Tifton, Georgia

Tifton, Georgia
City
Tifton City Hall
Nickname(s):  Friendly City
Location in Tift County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 31°27′48″N 83°30′36″W / 31.46333°N 83.51000°W / 31.46333; -83.51000Coordinates: 31°27′48″N 83°30′36″W / 31.46333°N 83.51000°W / 31.46333; -83.51000
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Tift
Government
• Mayor	Julie Smith
• City Manager	Pete Pyrzenski[1]
Area [2]
• Total	12.81 sq mi (33.16 km2)
• Land	12.61 sq mi (32.67 km2)
• Water	0.19 sq mi (0.49 km2)
Elevation	354 ft (108 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	16,350
• Estimate  (2019)[5]	16,838
• Density	1,334.87/sq mi (515.41/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	31793-31794
Area code(s)	229
FIPS code	13-76476[3]
GNIS feature ID	0324159[4]
Website	http://www.tifton.net

Tifton is a city in Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 16,350 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Tift County.^[6]

The area's public schools are administered by the Tift County School District. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has its main campus in Tifton. Southern Regional Technical College and the University of Georgia also have Tifton campuses.

Sites in the area include the Coastal Plain Research Arboretum, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, and the Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village. The Tifton Commercial Historic District and the Tifton Residential Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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.^[7] In 1905, it was designated county seat of the newly formed Tift County.

Several Chicago-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 Royal Palm in 1970, 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 (269 km) to Atlanta and south 45 mi (72 km) 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.

Demographics[]

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	1,384		—
1910	2,381		72.0%
1920	3,005		26.2%
1930	3,390		12.8%
1940	5,228		54.2%
1950	6,831		30.7%
1960	9,903		45.0%
1970	12,179		23.0%
1980	13,749		12.9%
1990	14,215		3.4%
2000	15,060		5.9%
2010	16,350		8.6%
2019 (est.)	16,838	[5]	3.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 16,350 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 49.4% White, 36.0% Black, 0.1% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.1% from some other race and 1.1% from two or more races. 11.4% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 15,060 people, 5,532 households, and 3,601 families living in the city. The population density was 1,686.2 people per square mile (651.1/km²). There were 6,102 housing units at an average density of 683.2 per square mile (263.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.26% White, 31.57% African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.64% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.61% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.56% of the population.

There were 5,532 households, out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.08.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,234, and the median income for a family was $37,023. Males had a median income of $27,206 versus $20,174 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,455. About 20.7% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.0% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture[]

Libraries[]

Tifton has a public library,^[9] 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.^[10] 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[]

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 (380,000 m²) 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

31°27′35″N 83°30′25″W / 31.45972°N 83.50694°W / 31.45972; -83.50694 (Tifton Residential Historic District). 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.^[11] The district has 467 full-time teachers and over 7,641 students.^[12]

Private schools[]

• Tiftarea Academy, located in Chula, Georgia (K-12)
• Grace Baptist Christian School

Higher education[]

• Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College - Main Campus^[13]
• Southern Regional Technical College - Tifton Campus^[14]
• University of Georgia - Tifton Agricultural Campus^[15]

Media[]

The Tifton Gazette is a thrice-weekly newspaper published in Tifton, Georgia. It is operated by South Georgia Media Group, a division of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. The Tifton Grapevine ^[16] is a twice-weekly online newspaper with an email circulation of 5,800. It is operated by Sayles Unlimited Marketing.

Infrastructure[]

Transportation[]

Major highways[]

• Interstate 75
• U.S. Highway 41
• U.S. Route 82
• U.S. Route 319
• State Route 125

Airports[]

• Henry Tift Myers Airport is a public airport located two miles (3 km) southeast of Tifton, serving the general aviation community, with no scheduled commercial airline service.

Notable people[]

Sister city[]

• Linyi, China (2010)^[18]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tifton, Georgia.

• Tifton, Georgia website
• South Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive, Digital Library of Georgia
• Tifton, Georgia family in 1909