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Conyers, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Olde Town Conyers | |
| Nickname: C-Town | |
 Show Conyers Show Rockdale County Show Georgia Show the United States | |
| Coordinates:33°39′59″N84°0′27″W / 33.66639°N 84.00750°W /33.66639; -84.00750 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Rockdale |
| Incorporated | 1854; 171 years ago (1854) |
| Named after | Dr. W. D. Conyers |
| Area | |
• Total | 11.88 sq mi (30.78 km2) |
| • Land | 11.76 sq mi (30.46 km2) |
| • Water | 0.12 sq mi (0.32 km2) |
| Elevation | 899 ft (274 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 17,305 |
| • Density | 1,471.5/sq mi (568.14/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP codes | 30012, 30013, 30094 |
| Area code | 470/678/770 |
| FIPS code | 13-19336[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0312910[3] |
| Website | www |
Conyers is a city and thecounty seat ofRockdale County, Georgia, United States.[4] The city is 24 miles (38.6 km) east ofdowntown Atlanta and is a part of theAtlanta metropolitan area. As of2020, its population was 17,305. The formerly separate town ofMilstead is now part of Conyers.
Between 1816 and 1821, the area known as Rockdale was open for settlement. John Holcomb, ablacksmith, was the first settler in what is now Conyers. He settled where the current Rockdale County Courthouse is located, in the middle of Conyers on Main Street.
Eventually, pressure arose for a railroad to cross Georgia; the railroad was intended to run fromAugusta, through neighboringCovington toMarthasville (now known as Atlanta). John Holcomb was against the railroad and refused to sell his land, and threatened to shoot anyone from the railroad who came onto his property.
Dr. W. D. Conyers, a banker from Covington, eventually persuaded John Holcomb into selling his land for $700. Dr. Conyers then sold the land to theGeorgia Railroad. What is now Conyers began as a watering post along this line, named after Dr. Conyers. By 1845, the railroad was in full operation. By 1854, nearly 400 residents lived around the watering post, and Conyers was incorporated.[5]
Conyers has been nearly destroyed several times by fire. It is said to have survivedSherman'sMarch to the Sea due to a friend of Sherman's who lived in the area between Conyers and Covington. The story goes that the houses were spared because Sherman was uncertain where his friend lived.[citation needed]
In 1870, the surrounding area was incorporated into Rockdale County out ofNewton County, Georgia, and Conyers became the county seat.
Over the next decade, Conyers grew into a wild town. It had 12saloons and fivebrothels. The more reputable side of the town had 40 stores, Conyers College, a hotel, acarriage manufacturer, and good schools.
The Conyers post office contains a mural,The Ploughman, painted in 1940 byElizabeth Terrell. Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through theSection of Painting and Sculpture, later called theSection of Fine Arts, of theTreasury Department. TheWorks Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious AmericanNew Deal agency, employing individuals to carry outpublic works projects.[6]
Conyers was also home to "sidewalk churches". Along Main Street grew FirstMethodist, ConyersPresbyterian, and FirstBaptist. At some point, the congregants are thought to have persuaded the brothels and saloons to close and leave Conyers for Covington, using amob. This rose out of revivals begun in 1878 with the Methodist and Presbyterian churches. First Baptist Church of Conyers moved out of downtown in late 2000, moving about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of theGeorgia International Horse Park to their current location.
Tightly connected to Conyers is Milstead, amill town now incorporated into Conyers. At its peak, Milstead and Conyers had a private railroad that delivered products, such as cotton, from the mill to Conyers for shipping to the textile mills. In the 1960s, the mill closed.
In 1944, aTrappistmonastery (aCatholic order),Abbey of the Holy Spirit, was established south of the city by Dom Frederic Dunne. The Protestant community of Rockdale County helped with the completion of the current structure.M. Basil Pennington, one of the founders of theCentering Prayer movement, was abbot of the monastery from 2000 to 2002.
In the 1950s, Conyers had aCoca-Colabottling facility. In 1957, Lithonia Lighting moved fromLithonia.
In the 1960s,Interstate 20 was built through the county.
In the 1970s, parts of the first five episodes of theDukes of Hazzard were filmed in the town.
In the 1980s, Conyers became known for "White Road", where resident Nancy Fowler claimed to have seen apparitions of theVirgin Mary. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Conyers played host topilgrims.
In the early 1990s, several scenes ofIn the Heat of the Night were filmed around the Conyers Depot. Alan Autry, who played the character of Captain Bubba Skinner, was seen as a regular around Conyers during the filming.
In 1996, Conyers hosted theequestrian andmountain biking events for the1996 Olympic Games held in Atlanta. For this, Conyers built the Georgia International Horse Park.[5]
On May 20, 1999, a school shooting took place, known as theHeritage High School shooting. Six students were injured before the 15-year-old gunman surrendered to the police.
In October 1999, Rockdale County, and by extension the county seat of Conyers, gained substantial notoriety when thePublic Broadcasting Service seriesFrontline aired a nationwide documentary entitledThe Lost Children of Rockdale County detailing asyphilis outbreak among middle- and high-school-aged teenagers within the county.[7] The documentary was well received outside Conyers, with rave reviews from such outlets asThe Wall Street Journal andEntertainment Weekly.[8]
Identical twins and former residents Tasmiyah Janeesha Whitehead and Jasmiyah Kaneesha Whitehead (both born November 27, 1993) were arrested on May 21, 2010, for having committedmatricide. The victim was Jarmecca Yvonne Whitehead (born April 18, 1975), who also went by the nickname "Nikki". She was beaten and stabbed and placed in a tub full of water where her daughters left her to die as they left forRockdale County High School. The crime occurred on January 13, 2010, in the Bridle Ridge Walk subdivision on Appaloosa Way. The crime sent shock waves throughout the community. Jarmecca's autopsy revealed that she suffered injuries to her lungs and jugular vein, and had a severed spinal cord. Initially, the twins proclaimed their innocence, but in 2014, they pleaded guilty and are serving 30-year sentences in separate prisons. The crime was featured in a few true-crime documentaries and television shows, which includeDateline NBC in an episode titled "Bad Blood",Snapped episode 1403 titled "The Whitehead Twins", andEvil Twins in an episode titled "Honor Roll Killers", a show that airs on theInvestigation Discovery network (see alsoMurder of Nikki Whitehead).[9][unreliable source?]
From 2013 to 2018, the CW showThe Originals was filmed in Conyers.
A chemical fire at aBioLab facility in the city resulted in shelter-in-place orders for over 90,000 Georgians in late September 2024.[10][11]
Conyers is located at33°39′59″N84°0′27″W / 33.66639°N 84.00750°W /33.66639; -84.00750 (33.666360, −84.007574).[12]
The city is located in the eastern part ofMetro Atlanta alongInterstate 20, which provides access to the city from exits 80 and 82. I-20 leads west 24 miles (39 km) todowntown Atlanta and east 122 miles (196 km) toAugusta.U.S. Route 278 also runs through the city, concurrent with I-20. Other highways that run through the city include Georgia State Routes20 and138. GA-20 leads northeast 16 miles (26 km) toLoganville and southwest 20 miles (32 km) toMcDonough. GA-138 leads northeast 21 miles (34 km) toMonroe and southwest 18 miles (29 km) toStockbridge.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.9 square miles (31 km2), of which 11.8 square miles (31 km2) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (1.17%) is covered by water.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 637 | — | |
| 1880 | 1,374 | 115.7% | |
| 1890 | 1,349 | −1.8% | |
| 1900 | 1,605 | 19.0% | |
| 1910 | 1,919 | 19.6% | |
| 1920 | 1,817 | −5.3% | |
| 1930 | 1,495 | −17.7% | |
| 1940 | 1,619 | 8.3% | |
| 1950 | 2,003 | 23.7% | |
| 1960 | 2,881 | 43.8% | |
| 1970 | 4,890 | 69.7% | |
| 1980 | 6,567 | 34.3% | |
| 1990 | 7,380 | 12.4% | |
| 2000 | 10,689 | 44.8% | |
| 2010 | 15,195 | 42.2% | |
| 2020 | 17,305 | 13.9% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[13] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 2,611 | 15.09% |
| Black or African American | 12,047 | 69.62% |
| Native American | 37 | 0.21% |
| Asian | 183 | 1.06% |
| Pacific Islander | 20 | 0.12% |
| Other/mixed | 676 | 3.91% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 1,731 | 10.0% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 17,305 people, 6,300 households, and 3,848 families residing in the city.
TheRockdale County School District holds preschool to grade 12, and consists of 11 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, and four non-traditional schools.[15] The district has 889 full-time teachers and over 13,801 students.[16]
East Atlanta FC is a semi-professional soccer club that plays in the United Soccer League 2. The team is composed of college players who play in the summer months at Rockdale Youth Soccer Association at Team Rehabilitation field. The club also features a youth team that plays in the USL academy league and also has a partnership with Rockdale Youth Soccer Association as a Youth Development Partner.
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