Ludowici, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Location inLong County and the state ofGeorgia | |
| Coordinates:31°42′38″N81°44′40″W / 31.71056°N 81.74444°W /31.71056; -81.74444 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Long |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.88 sq mi (7.47 km2) |
| • Land | 2.87 sq mi (7.44 km2) |
| • Water | 0.012 sq mi (0.03 km2) |
| Elevation | 66 ft (20 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 1,590 |
| • Density | 553.8/sq mi (213.82/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 31316 |
| Area code | 912 |
| FIPS code | 13-47784[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0356371[3] |
| Website | https://www.longcountyeda.com/ludowici |
Ludowici (/ˌluːdəˈwɪsɪ/) is a city inLong County, Georgia, United States. As of the2020 census, Ludowici had a population of 1,590.[4] The city is thecounty seat of Long County.[5] It is a part of theHinesville-Fort Stewart metropolitan area.
Within the city, theLong County Courthouse andLudowici Well Pavilion are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
The city's origins dated to the 1840s when theAtlantic and Gulf Railroad established a stop referred to as "Four and a Half". The station was constructed across from the house of a landowner named Allen Johnston, leading people to call the surrounding settlementJohnston Station by the time of Johnston's death in 1859.[6][7] In 1898 there was an effort to rename the areaLiberty City to help distinguish it from other places with 'Johnston' in their names.[8] In following years both names were used interchangeably.[9]
In 1900 the settlement's population was about 300 and featured telegraph, post, and express offices.[10]Racial tensions were a source of conflict, with at least two white and three black citizens reported to have been killed during a riot that summer.[11] In the fall of 1900 anAfrican American,H. F. McKay, was elected to theGeorgia State Senate to represent Ludowici as part of what was thenLiberty County, Georgia.
In 1902, H.B. Skeele of theLudowici Roofing Tile Company traveled toSavannah and announced that his company planned to open aroof tile factory in Liberty City the following spring. At the time the company operated a factory inChicago Heights, Illinois, and Skeele said he was drawn to start their second location in Georgia due to the warmer climate, largeclay deposits, and the presence ofblack workers who could be paid less than thewhite employees who the company hired further north.[12][13]
When the community was raising money to cover the cost of constructing a high school in 1905, the Ludowici company made a generous donation of funds and roofing material. Later that year the city, which had previously been anunincorporated community, was incorporated asLudowici, Georgia, in the company's honor.[14]
The Ludowici tile factory covered more than 1,100 acres (450 ha) and employed around 100 workers.[15] The roof tiles produced at this plant were stamped "Ludowici - Dixie" and for many years it was said that "red roofing tile covers every dwelling, barn and chicken coop in Long County."[6][16]
Tiles produced at this factory were used for thousands of projects throughout the American southeast and abroad. Starting in 1906 the factory began to produce a large quantity of material to be used on American government buildings in thePanama Canal Zone. After those orders were completed in 1913 the company opted to close the Georgia factory due to lack of sufficient local orders. The company, then known as theLudowici-Celadon Company, shifted operations to their remaining plants.[17] It remains in operation inNew Lexington, Ohio, to this day.
In the following decades many of Ludowici's tiled roofs were replaced or traded away.[16] Ludowici gradually reverted to a rural, agricultural economy.[6]
Before interstate highways were constructed, all motorists traveled on regular U.S. highways. Ludowici was at the crossroads of three U.S. highways,Routes 25,82 and301. Many vacationers on their way toFlorida passed through Ludowici.
The city gained notoriety during the 1950s and 1960s for its aggressive traffic enforcement policies.[18] TheAAA went so far as to specifically label Ludowici as aspeed trap.[19][20] Members of the local police force were allegedly engaging in manipulation of the timing of the traffic signal downtown, so as to catch unsuspecting out-of-area motorists "running" a suddenly changed red light. The switch for the stop light was located in the barber shop. The traffic light was at an intersection that was bypassed by a shortcut (Main Street – see a local map) so that local residents would not even come to the light when making the turn at the light. Thus, all the tickets went to nonresidents without the police having to be selective since no locals would be at the light. A song was also written about the town.[21]
GovernorLester Maddox posted billboards warning tourists to avoid the town because ticket-related corruption was so bad.[22] Word of mouth and media exposure caused many motorists to detour around Ludowici. A 1970TIME article said that Ludowici was "one of the last remaining speed traps in the country."[13]
Comedian Mickey Sharp described Ludowici in 1971:
They have only three things there—a speed sign, a squad car and the sheriff. You pass one, and you meet the other two.[23]
In 1983, the Ludowici police department was stripped of its license to use radar guns by theGeorgia State Patrol. The state invalidated all 1,553 traffic citations the city had issued between January 1982 and October 1983 due to errors and violations found in a state investigation.[24]
Reason reported that "In the end, Ludowici was brought down not by Maddox, but by Interstate 95. Tourists no longer had to run a gauntlet of cops and flim-flam men to reach Florida's sunnier climes, and the town faded into well-deserved obscurity."[25]
Ludowici, in southeast Georgia,[13] is located 30 miles (48 km) from the Atlantic coast. Nearby communities includeJesup 11 miles (18 km) to the southwest via US Routes301,84, and25;Darien 32 miles (51 km) to the southeast viaState Route 57;Hinesville/Fort Stewart 15 miles (24 km) to the northeast via US 84; andGlennville 21 miles (34 km) to the northwest via US 301 and 25.[26]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, Ludowici has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.1 km2), of which 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2), or 0.54%, are water.[27] The city drains west to Jones Creek and east to Doctors Creek, both tributaries of theAltamaha River.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 541 | — | |
| 1920 | 515 | −4.8% | |
| 1930 | 615 | 19.4% | |
| 1940 | 866 | 40.8% | |
| 1950 | 1,332 | 53.8% | |
| 1960 | 1,578 | 18.5% | |
| 1970 | 1,419 | −10.1% | |
| 1980 | 1,286 | −9.4% | |
| 1990 | 1,291 | 0.4% | |
| 2000 | 1,440 | 11.5% | |
| 2010 | 1,703 | 18.3% | |
| 2020 | 1,590 | −6.6% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 1,846 | [28] | 16.1% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[29] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 918 | 57.74% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 495 | 31.13% |
| Asian | 4 | 0.25% |
| Pacific Islander | 1 | 0.06% |
| Other/Mixed | 92 | 5.79% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 80 | 5.03% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 1,590 people, 763 households, and 573 families residing in the city.
TheLong County School District, which covers the municipality,[31] holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.[32] The district has 119 full-time teachers and over 3,285 students.[33]
Municipalities and communities ofLong County, Georgia,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| City |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
