Camilla, Georgia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Camilla, Georgia
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Camilla City Hall
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Location in Mitchell County and the state of Georgia
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| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Mitchell |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6.62 sq mi (17.13 km2) |
| • Land | 6.60 sq mi (17.10 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2) |
| Elevation | 177 ft (54 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 5,187 |
| • Density | 785.67/sq mi (303.34/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
31730
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| Area code(s) | 229 |
| FIPS code | 13-12624 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0331312 |
| Website | http://www.camillaga.net/ |
Camilla is a city in Mitchell County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 5,187.
Contents
History
The city was incorporated in 1858. The name Camilla was chosen in honor of the granddaughter of Henry Mitchell, an American Revolutionary War general for whom Mitchell County was named.
Camilla and Mitchell County were originally Creek country surrendered to the United States in the 1814 Treaty at Fort Jackson. Georgia divided the land ceded by Native Americans into lots to be given away in land lotteries. The lottery of 1820 awarded lands covering much of the southwest section of the state (applying only to land south of the future Lee County line and extending west to Chattahoochee and east to settled counties in east Georgia), including the area later known as Mitchell County. Despite having access to free land, few people moved to the region. Citizens hesitated to improve land, according to an early twentieth-century history the region, “"which God Almighty had left in an unfinished condition." It took approximately forty years (1820–1857) for the area to obtain its necessary legal population to become a separate county, after which Camilla became the county’s seat.
Camilla became the site of a racially motivated political riot on Saturday, September 19, 1868. Determined to promote political and social reform with an organized rally, 150–300 freedmen, along with Republican political candidates, marched toward the town’s courthouse square for the rally. The local sheriff and "citizens committee" in the majority-white town warned the black and white activists of the impending violence and demanded that they forfeit their guns, even though carrying weapons was customary at the time. The marchers refused to give up their guns and continued to the courthouse square, where a group of local whites, quickly deputized by the sheriff, fired upon them. This assault forced the Republicans and freedmen to retreat as locals gave chase into the swamps, killing an estimated nine to fifteen of the black rally participants while wounding forty others. "Whites proceeded through the countryside over the next two weeks, beating and warning Negroes that they would be killed if they tried to vote in the coming election." The Camilla Massacre was the culmination of smaller acts of violence committed by white inhabitants that had plagued southwest Georgia since the end of the Civil War.(pp. 1–2)
On 23 July 1962, a group of civil rights activists tried to visit fellow demonstrators from Albany, Georgia that had been jailed in Camilla. While the rally took place, Marion King, wife of Albany Movement's vice president Slater King, was beaten to the ground and kicked by Camilla police guards until she was unconscious. Mrs. King was pregnant at the time and had her young children with her. She suffered a miscarriage after the ordeal. The 2012 song Camilla from the eponymous album by Caroline Herring pays a tribute to Mrs. King's memory.
In the early 2000s, the city was hit by two disastrous sets of tornadoes, both occurring in the dark hours of the early morning and both going through roughly the same area. The first outbreak was on February 14, 2000; the second was on March 20, 2003.
Geography
Camilla is located at 31°13′49″N 84°12′33″W / 31.23028°N 84.20917°W (31.230243, −84.209102).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.1 square miles (16 km2), of which 0.16% is water.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Camilla has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. Camilla has a relatively wet climate with high precipitation year-round, as typical of the eastern United States. Its southerly latitude in Georgia causes a greater tropical influence resulting in very mild winters in comparison with Atlanta for example.
| Climate data for Camilla, Georgia | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 17 (62) |
19 (66) |
23 (73) |
27 (80) |
31 (87) |
33 (91) |
33 (92) |
33 (92) |
31 (88) |
27 (81) |
22 (72) |
18 (64) |
26 (79) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 4 (39) |
6 (42) |
9 (48) |
12 (54) |
17 (62) |
21 (69) |
22 (71) |
22 (71) |
19 (67) |
13 (55) |
8 (46) |
4 (40) |
13 (55) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 120 (4.6) |
110 (4.5) |
140 (5.5) |
100 (4.1) |
91 (3.6) |
130 (5.1) |
150 (5.9) |
120 (4.8) |
99 (3.9) |
56 (2.2) |
76 (3) |
100 (4) |
1,310 (51.4) |
| Source: Weatherbase | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 | 289 | — | |
| 1880 | 672 | 132.5% | |
| 1890 | 866 | 28.9% | |
| 1900 | 1,051 | 21.4% | |
| 1910 | 1,827 | 73.8% | |
| 1920 | 2,136 | 16.9% | |
| 1930 | 2,025 | −5.2% | |
| 1940 | 2,588 | 27.8% | |
| 1950 | 3,745 | 44.7% | |
| 1960 | 4,753 | 26.9% | |
| 1970 | 4,987 | 4.9% | |
| 1980 | 5,414 | 8.6% | |
| 1990 | 5,008 | −7.5% | |
| 2000 | 5,669 | 13.2% | |
| 2010 | 5,360 | −5.5% | |
| 2020 | 5,187 | −3.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
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| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,148 | 22.13% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 3,781 | 72.89% |
| Native American | 6 | 0.12% |
| Asian | 38 | 0.73% |
| Other/Mixed | 103 | 1.99% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 111 | 2.14% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,187 people, 1,926 households, and 1,325 families residing in the city.
Transportation
- U.S. Highway 19 is the major travel route through the city, connecting Camilla to Albany in the north and Thomasville to the south
- Georgia State Route 112 connects Cairo to the south and Sylvester to the northeast
- Georgia State Route 37 connects Moultrie to the east
Education
Mitchell County School District
The Mitchell County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, a high school, and a charter school. The district has 176 full-time teachers and over 2,855 students. The Mitchell County Head Start Center opened in 2001. District schools include:
- South Mitchell County Elementary School
- North Mitchell County Elementary School
- Mitchell County Middle School
- Mitchell County High School
Charter school
- Baconton Community Charter School
Private education
- Westwood Schools
Higher Education
Andersonville Theological Seminary has its headquarters based in Camilla. The unaccredited distance education seminary's headquarters consists of two administrative buildings.
Notable people
- Robert (Rob) Holton Moody - journalist and photographer for CNN, FOX, ABC & CBS News. Featured in National Geographic book called Devoted.
- Kathryn Stripling Byer (1944-2017) – American poet and teacher; North Carolina Poet Laureate 2005–2009
- Oscar Branch Colquitt (1861–1940) – former Governor of Texas
- Danny Copeland (born 1966) – NFL defensive back; Super Bowl winner with Washington Redskins
- Tiger Flowers (1895–1927) – first black middleweight boxing champion of the world
- James Griffin (born 1961) – ex-NFL safety with Detroit Lions
- Krysta Harden, former United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
- Jumaine Jones (born 1979), professional basketball forward for Bnei HaSharon of Israel
- Fred Nixon (born 1958) – ex-NFL player with Green Bay Packers
- Orson Swindle (born 1937) – US Marine Corps Colonel and former POW with John McCain in Vietnam
Images for kids
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Camilla Fire Department
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City of Camilla Public Safety Complex, which is attached to the fire station
See also
In Spanish: Camilla (Georgia) para niños
