Albany, Georgia

Albany is a city in and the county seat of Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. It is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan area and the southwest part of the state. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the ninth-largest city in Georgia.

Geography
Albany is located at (31.582273, -84.165557).

The total area is 0.59% water. Albany lies in a belt of historically rich farmland in the East Gulf coastal plain, on the banks of the Flint River.

MSA
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Albany, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had an estimated population of 164,069 and ranked #234 in the U.S. in 2007. The MSA consists of Dougherty, Terrell, Lee, Worth, and Baker Counties.

City
As of the census of 2000, there were 76,939 people, 28,620 households, and 18,883 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,385.5 people per square mile (535.0/km²). There were 32,062 housing units at an average density of 577.3 per square mile (222.9/km²).



The racial makeup of the city was 64.80% African American and Black, 33.21% White, 0.21% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.23% of the population.

Of the 28,620 total households, 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 25.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. Households of individuals made up 28.8% of the total, and 9.6% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.8% under the age of 18, 13.0% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,639, and the median income for a family was $33,843. Males had a median income of $30,204 versus $22,268 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,485. About 21.5% of families and 27.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.7% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.

History
The area where Albany is located was formerly inhabited by the Creek Indians. They called it Thronateeska after their word for "flint" because of the mineral flint that was found near the river there. The Creeks used this flintstone to make tools and weapons like arrowheads.

A businessman named Nelson Tift from Connecticut settled along the Flint River in October 1836 after Indian removal transported the Creek to western lands beyond the Mississippi River. He named his new town Albany after the capital of New York because both sat at the navigable heads of rivers. The town of Albany was laid out by Alexander Shotwell in 1836. It was incorporated as a city by an act of the General Assembly of Georgia on December 27, 1838.

So many planters settled there with enslaved laborers that by 1840, Dougherty County was majority black. The center of cotton plantations, Albany was in a prime location for shipping cotton to markets by steamboats on the river. Tift hired Horace King, a former slave and bridge builder, to construct a toll bridge over the river in 1858. King's bridge house still stands.

Albany later became an important railroad hub in southwestern Georgia, with seven lines entering the town. An exhibit on trains is located at the Thronateeska Heritage Center in the former railroad station.

While integral to the economic life of the town, the Flint River has flooded regularly with resulting property damage, particularly in 1841 and 1925. On February 10, 1940, a severe tornado hit Albany, killing eighteen people and caused large-scale damage. Late twentieth-century floods have been extreme. In 1994, a severe flood was caused by rainfall from Tropical Storm Alberto and killed 14 people and displaced 22,000. From this disaster came improvements, with the state supporting a $150 million renovation of the Albany State University campus, making it one of the most expensive. In addition, new improved housing was built on the south side of town to replace what had been destroyed. In 1998, the Flint River crested at 35 ft above its bed and flooded parts of the city. Areas near the city are being adapted for other uses, with a riverfront walkway and a new aquarium built over a tributary creek. Such projects are making another use of the river.

On April 11, 1906, the Carnegie Library, created by matching funds from the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, was opened downtown. Originally a segregated facility under Jim Crow laws, it was not open to African Americans until after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. It functioned as a library through 1985. In 1992, after renovation, the building was reopened as the headquarters of the Albany Area Arts Council.

In 1912, the downtown U.S. Post Office and Courthouse building opened. Other federal projects have been important to the city and region. In 1937, Chehaw Park was constructed as a part of a New Deal program under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression.

Major changes came with the expansion of military facilities in the city. In the summer of 1940, Major Peacock of the U.S. Army approached the Albany Chamber of Commerce about locating an U.S. Army Air Corps training base near Albany. Construction of the base and of the airfield by the Army Corps of Engineers began March 25, 1941. The airfield was temporarily deactivated after World War II, between August 15, 1946 and September 1, 1947. After the beginning of the Cold War and the founding of the U.S. Air Force in late 1947, the airfield was reactivated and upgraded with runways for a U.S. Air Force base. It was named Turner Air Force Base. The Air Force used this base for very heavy bomber jets, such as the B-52 Stratofortress. A number of other Air Force units were also housed at this Air Force Base. as the base was renamed. Among them were the 1370th Photomapping Group, and refueling and maintenance functions. The Turner Air Force Base was abandoned by the Air Force. During the 1950s and 1960s, so many white servicemen and associated workers arrived that the town breifly became majority white for the first time since 1870.

In 1967 the base was transferred for use by the U.S. Navy. Naval Air Station Albany was used as the shore base of nearly all the Navy's RA-5C Vigilante twin-jet, carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft. This naval base was permanently deactivated and relinquished to civilian control in 1974. In 1979, the Miller Brewing Company purchased part of the old naval base's property to build a new brewing plant. In 1951, the U.S. Marine Corps established a logistics base on the eastern outskirts of Albany.

In 1960, the population of Albany reached 50,000 people. In 1961-1962, African Americans in Albany played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement (see the Albany Movement). They led protests and non-violent demonstrations to end segregation of public facilities, restore their dignity, and gain the ability to vote. Assisted by activists from SCLC, CORE, SNCC, and the NAACP, African Americans and supporters took a stand to fight segregation through nonviolence. The city repealed its Jim Crow laws in 1963, but it took federal legislation to secure the franchise.

The decline in military bases and railroad restructuring led to job losses. Much of the white population moved to suburbs out of the city, which became majority African American in the 1970s. Struggling with a poor economy, in 1988, Albany made national headlines as the "Murder Capital of America," with the highest murder rate per capita in the United States. Other cities have since taken that title.

The Souls of Black Folk
W. E. B. Du Bois wrote about Albany in his book, The Souls of Black Folk (1903). He described it as a typical African-American majority-populated rural town in the Deep South. Du Bois discussed the culture, agribusiness, and economy of the region. Du Bois described Albany as a small town where local sharecroppers lived. Much of the soil had been depleted of nutrients because of intensive cotton cultivation, and people found it hard to make a living. Once a bustling small city full of cotton gins and whose planters were dependent on slave labor, Albany had declined steadily in the late 19th century. After emancipation and the disruption of the Civil War, the local economy suffered. Du Bois wrote that Dougherty County had many decaying one-room slave cabins and unfenced fields. Despite the problems, local folklore, customs, and culture made Albany a notable small city in the South.

Since that time, the city has founded the Albany Museum of Art, which has one of the best African and African-American art collections in the Southeast.

Government
Elected officials include a mayor and six city commissioners, all of whom serve four-year terms. The commissioners represent the wards from which they are elected. There is also an appointed city manager who acts as the chief administrative officer. The city has been governed by a city commission and city manager since January 14, 1924. .

Economy


Although Albany has expanded considerably in the past few decades, it still has friendly environment of a Southern town. Today, although the city is surrounded by pecan groves, pine trees, farms and plantations, almost none of the population is employed in agriculture.

Health care, education and the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany are the largest employers. Manufacturing, transportation, and retail trade are also important foundations of Albany's economy and the city acts as a hub for commerce in southwest Georgia.

On December 17, 2008, Cooper Tire and Rubber, one of Albany's largest employers, announced plans to close the local manufacturing facility. Approximately 1,400 employees at the plant were projected to lose their jobs.

Top nine non-governmental employers in Dougherty County
(excludes the City of Albany, Dougherty County, and the Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany)
 * Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital
 * Procter & Gamble
 * Albany State University
 * Miller Brewing Company
 * Teleperformance USA
 * Coats and Clark, Inc.
 * Palmyra Medical Centers
 * BellSouth Telecommunications
 * United Parcel Service

Other notable companies

 * Georgia Pacific Corp.
 * MARS Snackfood US
 * Mediacom
 * Thrush Aircraft

Transportation
Southwest Georgia Regional Airport (ABY) is serviced by Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a regional carrier for Delta. Both UPS and DHL use the airport as a sorting facility.

Freight rail service is provided by Georgia Southwestern Railroad, Georgia and Florida Railway, and Norfolk Southern Railway. Georgia and Florida Railway has its headquarters in Albany.

There is a Greyhound bus station in downtown Albany. Albany Transit System, operated by the city since 1974, provides fixed-route and paratransit services in Albany and Dougherty county, including service to the airport. The main transfer station is downtown.

Albany is located on Georgia State Route 300 (Georgia-Florida Parkway).

The intersection of Lonesome & Hardup was named the fourth wackiest street name according to a 2006 poll by Car Connection website.

Education
The Dougherty County School System and several private schools provide primary and secondary education. Private schools include Far Horizons Montessori School, Deerfield-Windsor School, Sherwood Christian Academy, Byne Memorial Baptist School, St. Teresa's Catholic School, Life Christian School, A School for Children (The Vertical High School Academy), and Young Unlimited Minds Institute (YUMI). Albany has four public high schools, six public middle schools, and sixteen public elementary schools.

Albany is the location of the historically black Albany State University, founded as a pre-collegiate school in 1903, as part of the drive for education among African Americans. It also has Darton College, a community college. Albany State is notable as one of the few historically black colleges to be part of the University System of Georgia.

The state-run Albany Technical College teaches post-secondary  vocational and occupational training subjects.

Health care
Albany is the home of a not-for-profit regional health system with a 26-county cachement area with Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital at its hub. Palmyra Medical Centers  is a for-profit hospital.

Museums and the arts
In addition, the city sponsors an annual music festival.
 * Albany Area Arts Council
 * The Albany Chorale
 * Albany Civic Center
 * The Albany Concert Association
 * Albany Civil Rights Movement Museum
 * Albany Municipal Auditorium
 * Albany Museum of Art
 * Ballet Theatre South
 * The Albany Symphony Orchestra
 * Flint RiverQuarium
 * The Parks at Chehaw has one of two accredited zoos in the State of Georgia
 * RiverQuarium Imagination Theater
 * Theatre Albany
 * Thronateeska Heritage Center
 * Weatherbee Planetarium

Parks and monuments

 * Albany Civil Rights Memorial
 * Albany Railroad Depot Historic District
 * Astronauts Memorial
 * Confederate Memorial Park
 * Freedom Flame
 * Freedom Walk
 * The Guardian
 * Hillsman Park
 * Radium Springs - one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia
 * RiverFront Park
 * Ray Charles Plaza
 * Royal Air Force Memorial
 * Tift Park
 * Veterans Park

Registered historic places

 * Albany District Pecan Growers' Exchange
 * Albany Housefurnishing Company
 * Albany Municipal Auditorium
 * Albany Railroad Depot Historic District
 * Bridge House (Albany, Georgia)
 * Carnegie Library of Albany
 * Davis-Exchange Bank Building
 * John A. Davis House
 * Lustron House at 1200 Fifth Avenue
 * Lustron House at 711 Ninth Avenue
 * Mount Zion Baptist Church
 * New Albany Hotel
 * Old St. Teresa's Catholic Church
 * Rosenberg Brothers Department Store
 * Samuel Farkas House
 * St. Nicholas Hotel
 * Tift Park
 * U.S. Post Office and Courthouse
 * Union Depot (Albany, Georgia)
 * W. E. Smith House

Notable Albanians

 * Pianist, songwriter and soul singer Ray Charles was born in Albany
 * Big Band leader and jazz trumpeter Harry James was born in Albany
 * Paula Deen, chef and host of Paula's Home Cooking on the Television Food Network
 * Wadsworth Jarrell, artist
 * Jim Fowler, animal expert and host of the television show, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom
 * Ray Stevens, country music singer
 * Olympic gold medal jumper Alice Coachman was born in Albany
 * U.S. Representative from Illinois William L. Dawson was from Albany
 * Hamilton Jordan, former White House Chief of Staff, was raised in Albany
 * Ray Knight, World Series MVP, also managed the Cincinnati Reds
 * Golfer Nancy Lopez lives in Albany
 * Merritt Ranew, Milwaukee Braves baseball player
 * Wallingford Riegger, Conductor and composer, was born in Albany
 * U.S. Representative from Illinois Bobby Rush was born in Albany
 * Angelo Taylor, Olympic gold medal hurdler
 * Mark Taylor, Former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
 * Montavious Stanley, NFL player, Atlanta Falcons
 * Daryl Smith, NFL player, Jacksonville Jaguars
 * Alexander Johnson, NBA player, Miami Heat
 * Super Bowl MVP football player Deion Branch, current member of the New England Patriots
 * Nellie Brimberry became the first Postmistress of a major U.S. Post Office in 1910
 * Alex Kendrick and Stephen Kendrick, filmmakers and authors, reside in Albany
 * Deathcore band With Blood Comes Cleansing
 * Travis Richter, Record Producer, Dubstep Producer Modified Noise, Guitarist and Screamer/Singer for From First To Last, now Lead Singer of The Human Abstract
 * Jo Marie Payton, actress that played in Family Matters and The Proud Family
 * Olympic silver medalist weightlifter Lee James attended Westover High School in Albany
 * Kregg Lumpkin, NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
 * Buster Posey, World Series Champion and 2010 NL Rookie of the Year with the San Francisco Giants was born and raised in nearby Leesburg, GA
 * Stephen Tanner, bassist for the band Harvey Milk
 * D. A. Powell, American poet, author of Chronic and Cocktails, born in Albany
 * Haley Kilpatrick, the founder of Girl Talk Inc.


 * Field Mob, rap duo signed to Disturbing Tha Peace Records
 * Rob Jones, 2010 Grammy Award Winning Designer, Animal Rummy Designs
 * Charlotte Boyett-Compo, dark fantasy novelist graduated from Albany High School in 1966.

Newspapers

 * The Albany Herald
 * The Albany Southwest Georgian historically Black Newspaper founded by A.C. Searles
 * ''The Albany Journal Published since 1939; Kevin Hogencamp is current editor and publisher.

Television stations

 * Channel 10 WALB (NBC)(ABC)
 * Channel 14 WABW (PBS-GPB) (Pelham, Georgia)
 * Channel 44 WSWG-DT3 (CW)
 * Channel 31 WFXL (FOX)
 * Channel 44 WSWG (CBS)
 * Channel 34 W34CZ (Trinity Broadcasting Network)

FM radio stations

 * 88.5  W203AT (religious; translator for KEAR)
 * 89.3  WBJY (religious)
 * 90.3  WAEF (religious)
 * 90.7     WWXC (religious, bluegrass)
 * 91.7 WUNV (NPR - news, classical)
 * 92.7 WASU (Albany State University - college, jazz, urban)
 * 93.1 WSRD (religious, talk)
 * 96.3 WJIZ (urban)
 * 97.3 WRAK "Magic 973" (Classic Rock)
 * 98.1 WMRZ "Kiss" (adult urban)
 * 100.3    WOBB "B-100"(country)
 * 101.7   WQVE "V101.7"(Urban AC)
 * 102.1    WNUQ "Q102" (Top 40)
 * 102.5    W273AE (religious; translator for WYFK)
 * 103.5    WJAD "Rock 103" (classic and mainstream rock) (Leesburg, Georgia)
 * 104.5    WKAK "K-Country" (country)
 * 105.5    WZBN "Power 105...The King" (Holy Hip Hop and Contemporary Gospel)
 * 106.1    KLOV (Christian Contemporary)
 * 107.7    WEGC "Mix 107.7" (adult contemporary)

AM radio stations

 * 960 WJYZ (gospel)
 * 1250 WSRA (ESPN sports)
 * 1450 WGPC (sports)
 * 1590 WALG (news, talk)

Miscellaneous

 * The new Federal Courthouse in downtown Albany is dedicated in honor of the civil rights attorney C.B. King of Georgia.
 * Nicknames for Albany include:
 * The Artesian City
 * The Good Life City
 * The Pecan Capital of the World
 * The Quail Hunting Capital of the World
 * Albany, Texas, was named in 1873 by county clerk William Cruger after his former home of Albany, Georgia.
 * In 1972 the manager of a local theater, Mr. Jenkins, was convicted of "distributing obscene material" for showing the film Carnal Knowledge, in Jenkins v. Georgia.
 * Albany is the only city in the world to have as residents a World Series MVP, Super Bowl MVP, and Olympic gold medalist(s).