Alma, Georgia
Alma, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Alma City services in Bacon County Courthouse | |
 Logo | |
| Nickname: "Georgia's Blueberry Capital" | |
 Location in Bacon County and the state of Georgia | |
| Coordinates: 31°32′30″N 82°28′0″W / 31.54167°N 82.46667°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Bacon |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Larry Taylor |
| Area | |
• Total | 6.22 sq mi (16.11 km2) |
| • Land | 6.09 sq mi (15.78 km2) |
| • Water | 0.13 sq mi (0.33 km2) |
| Elevation | 200 ft (61 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 3,433 |
| • Density | 563.5/sq mi (217.57/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 31510 |
| Area code | 912 |
| FIPS code | 13-01612[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0310492[3] |
| Website | www |
Alma is a city in and the county seat of Bacon County, Georgia, United States.[4] As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,433.[5]
Alma is known as Georgia's blueberry capital, and hosts a Blueberry Festival each June.
History
Alma was founded in 1900 as a stop on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. It was incorporated as a city in 1906 and designated seat of the newly formed Bacon County in 1914.[6]
There are two theories about the origin of the name of the town. The first is that it was named for the wife of a traveling salesmen, Alma Sheridan; the other is that it was named for the initial letter of the four state capitals Georgia has had: Augusta, Louisville, Milledgeville, and Atlanta.[7][8]
There are four sites in Alma listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Alma Depot, Bacon County Courthouse, Bacon County School, and the Rabinowitz Building.
Geography
Alma is located in southeastern Georgia at 31°32′30″N 82°28′0″W / 31.54167°N 82.46667°W (31.541543, -82.466666).[9]
The city is located along U.S. Routes 1 and 23 (Pierce Street). The two run through the center of the city together before splitting just north of the city. U.S. 1 connects the city with Baxley, 19 mi (31 km) to the north, and U.S. 23 connects the city with Hazlehurst, 25 mi (40 km) to the northwest. U.S. 1/23 also runs south 29 mi (47 km) to Waycross. Other highways that run through the city include Georgia State Routes 32 (16th Street) and 64 (Market Street).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.2 square miles (16.1 km2), of which 5.5 square miles (14.3 km2) is land and 0.69 square miles (1.8 km2), or 11.27%, is water.[10]
Climate
Alma has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with long, hot summers and short, mild winters.
| Climate data for Alma (Bacon County Airport) (normals 1991–2020, extremes 1938–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 83 (28) |
87 (31) |
91 (33) |
96 (36) |
101 (38) |
105 (41) |
104 (40) |
105 (41) |
101 (38) |
97 (36) |
89 (32) |
83 (28) |
105 (41) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 78.0 (25.6) |
80.4 (26.9) |
84.6 (29.2) |
89.0 (31.7) |
93.8 (34.3) |
97.0 (36.1) |
98.3 (36.8) |
97.6 (36.4) |
94.4 (34.7) |
89.2 (31.8) |
83.5 (28.6) |
78.9 (26.1) |
99.2 (37.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 62.6 (17.0) |
66.5 (19.2) |
72.8 (22.7) |
79.7 (26.5) |
86.6 (30.3) |
91.0 (32.8) |
93.2 (34.0) |
92.0 (33.3) |
87.9 (31.1) |
80.3 (26.8) |
71.5 (21.9) |
64.7 (18.2) |
79.1 (26.1) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 51.0 (10.6) |
54.4 (12.4) |
60.2 (15.7) |
66.5 (19.2) |
74.2 (23.4) |
80.0 (26.7) |
82.4 (28.0) |
81.7 (27.6) |
77.5 (25.3) |
68.7 (20.4) |
59.0 (15.0) |
53.2 (11.8) |
67.4 (19.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 39.3 (4.1) |
42.3 (5.7) |
47.5 (8.6) |
53.3 (11.8) |
61.7 (16.5) |
69.0 (20.6) |
71.6 (22.0) |
71.5 (21.9) |
67.1 (19.5) |
57.0 (13.9) |
46.5 (8.1) |
41.7 (5.4) |
55.7 (13.2) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 23.3 (−4.8) |
26.4 (−3.1) |
30.7 (−0.7) |
39.0 (3.9) |
48.5 (9.2) |
60.8 (16.0) |
66.2 (19.0) |
65.0 (18.3) |
55.9 (13.3) |
40.6 (4.8) |
30.5 (−0.8) |
26.6 (−3.0) |
21.2 (−6.0) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −1 (−18) |
13 (−11) |
18 (−8) |
30 (−1) |
40 (4) |
47 (8) |
56 (13) |
57 (14) |
40 (4) |
26 (−3) |
15 (−9) |
7 (−14) |
−1 (−18) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.72 (94) |
3.37 (86) |
4.17 (106) |
2.85 (72) |
2.78 (71) |
5.34 (136) |
5.23 (133) |
5.37 (136) |
3.80 (97) |
2.93 (74) |
2.21 (56) |
3.03 (77) |
44.8 (1,138) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.1 (0.25) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 in) | 5.7 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 8.5 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 5.8 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 67.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Source: NOAA[11][12] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | 458 | — | |
| 1920 | 1,061 | 131.7% | |
| 1930 | 1,235 | 16.4% | |
| 1940 | 1,840 | 49.0% | |
| 1950 | 2,588 | 40.7% | |
| 1960 | 3,515 | 35.8% | |
| 1970 | 3,756 | 6.9% | |
| 1980 | 3,819 | 1.7% | |
| 1990 | 3,663 | −4.1% | |
| 2000 | 3,236 | −11.7% | |
| 2010 | 3,466 | 7.1% | |
| 2020 | 3,433 | −1.0% | |
| 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] 1980-2000[21] | |||
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Alma had a population of 3,433. The median age was 36.7 years. 27.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.7 males age 18 and over.[22][23]
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,599 | 46.58% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,455 | 42.38% |
| Native American | 2 | 0.06% |
| Asian | 25 | 0.73% |
| Pacific Islander | 3 | 0.09% |
| Other/mixed | 105 | 3.06% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 244 | 7.11% |
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[24]
There were 1,266 households in Alma, including 620 families. Of all households, 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 31.5% were married-couple households, 16.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 44.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[22]
There were 1,445 housing units, of which 12.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.7%.[22]
Education
Alma is served by the Bacon County School District.[25] The district has 126 full-time teachers and over 1,900 students,[26] and operates these schools:
- Bacon County Elementary School
- Bacon County Primary School
- Bacon County Middle School
- Bacon County High School
Alma is also served by Coastal Pines Technical College.
Notable people
- Harry Crews, novelist, playwright, short story writer and essayist
- Braswell Deen, U.S. representative from Georgia; moved to Alma
- Daniel W. Lee, recipient of Congressional Medal of Honor
- Walter J. Leonard, former president of Fisk University
- William M. Wheeler, U.S. representative from Georgia
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Bacon County, Georgia
References
- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Alma". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ a b "Explore Census Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
- ^ Hellmann, Paul T. (May 13, 2013). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. p. 216. ISBN 978-1135948597. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ "Alma". Georgia.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
- ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Alma city, Georgia". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access". NOAA. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
- ^ "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". NOAA. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
- ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
- ^ "1870 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1870.
- ^ "1880 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1880.
- ^ "1910 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1930.
- ^ "1930 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1930. p. 253.
- ^ "1940 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1940.
- ^ "1950 Census of Population - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1980.
- ^ "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 1980.
- ^ "2000 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Georgia" (PDF). US Census Bureau. 2000.
- ^ a b c "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
- ^ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
- ^ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
- ^ Georgia Board of Education, Retrieved July 28, 2010.
- ^ Free District Report, Retrieved May 29, 2010.
External links
Municipalities and communities of Bacon County, Georgia, United States | ||
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| Unincorporated community |
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