logo | |
| Nickname: Buggy Town | |
 Location inLamar County and the state ofGeorgia | |
| Coordinates:33°3′11″N84°9′22″W / 33.05306°N 84.15611°W /33.05306; -84.15611 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Lamar |
| Barnes' Store | 1826 |
| Barnesville | June 1831 |
| Incorporated City of Barnesville | February 20, 1854 |
| Government | |
| • Type | City Council |
| • City Manager | Timothy Turner |
| Area | |
• Total | 6.12 sq mi (15.86 km2) |
| • Land | 6.07 sq mi (15.73 km2) |
| • Water | 0.046 sq mi (0.12 km2) |
| Elevation | 850 ft (259 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 6,292 |
| • Density | 1,035.9/sq mi (399.95/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 30204 |
| Area code | 770 |
| FIPS code | 13-05344[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0331094[3] |
| Website | cityofbarnesville.com |
Barnesville is a city inLamar County, Georgia, United States. As of the2010 census, the city had a population of 6,755,[4] up from 5,972 at the 2000 census. The city is thecounty seat of Lamar County and is just outside of theAtlanta metropolitan area.[5]
Barnesville is located 37 miles (60 km) northwest ofMacon and 60 miles (97 km) south ofAtlanta.[6][7] It was called the "Buggy Capital of the South", as the town produced about 9,000buggies a year around the turn of the 20th century.[8] Each year in the third week of September the town hosts an annual Buggy Days celebration.
Barnesville was founded in 1826 and named for Gideon Barnes, proprietor of a local tavern.[9] Barnesville served as a major hospital site for wounded southern troops during theCivil War. Local families took wounded soldiers into their homes and treated them, with highly successful recovery rates. Major GeneralWilliam B. Bate, CSA of Hardees Corps., wounded in Atlanta atUtoy Creek on August 10, 1864, was treated here. After the war, General Bate was elected governor ofTennessee and served in theUnited States Senate until his death in 1912. He commented on his successful recovery as a result of the kindness of the local populace in Barnesville.[citation needed]
EducatorHelena B. Cobb founded the Helena B. Cobb Institute in Barnesville in the early 1900s. It was modeled afterBooker T. Washington'sTuskegee Institute and educated African American girls as the only school within the CME Church for women. In 1920, Barnesville was designated seat of the newly formed Lamar County.[10]
On the morning of April 28, 2011, at 12:38 A.M., a tornado rated EF3 on theEnhanced Fujita Scale with 140 miles per hour (230 km/h) winds touched down inPike County, 4 miles (6 km) south ofMeansville. The tornado went on to destroy several homes in Barnesville. Two deaths occurred in Barnesville along Grove Street. The tornado also destroyed aChevron gas station and a church in Barnesville. Three tractor trailers were blown offInterstate 75 at approximately 1:02 A.M. This tornado was part of the2011 Super Outbreak.
Barnesville is located south of the center of Lamar County at33°3′11″N84°9′22″W / 33.05306°N 84.15611°W /33.05306; -84.15611 (33.053090, -84.156217).[11]U.S. Route 41 passes through the western, southern, and eastern outskirts of the city on a bypass; the highway leads northwest 16 miles (26 km) toGriffin and east 13 miles (21 km) toForsyth.U.S. Route 341 branches off US 41 on the south side of Barnesville and leads southeast 53 miles (85 km) toPerry, where it rejoins US 41.Georgia State Route 18 follows US 41 around the southern and eastern sides of Barnesville but leads west 11 miles (18 km) toZebulon.State Route 36 follows the western side of the Barnesville bypass and leads northeast 22 miles (35 km) toJackson and southwest 16 miles (26 km) toThomaston.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, Barnesville has a total area of 6.1 square miles (15.9 km2), of which 6.07 square miles (15.73 km2) are land and 0.05 square miles (0.12 km2), or 0.78%, are water.[12]
Barnesville sits on a low ridge at an elevation of 850 feet (260 m) above sea level. Hog Mountain rises above the city to the north, with a summit elevation of 1,015 feet (309 m). The north side of the city drains via Big Towaliga Creek to the Little Towaliga River, theTowaliga River, and eventually theOcmulgee River. The east side drains via Tobesofkee Creek to the Ocmulgee south ofMacon. The south end of the city drains via Tobler Creek to theFlint River, and the west side drains via Little Potato Creek, thenPotato Creek, to the Flint River. Because the Ocmulgee River ultimately drains to the Atlantic Ocean and the Flint River ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico, Barnesville sits on theEastern Continental Divide.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 754 | — | |
| 1880 | 1,962 | 160.2% | |
| 1890 | 1,839 | −6.3% | |
| 1900 | 3,036 | 65.1% | |
| 1910 | 3,068 | 1.1% | |
| 1920 | 3,059 | −0.3% | |
| 1930 | 3,236 | 5.8% | |
| 1940 | 3,535 | 9.2% | |
| 1950 | 4,185 | 18.4% | |
| 1960 | 4,919 | 17.5% | |
| 1970 | 4,935 | 0.3% | |
| 1980 | 4,887 | −1.0% | |
| 1990 | 4,747 | −2.9% | |
| 2000 | 5,972 | 25.8% | |
| 2010 | 6,755 | 13.1% | |
| 2020 | 6,292 | −6.9% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[13] 1850-1870[14] 1880[15] 1890-1910[16] 1920-1930[17] 1930-1940[18] 1940-1950[19] 1960-1980[20] 1990[21] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 3,260 | 51.81% |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 2,584 | 41.07% |
| Other/Mixed | 230 | 3.66% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 168 | 2.67% |
| Asian | 45 | 0.72% |
| Native American | 3 | 0.05% |
| Pacific Islander | 2 | 0.03% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 6,292 people, 2,056 households, and 1,028 families residing in the city.
TheLamar County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.[23] The district has 143 full-time teachers and over 2,600 students.[24]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(December 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Barnesville-Lamar CountyChamber of Commerce hosts three annual festivals each year.
Barnesville was the location of an auto accident that killed 16-year-old Jeanette Clark, who was on a date with J.L. Hancock, also 16, on December 22, 1962. This accident was rumored to be the inspiration of the hit song "Last Kiss" written byWayne Cochran, Joe Carpenter, Randall Hoyal & Bobby McGlon (1961). Hancock was driving a 1954 Chevrolet on the Saturday before Christmas with some friends. In heavy traffic on U.S. Highway 341 their car hit a tractor-trailer carrying a load of logs. Clark, Hancock and Wayne Cooper were killed. Cochran lived on Georgia's Route 19/41 when he wrote "Last Kiss", only 15 miles away from the crash site. He rerecorded "Last Kiss" for release onKing Records in 1963 and dedicated it to Clark, a fact which probably explains the association of the song with the tragic crash.[26]
The 2018HBO miniseriesSharp Objects, starringAmy Adams, filmed many of its exterior scenes for the fictional town of Wind Gap, Missouri, in Barnesville and the surrounding area.[27] A large mural reading "Welcome to Wind Gap" remains in the town painted by artist Andrew Patrick Henry.[28]
Municipalities and communities ofLamar County, Georgia,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Town | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
