Dawson, Georgia

Not to be confused with Dawson County, Georgia.

Dawson, Georgia
City
Location in Terrell County and the state of Georgia Location in Terrell County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Terrell
Area
• Total	3.7 sq mi (9.5 km2)
• Land	3.7 sq mi (9.5 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	351 ft (107 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	5,058
• Density	1,367/sq mi (532.4/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	31742, 39842
Area code(s)	229
FIPS code	13-21912
GNIS feature ID	0313367

Dawson is a city in and the county seat of Terrell County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,058 at the 2000 census. Incorporated on December 22, 1857, the city is named for Senator William Crosby Dawson.

Dawson is part of the Albany, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Dawson was founded in 1856 as seat of the newly formed Terrell County. It was incorporated as a town in 1857 and as a city in 1872. It was an important site in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, when the county in which it is located was labeled "Terrible Terrell" by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Jackie Robinson helped raise money to rebuild three Black churches that were burned in the area.

Geography

Dawson is located in southwest Georgia along U.S. Route 82 and Georgia State Route 520 (South Georgia Parkway), which leads southeast 8 mi (13 km) to Sasser and northwest 9 mi (14 km) to Parrott. U.S. 82 leads west 21 mi (34 km) to Cuthbert and 47 mi (76 km) to Eufaula, Alabama. Albany is 24 mi (39 km) southeast and Columbus is 63 mi (101 km) northwest.

The city is located at (31.773969, -84.440870).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	521		—
1870	1,099		110.9%
1880	1,576		43.4%
1890	2,284		44.9%
1900	2,926		28.1%
1910	3,827		30.8%
1920	3,504		−8.4%
1930	3,827		9.2%
1940	3,681		−3.8%
1950	4,411		19.8%
1960	5,062		14.8%
1970	5,383		6.3%
1980	5,699		5.9%
1990	5,295		−7.1%
2000	5,058		−4.5%
2010	4,540		−10.2%
Est. 2014	4,358		−4.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,058 people, 1,791 households, and 1,276 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,373.5 people per square mile (530.7/km²). There were 1,967 housing units at an average density of 534.1 per square mile (206.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 21.49% White, 77.26% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.

There were 1,791 households out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.9% were married couples living together, 32.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.7% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.29.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 83.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,140, and the median income for a family was $25,511. Males had a median income of $26,006 versus $18,629 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,752. About 31.6% of families and 36.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.8% of those under age 18 and 26.0% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

This area climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Dawson has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Climate data for Dawson, Georgia
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	26 (78)	14 (58)	17 (63)	24 (75)	26 (79)	30 (86)	33 (92)	34 (93)	33 (91)	26 (79)	21 (69)	16 (60)	25 (76.9)
Average low °C (°F)	2 (36)	4 (40)	11 (51)	12 (53)	18 (64)	20 (68)	21 (70)	22 (71)	21 (69)	12 (53)	7 (44)	2 (36)	12.7 (54.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	117 (4.6)	114 (4.5)	140 (5.5)	104 (4.1)	91 (3.6)	130 (5.1)	150 (5.9)	122 (4.8)	99 (3.9)	56 (2.2)	80 (3)	112 (4.4)	1,315 (51.6)
Source: Weatherbase

Education

Terrell County School District

The Terrell County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. The district has 98 full-time teachers and over 1,764 students.

• Carver Elementary School
• Cooper Primary School
• Terrell Middle School
• Terrell High School
• Terrell Middle High School

Private education

• Terrell Academy

Higher education

Nearby Albany has three colleges to which students may easily commute: Darton State College, Albany State University, and Albany Technical College. To the west, in Cuthbert, is historic Andrew College. Also nearby is Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus.

Notable people

• Lucius D. Battle - ambassador to Egypt
• Erle Cocke, Jr. - U.S. National Guard general
• Benjamin J. Davis - New York City Councilman and Communist Party leader
• Wayland Flowers - puppeteer best known for his outrageous puppet, Madame
• Robert J. Jones, PhD - 19th president of State University of New York at Albany
• Otis Redding - American soul singer
• Walter Washington - first black mayor of Washington, D.C.
• Bessie Jones - gospel/folk singer

References

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