Lithonia is a suburban village in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, and it is incorporated as a city. Lithonia's population was 2,187 people at the 2000 census.
Lithonia is located at 33°42′46″N 84°6′21″W / 33.71278°N 84.10583°W / 33.71278; -84.10583 (33.712658, -84.105897)[3]. According to the United States Census Bureau, this village has a total area of 0.8 square miles (12.0 km²), all of it land.
"Lithonia" means "city/town of stone". Lithonia is in the heart of the Georgian granite-quarrying and viewing region, hence the name of the town, from the Greek lithos, for stone. The huge nearby granite dome - the world's largest, Stone Mountain, is composed largely of a rock called Lithonia gneiss, a form of granite. The city of Lithonia is in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia.
The Lithonia Public Library, established in 1907, was the first public library in DeKalb County. It was an independent library from 1907 to 1951, when it was joined to the DeKalb County Public Library.
The Lithonia Lighting Company, a significant manufacturer of household light fixtures, was founded in Lithonia in 1946, but it was moved to nearby Conyers, Georgia, in 1957.[1]
Demographics
As of the census GR2 of 2000, there were 2,187 people, 799 households, and 560 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,068.9/km² (2,770.2/sq mi). There were 892 housing units at an average density of 1,129.9/sq mi (436.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 16.64% White, 79.61% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.42% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. 2.88% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. It is one of the wealthiest majority-black areas in the United States.
There were 799 households out of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.3% were married couples living together, 41.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 25.7% 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 2.70 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the city the population was spread out with 34.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 17.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 76.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 63.1 males.
Controversy
In 2006, WSB-TV discovered that the Lithonia Police Department had been illegally driving uninsured police cruisers for a period of six months. There has been much debate over the former mayor Darold Honore and his practices of managing government funds. Honore had the password and locks changed to the city council building without releasing the new password or keys to any council members.
In early 2008, a new mayoral election was held. This election was not without controversy, when Joyce McKibben emerging as the winner by just one vote. The other candidate Rhonda Peek challenged these results and contested that McKibben's main residence wasn't inside the city limits. Peek tried to have her case tried in the Dekalb County Courts, but they would not hear the case. Peek next took her case to neighboring Rockdale County, where the court ruled against Peek, ruling that the results of the election were valid.
Mayor McKibben came under fire for her recent decision to discharge the village's chief of police. She also stated that both he and council members had their "hands dirty in Honore's money". Less than a year after her election, McKibben was removed from office in a recall election on September 30, after a recall petition had been approved in August 2008. The vote was 78% for and 22% against McKibbeb (166 to 47), with a voter turnout of just 20%. [2] Despite this significant defeat, Mayor McKibben, who still held office until the ballots had been certified by the Georgia Secretary of State later that week, said that she would contest the results.
Tonya Peterson, the mayor pro tempore, took office until another special election could be held on November 18. This was ruled to be necessary because early voting for the general election on November 4 had already begun in late September. Peterson was elected as the new mayor with 193 of 269 votes cast, a voter turnout of less than 30%. Rhonda Peek received 61 votes, and McKibben received 45. Another special election will be held to replace Peterson on the city council.
Famous residents
References
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
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