Dawson, Georgia

Not to be confused with Dawson County, Georgia or Dawsonville, Georgia.

Dawson, Georgia
City
Dawson City Hall
Location in Terrell County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 31°46′26″N84°26′27″W / 31.77389°N 84.44083°W / 31.77389; -84.44083
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Terrell
Area [1]
• Total	3.75 sq mi (9.72 km2)
• Land	3.75 sq mi (9.72 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	351 ft (107 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	4,414
• Density	1,176.44/sq mi (454.25/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	39842
Area code	229
FIPS code	13-21912 [2]
GNIS feature ID	0313367 [3]

Dawson is a city in and the county seat of Terrell County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,414 at the 2020 census. Incorporated on December 22, 1857, the city is named for Senator William Crosby Dawson. ^[4] Dawson is part of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan statistical area.

History

Dawson was founded in 1856 as seat of the newly formed Terrell County. It was incorporated as a town in 1857 and as a city in 1872. ^[5] Terrell was an important site in the 1960s, when the county in which it is located was labeled "Terrible Terrell" by the SNCC. Jackie Robinson helped raise money to rebuild three black churches that were burned in the area.

In 1976, five African-American youths were charged with the murder of a white customer in a roadside convenience store. The crime and pretrial proceedings garnered national attention. ^[6] The five young men, one of whom was a juvenile, charged in the case were known as "The Dawson Five". The court dropped the charges against the group of five; Roosevelt Watson, Henderson Watson, J.D. Davenport, Johnnie B. Jackson, and George Poor, when it found evidence of police misconduct, including coerced confessions, intimidation and improper identification procedures. ^[7]

Geography

Dawson is located in Southwest Georgia along U.S. Route 82 and Georgia State Route 520 (Columbus Highway), which leads southeast 8 mi (13 km) to Sasser and northwest 9 mi (14 km) to Parrott. U.S. 82 leads west 21 mi (34 km) to Cuthbert and 47 mi (76 km) to Eufaula, Alabama. Albany is 24 mi (39 km) southeast and Columbus is 63 mi (101 km) northwest.

The city is located at 31°46′26″N84°26′27″W / 31.77389°N 84.44083°W / 31.77389; -84.44083 (31.773969, -84.440870). ^[8] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), all land.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	521		—
1870	1,099		110.9%
1880	1,576		43.4%
1890	2,284		44.9%
1900	2,926		28.1%
1910	3,827		30.8%
1920	3,504		−8.4%
1930	3,827		9.2%
1940	3,681		−3.8%
1950	4,411		19.8%
1960	5,062		14.8%
1970	5,383		6.3%
1980	5,699		5.9%
1990	5,295		−7.1%
2000	5,058		−4.5%
2010	4,540		−10.2%
2020	4,414		−2.8%
U.S. Decennial Census [9]

Dawson racial composition as of 2020 ^[10]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	613	13.89%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	3,618	81.97%
Native American	6	0.14%
Asian	44	1.0%
Pacific Islander	1	0.02%
Other/Mixed	88	1.99%
Hispanic or Latino	44	1.0%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,414 people, 1,577 households, and 1,080 families residing in the city.

Education

Terrell County School District

The Terrell County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. ^[11] The district has 98 full-time teachers and over 1,764 students. ^[12]

• Cooper-Carver Elementary School
• Terrell County Middle High School

Private education

• Terrell Academy - Founded as a segregation academy in response to the racial desegregation of public schools. ^[13]

Higher education

Nearby Albany has three colleges to which students may easily commute: Darton State College, ^[14] Albany State University, ^[15] and Albany Technical College. ^[16] To the west, in Cuthbert, is historic Andrew College. ^[17] Also nearby is Georgia Southwestern State University ^[18] in Americus.

Notable people

• Lucius D. Battle (1918–2008), ambassador to Egypt
• James Brazier (c. 1926–1958), African American murdered by police in Dawson
• Erle Cocke Jr. (1921–2000) businessman, U.S. National Guard general
• Wayland Flowers (1939–1988), puppeteer best known for his puppet known as "Madame"
• Bessie Jones (1902–1984), gospel and folk singer
• Dawson Five, five black Dawson residents who were wrongly charged with the 1976 murder of a white man; due to forced confession and other police misconduct, the case was dropped in 1977. ^[7]
• Benjamin J. Davis Jr. (1903–1964), attorney who defended man trying to organize a union from insurrection charges; elected as New York City Councilman after move to New York; Communist Party leader in 1930s
• Robert J. Jones - Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; former President of the State University of New York at Albany
• Otis Redding (1941–1967), singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, and talent scout, considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music, soul music, and rhythm and blues.
• Cole Swindell (born 1983) American country music singer and songwriter
• Walter Washington - elected as first mayor of Washington, D.C. after the city was granted home rule by Congress

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
3. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
4. Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 59. ISBN   0-915430-00-2.
5. Hellmann, Paul T. (May 13, 2013). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. p. 227. ISBN   978-1135948597 . Retrieved November 30, 2013.
6. Dintenfass, Andrew; Canter, Ron. "Life and Death: Dawson, Georgia (1977)". youtube. WGBH Boston. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
7. Wicker, Tom (August 14, 1977). "Still 'Terrible Terrell'". The New York Times.
8. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
9. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
10. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
11. Georgia Board of Education ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, Retrieved June 27, 2010.
12. School Stats, Retrieved June 27, 2010.
13. Equal educational opportunity: Hearings before the Select Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity, Ninety-first Congress, second session-92nd Congress, first session. Hearings before the Select Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity. U.S. G.p.o. 1970. p. 2034. hdl:2027/umn.31951d017860197.
14. Darton College, Retrieved June 27, 2010.
15. Albany State University, Retrieved June 27, 2010.
16. Albany Technical College, Retrieved June 27, 2010.
17. Andrew College Archived June 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved June 27, 2010.
18. Georgia Southwestern State University Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine , Retrieved June 27, 2010.

External links

• Life and Death: Dawson, Georgia - 1977 - 27 minutes - WGBH Boston