Athens

 

City (1990 pop. 45,734), seat of Clarke co., NE Ga., on the Oconee River, in a piedmont area; inc. 1806. The city was founded as the site of the Univ. of Georgia. Its industries include poultry processing, research and development, and the manufacture of textiles, electronic goods, pharmaceuticals, and clocks and watches. Numerous Georgia statesmen have lived in Athens, and some of their houses are among the city's fine examples of classic revival style—the Howell Cobb house (1850), the T. R. R. Cobb house (1830–43), and the Joseph H. Lumpkin house (c.1845).

Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, USA
Nickname: "Classic City" "The Classic"
Location in Clarke County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 33°57′19″N 83°22′59″W / 33.95528, -83.38306
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Clarke
Area
- Balance	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Population (2000)
- Balance
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
FIPS code	13-034402
Website: http://www.athensclarkecounty.com/

Athens-Clarke County is a unified city-county in Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state, at the eastern terminus of Georgia 316. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial creation of Athens and its subsequent growth. In 1991, after a vote the preceding year, the original city abandoned its charter in order to form a unified government with Clarke County, referred to collectively as Athens-Clarke County. As of the 2000 census, the consolidated city-county (including all of Athens-Clarke County except Winterville and a part of Bogart) had a total population of 100,266. The metro area had a population of 175,085 as of 2005 Census estimates. Athens-Clarke County is the principal city of and is included in the Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area.^[1]

History

In the late 18th century, a trading settlement on the banks of the Oconee River called Cedar Shoals stood where Athens is located today. On January 27, 1785, the Georgia General Assembly granted a charter by Abraham Baldwin for the University of Georgia as the first state-supported university. Sixteen years later, in 1801, a committee from the university's board of trustees selected a site for the university on a hill above Cedar Shoals in what was then Jackson County. On July 25, John Milledge, one of the trustees and later governor of Georgia, bought 633 acres (2.6 km²) from Daniel Easley and donated it to the university. Milledge named the surrounding area Athens after the city that was home to the academy of Plato and Aristotle in Greece.

The first buildings on the University of Georgia campus were made from logs. The town grew as lots adjacent to the college were sold to raise money for the additional construction of the school. By the time the first class graduated from the University in 1804, Athens consisted of three homes, three stores and a few other buildings facing Front Street, now known as Broad Street. Completed in 1806 and named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, Franklin College was the University of Georgia and the City of Athens' first permanent structure. This brick building is now called Old College.

Athens officially became a town in December 1806 with a government made up of a three-member commission. The university continued to grow, as did the town, with cotton mills fueling the industrial and commercial development. Athens became known as the "Manchester of the South" after the city in England known for its mills. In 1833 a group of Athens businessmen led by James Camak, tired of their wagons getting stuck in the mud, built Georgia's first railroad, the Georgia, connecting Athens to Augusta by 1841, and to Marthasville (now Atlanta) by 1845.

During the American Civil War, Athens became a significant supply center when the New Orleans armory was relocated to what is now the called the Chicopee building. Fortifications can still be found along parts of the North Oconee River between College and Oconee St. In addition, Athens played a small part in the ill-fated Stoneman Raid when a skirmish was fought on a site overlooking the Middle Oconee River near what is now the old Macon Highway. Like many southern towns, Athens still hosts a confederate memorial that is located on Broad St, near the University of Georgia Arch.

During Reconstruction, Athens continued to grow. The form of government changed to a mayor-council government with a new city charter on August 24, 1872 with Captain Henry Beusse as the first mayor of Athens. Henry Beusse was instrumental in the rapid growth of the city after the Civil War. After holding the position of mayor he worked in the railroad industry and helped to bring railroads to the region creating growth in many of the surrounding communities. Freed slaves moved to the city, many attracted by the new centers for education such as the Freedman's Bureau. This new population was served by three black newspapers - the Athens Blade, the Athens Clipper, and the Progressive Era.

As Athens became a more populous city in the 1880s, city services and improvements were undertaken. The Athens Police Department was founded in 1881 and public schools opened in fall of 1886. Telephone service was introduced in 1882 by the Bell Telephone Company. Transportation improvements were also introduced with a street paving program beginning in 1885 and streetcars, pulled by mules, in 1888.

By its centennial in 1901, Athens was a much-changed city. A new city hall was completed in 1904. An African-American middle class and professional class had grown around the corner of Washington and Hull Streets, known as the "Hot Corner." The theater at the Morton Building hosted movies and performances by well-known black musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington. In 1907 aviation pioneer Ben Epps became Georgia's first pilot on a hill outside town that would become the Athens-Ben Epps Airport. Athens got its first tall building in 1908 with the seven-story Southern Mutual Insurance Company building.

During World War II, the U.S. Navy built new buildings and paved runways to serve as a training facility for naval pilots. In 1954, the U.S. Navy chose Athens as the site for the Navy Supply Corps school. The school was located in Normal Town in the buildings of the old Normal School. The school is now scheduled to be moved in 2011 under the Base Realignment and Closure process.

In 1961, Athens witnessed part of the Civil Rights movement when Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes became the first two black students to enter the University of Georgia. 3 years later, Athens was witness to the Murder of Lemuel Penn when he was followed out of town and murdered in Madison County near Colbert, GA. Despite the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling in 1954, the Athens - Clarke County school district remained segregated until 1970.

Music

Main article: Music of Athens, Georgia

The Athens music scene grew in the early 1970s with Ravenstone, a regionally popular band sometimes called "one of the godfathers of Athens rock," and later during the 1980s with the 40 Watt Club, as the bands R.E.M. and the B-52's scored breakout hits. Other bands that have made their mark include Perpetual Groove, Mercyland, Chickasaw Mudpuppies, Dreams So Real, the Indigo Girls, The Supervixens, Matthew Sweet, The Tone Tones, The Method Actors, Love Tractor, Corey Smith, Pylon, Flat Duo Jets, The Squalls, The Normaltown Flyers, The Primates, Redneck Greece De-Lux, The Side Effects, the Glands, Bar-B-Que Killers, Art in the Dark, the Warblers, Modern Skirts, Fabulous Bird, Dark Meat and Widespread Panic. The music scene in Athens continues to produce many cutting-edge, underground bands and many that break the surface into the mainstream music community.

Other national acts that have come out of Athens include: Danger Mouse, John Berry, Vic Chesnutt, Drive-By Truckers, Elf Power, Jucifer, Azure Ray, The Fountains, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Of Montreal, Five Eight, The Dictatortots, Bomb the Music Industry, Big Atomic (formerly, Catfish Jenkins), Kevn Kinney, David Blackmon, Macha, Now It's Overhead and Sound Tribe Sector Nine (STS9). R.E.M. members Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Bill Berry still maintain residences in Athens. The Butthole Surfers briefly resided in nearby Winterville, recruiting Time Toy and Little Tigers musician Juan Molina to play bass for them on a tour. Nikki Sudden lived here for a few years, and musicians such as the Indigo Girls and 10,000 Maniacs enjoyed early success to such a degree they could rightly call Athens a second home given the time they recorded and performed in the Classic City.

A complete list of the city's musicians can be found in Flagpole Magazine's annual music guide, published annually or located on their website.

Culture

Common to many college towns, Athens has a significant liberal community that coexists with the university students in creating an art scene, music scene and intellectual environment. The city is home to numerous music venues, bars, and coffee shops that cater to the various populations.

The town is home to such notable features as the only remaining one of two double barrelled cannons produced during the American Civil War, the famous Tree That Owns Itself, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, and the University of Georgia Campus Arboretum. Athens is also home to The Globe which was voted by Esquire magazine as the number one bar in America in 2007. Athens was home to Network Translations, Inc., which produced the PIX firewall which was later purchased by Cisco Systems.

Athens also has a vibrant literary scene. The city is home to independent publisher Hill Street Press and well-known authors with previous or current residence in the city include Pulitzer Prize winners Deborah Blum and Edward Larson, as well as Judith Ortiz Cofer, Reginald McKnight, Terry Kay, Jim Kilgo, Coleman Barks, Ed Tant, Katherine Yeske (now Taylor), Amy Flurry, Daniel J. Matthews, Jr. and Philip Lee Williams.

Every spring Athens plays host to a number of bicycle races collectively known as the Twilight Series. The most popular of these is the Twilight Criterium. In addition to its yearly weekend of bike events, Athens has an active bicycle culture, easily observed the last Friday of each month at Athens Critical Mass. There is also a Courteous Mass seeking to distance themselves from the more confrontational group. The annual Human Rights Festival has brought many speakers and activists to Athens over the years, ranging from Jesse Jackson to David Dellinger.

Geography and Climate

Athens is located at 33°57′19″N, 83°22′59″W (33.955464, -83.383245)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the balance has a total area of 306.2 km² (118.2 mi²). 305.0 km² (117.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (0.41%) is water.

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Rec High °F	80	81	88	93	97	104	104	107	99	98	86	79
Norm High °F	51.4	56.5	64.7	73	80.5	87.2	90.2	88.2	82.5	72.9	63.2	54.2
Norm Low °F	32.9	35.4	42.3	48.7	57.6	65.3	69.3	68.5	62.7	50.7	42.2	35.3
Rec Low °F	-4	5	11	26	37	45	55	54	36	24	7	2
Precip (in)	4.69	4.39	4.99	3.35	3.86	3.94	4.41	3.78	3.53	3.47	3.71	3.71
Source: USTravelWeather.com [1]

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 100,266 people, 39,239 households, and 19,344 families residing in the city. The population density was 328.8/km² (851.5/mi²). There were 41,633 housing units at an average density of 136.5/km² (353.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.71% White, 27.37% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 3.15% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.11% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.39% of the population.

There were 39,239 households out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.3% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.7% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 17.8% under the age of 18, 31.6% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 15.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,118, and the median income for a family was $41,407. Males had a median income of $30,359 versus $23,039 for females. The per capita income for the balance was $17,103. About 15.0% of families and 28.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.2% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over. Athens is home to Sanford stadium and the Georgia Bulldogs.

Neighborhoods

• Downtown
• Five Points
• Chicopee-Dudley
• East Side
• Boulevard
• Normaltown

Notes

1. ^ U.S. Whitehouse OMB Bulletin No. 05-02 Appendix (Code 12020*)

External links

• Athens-Clarke County: Unified City/County Government Official Site
• Athens-Clarke County: Unified City/County Government Official Job Database
• Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau
• All About Athens, Georgia real estate, relocation, community news & events - a hyper-local blog
• Athens Stuff Guide
• The University of Georgia
• University of Georgia Libraries: On Athens-Clarke County
• OnlineAthens: Athens, Georgia news
• Know Georgia Athens
• Athens (the New Georgia Encyclopedia)
• Flagpole Magazine (Athens' alt-weekly)
• Georgia Music Hall of Fame - Athens Music History
• AthFest - Music and Art Festival
• Stitching Stars Storytelling Festival Annual storytelling festival in January
• Athens-Clarke County Public Library

Coordinates: 33.955464° N 83.383245° W

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