Athens, Georgia

Athens is a city in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state, just off of Georgia 316. As of the 2000 census, the consolidated city-county (including all unincorporated areas in Clarke County except Winterville) had a total population of 100,266. It is home to the University of Georgia, a major educational institution in the South and a football powerhouse in the Southeastern Conference.

The city was particularly known for its music scene in the 1980s, being home to such bands as R.E.M., The B-52's, Love Tractor, Pylon and Widespread Panic. Other national acts that have come out of Athens include: Danger Mouse, Vic Chesnutt, Drive-By Truckers, Elf Power, Jucifer, Zumm Zumm, Azure Ray, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, Of Montreal, Five Eight, Big Atomic (formerly, Catfish Jenkins), Kevn Kinney, David Blackmon, Macha, and Sound Tribe Sector Nine (STS9). Notable local residents have included Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Deborah Blum and acclaimed film actress Kim Basinger.

The town is also home to such notables as the only remaining one of two double barrelled cannons produced during the American Civil War, the famous Tree That Owns Itself and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Athens was home to Network Translations, Inc., which produced the PIX firewall which was later purchased by Cisco Systems.

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 ancient 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, but so 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 1841, railroad lines were laid through Athens, expanding the commercial development and connecting the city with Atlanta to the west and Greenville, South Carolina to the north.

During the American Civil War, William T. Sherman's Union army concentrated on Atlanta, cutting off the rail lines to prevent Athens from resupplying the besieged city. After burning Atlanta, the Union army largely ignored Athens in the March to the Sea, instead turning southeast to Savannah, Georgia.

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. 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. 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 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.

Athens became a unified government with Clarke County, Georgia in 1990.

Music

The Athens music scene grew in the early 1970s with the 40 Watt Club and Ravenstone, a regionally popular band sometimes called "one of the godfathers of Athens rock," and later during the 1980s with R.E.M. and the B-52's scoring breakout hits.

Geography

Athens is located at (33.955464, -83.383245).

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.

Demographics

As of the census 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.

Neighborhoods

External links