Tifton, Georgia

History

Tifton was founded in 1872 in Berrien County at the junction of the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad and the Brunswick and Western Railroad by sawmill owner Henry H. Tift. Tifton was incorporated as a city in 1890. In 1905, it was designated county seat of the newly formed Tift County.

Several Chicago-Florida and Cincinnati-Florida passenger trains made stops in Tifton: the Atlantic Coast Line's Seminole, Flamingo and City of Miami and the Southern Railway's Ponce de Leon and Royal Palm. With the discontinuance of the City of Miami in 1971, Tifton was left without passenger service.

Geography

Tifton is located in south central Georgia along Interstate 75, which runs north to south through the city, leading north 167 mi to Atlanta and south 45 mi to Valdosta. Other highways that pass through the city include U.S. Route 41, U.S. Route 82, U.S. Route 319, and Georgia State Route 125.

Climate

|Jan record high F = 83 |Feb record high F = 90 |Mar record high F = 90 |Apr record high F = 93 |May record high F = 99 |Jun record high F = 105 |Jul record high F = 104 |Aug record high F = 104 |Sep record high F = 106 |Oct record high F = 98 |Nov record high F = 88 |Dec record high F = 84

|Jan avg record high F = 75.5 |Feb avg record high F = 78.6 |Mar avg record high F = 82.6 |Apr avg record high F = 87.6 |May avg record high F = 92.7 |Jun avg record high F = 95.8 |Jul avg record high F = 96.9 |Aug avg record high F = 96.3 |Sep avg record high F = 93.8 |Oct avg record high F = 88.1 |Nov avg record high F = 82.0 |Dec avg record high F = 77.1 |year avg record high F = 98.1

|Jan avg record low F = 22.8 |Feb avg record low F = 26.4 |Mar avg record low F = 29.7 |Apr avg record low F = 39.6 |May avg record low F = 49.0 |Jun avg record low F = 60.6 |Jul avg record low F = 65.4 |Aug avg record low F = 64.7 |Sep avg record low F = 56.3 |Oct avg record low F = 41.1 |Nov avg record low F = 30.3 |Dec avg record low F = 26.3 |year avg record low F = 20.7

|Jan record low F = 0 |Feb record low F = 12 |Mar record low F = 16 |Apr record low F = 30 |May record low F = 39 |Jun record low F = 48 |Jul record low F = 54 |Aug record low F = 54 |Sep record low F = 42 |Oct record low F = 28 |Nov record low F = 10 |Dec record low F = 6

|access-date = May 11, 2023 |access-date = May 11, 2023

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1850-1870 1870-1880 1890-1910 1920-1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,045 people, 5,906 households, and 3,779 families residing in the city.

Arts and culture

Libraries

Tifton has a public library, in addition to an extensive college library located at nearby Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Points of interest

• Coastal Plain Research Arboretum
• Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village

Until recently, Tifton was the home of the world's second largest magnolia tree, which was located in Magnolia Tree Park. In 2004, the tree was burned in a fire. The cause of the fire has never been given by local authorities. Currently, the tree and observation area are blocked from visitors by a gate. Although it no longer grows, the tree still stands. It is not known where the new second largest magnolia tree resides.

Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village

Main article: Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village

The Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village, formerly known as Agrirama, is located in Tifton, Georgia. It opened on July 4, 1976. The grounds consist of five areas: a traditional farm community of the 1870s, an 1890s progressive farmstead, an industrial sites complex, rural town, and national peanut complex; and the Museum of Agriculture Center. Over 35 structures have been relocated to the 95 acre site and faithfully restored or preserved. Costumed interpreters explain and demonstrate the lifestyle and activities of this time in Georgia's history.

Historic districts

The Tifton Residential Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 2008. It is bounded generally by 14th Street, Goff Street, 2nd Street and Forrest Avenue at coordinates . The Tifton Commercial Historic District and the Tift County Courthouse are also on the National Register.

Sports

In 2000, the boys 10u baseball team won the state championship with an undefeated season (24–0).

In 2010, the indoor football team Georgia Firebirds relocated from Waycross, Georgia to Tifton.

Education

Tift County School District

The Tift County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of, eight elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, and an alternative school. The district has 467 full-time teachers and over 7,641 students.

Private schools

• Tiftarea Academy, located in Chula, Georgia (PK–12)
• Grace Baptist Christian School, Tifton

Higher education

• Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College - Main Campus
• Southern Regional Technical College - Tifton Campus
• University of Georgia - Tifton Agricultural Campus

Media

The Tifton Gazette is a weekly newspaper published Thursdays in Tifton, Georgia. It is operated by South Georgia Media Group, a division of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. The Tifton Grapevine is a twice-weekly online newspaper with an email circulation of 5,800. It is operated by Sayles Unlimited Marketing.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Major highways

• [[Image:I-75.svg|20px]] Interstate 75
• [[Image:US 41.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 41
• [[Image:US 82.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 82
• [[Image:US 319.svg|20px]] U.S. Route 319
• [[Image:Georgia 125.svg|25px]] State Route 125

Airports

• Henry Tift Myers Airport is a public airport located 2 mi southeast of Tifton, serving the general aviation community, with no scheduled commercial airline service.

Notable people==

• Nanci Bowen - LPGA golfer
• Austin Brown - member of a cappella group Home Free
• Justin Brownlee - professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the PBA
• Caitlin Carmichael - child actress
• Harold Cohen - US Army colonel during World War II and recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal
• Larry Dean - football linebacker for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League
• Dennis Dove - former MLB pitcher
• Harold Bascom Durham Jr., US Army 2d Lieutenant awarded the Medal of Honor
• Todd Fordham - former NFL offensive lineman
• Bob Hoffman - sports promoter
• Kip Moore, country music singer
• Matt Moore - former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party
• Wyc Orr - politician and lawyer
• Ralph Puckett - US Army Colonel, Distinguished Graduate of the United States Military Academy, awarded Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross (with oak leaf cluster), Silver Star (with oak leaf cluster), Legion of Merit (with 2 oak leaf clusters), etc.
• Austin Scott - U. S. Congressman representing Georgia's 8th congressional district
• Members of alternative rock band September Hase
• Clay Shiver -former NFL offensive lineman
• James "Chick" Stripling - Fiddler, comedian, and buck dancer
• Tyson Summers - American college football coach
• Cyndi Thomson - country music singer
• Dina Titus - U.S. Congresswoman representing Nevada's 1st congressional district
• Neil Norman - Associate Professor College of William & Mary
• Rashod Bateman - football wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League

Sister city

• China Linyi, China (2010)

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. (2007-10-25). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
5. Hellmann, Paul T.. (May 13, 2013). "Historical Gazetteer of the United States". Routledge.
6. "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade". [[United States Census Bureau]].
7. (1870). "1870 Census of Population - Georgia - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties". [[United States Census Bureau]].
8. (1880). "1880 Census of Population - Georgia - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties". [[United States Census Bureau]].
9. (1910). "1910 Census of Population - Georgia". [[United States Census Bureau]].
10. (1930). "1930 Census of Population - Georgia". [[United States Census Bureau]].
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16. (1990). "1990 Census of Population - Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics - Georgia". [[United States Census Bureau]].
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18. (2010). "2010 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Georgia". [[United States Census Bureau]].
19. "Explore Census Data".
20. "Homepage". Tifton - Tift County Public Library.
21. (2006). "Landmark still recuperating from fire". The Tifton Gazette.
22. (June 2018)
23. [http://www.school-stats.com/GA/TIFT/TIFT_COUNTY.html School Stats], Retrieved June 28, 2010.
24. [http://www.abac.edu/ Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College], Retrieved June 28, 2010.
25. [https://southernregional.edu/campus-sites Southern Regional Technical College- Tifton Campus], Retrieved September 9, 2020.
26. [http://www.caes.uga.edu/campus/tifton/ University of Georgia- Tifton Agricultural Campus], Retrieved June 28, 2010.
27. "Tifton Grapevine - Home".
28. (2001-01-31). "Florida State all-time team".
29. [http://tiftongazette.com/local/x2023228706/Tifton-becomes-sister-city-to-Linyi-China Tifton becomes sister city to Linyi, China » Local News] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-07-16 . Tifton Gazette. Retrieved on 2013-08-09.)