Douglas, Georgia

History

Douglas was founded in 1855 as the seat of the newly formed Coffee County. It was named for Senator Stephen A. Douglas from Illinois, a renowned stump speaker who was the challenger to Abraham Lincoln in the presidential election of 1860.

Douglas was chartered as a town in 1895 and as a city in 1897. In 1895, the railroad came to Douglas and the community began to boom. In 1909, the Georgia and Florida Railway located its offices in Douglas.

The Eleventh District Agricultural & Mechanical School was established in Douglas in 1906. In 1927, South Georgia College was founded as Georgia's first state-supported junior college.

During the 1920s and 1930s, Douglas was one of the major tobacco markets in the state. Much of this history is depicted in the Heritage Station Museum, located in the former Georgia and Florida Railway train station on Ward Street in downtown Douglas.

Douglas has two areas listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the downtown and Gaskin Avenue historic districts. They were added to the list in 1989.

In the aftermath of the 2020 United States presidential election, Douglas gained national attention when the elections office for Coffee County was visited by lawyers for President Trump on the day after the January 6 incident at the US Capitol, after Coffee County elections officials were unable to certify results in a mandatory recount following a close win in the state by Joe Biden over President Trump.

In late September 2024, Douglas was in the direct path of Hurricane Helene, which resulted in widespread damage and power outages. A wind gust of 80 kn was recorded in Douglas during the storm, with 80-85% of homes in Coffee County suffering damage.

Geography

Douglas is located near the center of Coffee County at (31.507413, −82.850799). It is 59 mi driving distance northeast of Valdosta, Georgia, 115 mi driving distance northwest of Jacksonville, Florida, and 201 mi driving distance southeast of Atlanta.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Douglas has a total area of 36.2 km2, of which 34.7 sqkm is land and 1.5 sqkm, or 4.08%, is water. Major water bodies include Twenty Mile Creek, the Seventeen Mile River (a tributary of the Satilla River), and Hilliard's Pond, which was once the ski show park "Holiday Beach".

Climate

|Jan record high F = 84 |Feb record high F = 86 |Mar record high F = 90 |Apr record high F = 97 |May record high F = 103 |Jun record high F = 111 |Jul record high F = 108 |Aug record high F = 105 |Sep record high F = 103 |Oct record high F = 97 |Nov record high F = 90 |Dec record high F = 83

|Jan avg record high F = 76.9 |Feb avg record high F = 80.2 |Mar avg record high F = 84.9 |Apr avg record high F = 90.3 |May avg record high F = 94.8 |Jun avg record high F = 98.3 |Jul avg record high F = 99.4 |Aug avg record high F = 98.3 |Sep avg record high F = 95.1 |Oct avg record high F = 90.1 |Nov avg record high F = 83.9 |Dec avg record high F = 79.2 |year avg record high F = 100.6

|Jan avg record low F = 20.5 |Feb avg record low F = 24.8 |Mar avg record low F = 30.3 |Apr avg record low F = 38.0 |May avg record low F = 48.7 |Jun avg record low F = 60.0 |Jul avg record low F = 65.4 |Aug avg record low F = 63.9 |Sep avg record low F = 52.9 |Oct avg record low F = 38.6 |Nov avg record low F = 31.1 |Dec avg record low F = 23.5 |year avg record low F = 17.4

|Jan record low F = 1 |Feb record low F = 6 |Mar record low F = 18 |Apr record low F = 29 |May record low F = 40 |Jun record low F = 51 |Jul record low F = 57 |Aug record low F = 56 |Sep record low F = 37 |Oct record low F = 29 |Nov record low F = 16 |Dec record low F = 8

|access-date = March 4, 2023 |access-date = March 4, 2023

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,722 people, 4,339 households, and 2,610 families residing in the city.

Douglas micropolitan statistical area

Douglas is the principal city of the Douglas micropolitan statistical area, a micropolitan area that covers Atkinson and Coffee counties and had a combined population of 50,731 at the 2010 census.

Infrastructure

Highways

• [[Image:US 221.svg|25px]] U.S. Route 221 (runs north–south)
• [[Image:US 441.svg|25px]] U.S. Route 441 (runs north–south)
• [[Image:Georgia 31.svg|20px]] Georgia State Route 31 (runs north–south)
• [[Image:Georgia 32.svg|20px]] Georgia State Route 32 (runs east–west)
• [[Image:Georgia 135.svg|25px]] Georgia State Route 135 (runs north–south)
• [[Image:Georgia 158.svg|25px]] Georgia State Route 158 (runs east–west)
• [[Image:Georgia 206.svg|25px]] Georgia State Route 206 (runs east–west)

Airport

• Douglas Municipal Airport

Utilities

• The Electric Department, locally owned and a member of the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, services Douglas with power.
• The Natural Gas Department, member of both Georgia & American Public Gas Association and the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia, provides gas to the area.
• Water and sewer service is conducted by the city's Water Department.
• The Public Works Department handles yard clippings, junk items, and animal control for the city.

Economy

Major employers

• Wal-Mart
• Premium Peanut
• Premium Waters
• American Insulated Wire
• Fleetwood Mobile Homes Corporation
• PCC Airfoils
• Pilgrim's

Agriculture

Farming plays a large role in the area's economy. Major agricultural products from the town and surrounding county include peanuts, corn, tobacco, and cotton. Chicken is also a major part of the economy.

Tourism

Douglas is home to Heritage Station Museum, which displays artifacts of the city's history. The World War II Flight Training Museum (the old 63rd Army Air Forces Contract Pilot School), Broxton is home to the Broxton Rocks, and the Ashley-Slater House are also popular tourist attractions in the area. All three were recently named among "Georgia's Hidden Treasures" in a segment on WSB-TV.

Douglas has ten public parks. There are four golf courses in and around the city.

Nearby, the 1490 acre General Coffee State Park draws more than 100,000 visitors a year and is the most popular tourist attraction in the area.

Healthcare

• Coffee Regional Medical Center
• Coffee Regional Walk-In Clinic

Media

• WOKA Dixie Country 106.7 FM
• WOKA Radio 1310 AM
• WOUG Radio Cielo 107.3 FM
• WULS Radio 103.7 FM
• WDMG Radio 97.9 FM, 860 AM
• WPNG Radio Shine 101.9 FM
• WSIZ Radio MyFM 102.3 @ 99.9 FM
• The Douglas News
• The Douglas Enterprise
• WSWG, CBS TV

Education

Coffee County School District

The Douglas-Coffee County area is served by the Coffee County Board of Education. The Coffee County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of eight elementary schools, a middle school, three high schools, and an alternative education center. The district has 438 full-time teachers and over 8,000 students.

• Ambrose Elementary School
• Broxton Mary-Hayes Elementary School
• Eastside Elementary School
• Indian Creek Elementary School
• Nicholls Elementary School
• Satilla Elementary School
• West Green Elementary School
• Westside Elementary School
• Coffee Middle School
• George Washington Carver Freshman Campus
• Coffee County Career Academy
• Coffee High School
• Coffee Alternative Education Center

Private schools

• First Academy at First Baptist Church provides preschool (1 year olds - 3 year olds), pre-kindergarten, and K-12.
• Citizens Christian Academy is K-12
• Douglas First Methodist Church provides pre-kindergarten

Higher education

• South Georgia State College is a public four-year institution of the University System of Georgia.
• Wiregrass Georgia Technical College

Notable people

• Trevis Simpson, Basketball Player Eurocup
• James Brown, singer
• Tyreek Hill, National Football League player for the Miami Dolphins, formerly the Kansas City Chiefs
• Jason Childers, Major League Baseball player for the Tampa Bay Rays
• G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of Smithsonian Institution and former president, Georgia Tech
• Greg Holland, country singer
• Jennifer Nettles, one-half of the country music duo Sugarland
• Joel Parrish, football player
• Willie Spence, singer and runner-up of Season 19 of American Idol
• Maureen Tucker, drummer and occasional singer of 1960s and 1970s rock group The Velvet Underground, lives in Douglas.
• Greg Walker, former first baseman and hitting coach, Chicago White Sox
• Cathy Latham, former Coffee County GOP Chair

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. (October 25, 2007). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
5. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Douglas, GA Micro Area". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder.
6. Hellmann, Paul T.. (May 13, 2013). "Historical Gazetteer of the United States". Routledge.
7. Krakow, Kenneth K.. (1975). "Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins". Winship Press.
8. [http://www.cityofdouglas.com/web/index.php City of Douglas - A Georgia City of Excellence. Retrieved 13 May 2008.] {{webarchive. link. (May 11, 2008)
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10. (15 September 2023). "Trump's Georgia charges thrust Coffee county in to the spotlight. Its people seek accountability". [[The Guardian]].
11. (2 September 2023). "'Crooked Coffee': The alleged election office breach in the Trump indictment was part of a years-long pattern, some locals say". CNN.
12. Team, WALB News. (2020-12-08). "Letter: Coffee Co. cannot certify results from second statewide recount".
13. (2025-03-21). "To Helene and back: Coffee County reeling after storm unleashes its full fury – Douglas Now".
14. Team, First Alert Weather. (2025-03-19). "Weather Blog: NOAA NHC releases full report on Hurricane Helene".
15. (February 12, 2011). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
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22. [http://www.cityofdouglas.com/web/water.php ''Public Utilities – Water Department''] {{webarchive. link. (February 21, 2009 , City of Douglas – A Georgia City of Excellence. Copyright 2002-7. Retrieved February 17, 2009.)
23. [http://www.cityofdouglas.com/web/street_sanitation.php ''Public Utilities – Public Works Department''] {{webarchive. link. (February 16, 2009 , City of Douglas – A Georgia City of Excellence. Copyright 2002-7. Retrieved February 17, 2009.)
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26. [http://www.school-stats.com/GA/COFFEE/COFFEE_COUNTY.html School Stats]. Retrieved June 4, 2010.