Editing Damascus, Georgia (section)

==History==
An early variant name was '''Kestler'''.<ref name="Names">{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/d.pdf | title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=57 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}</ref> An act of [[Georgia General Assembly]] officially changed the name to Damascus in 1914.<ref>{{cite book|title=Acts Passed by the General Assembly of Georgia|url=https://archive.org/details/actspassedbygen01georgoog|year=1914|publisher=J. Johnston|page=[https://archive.org/details/actspassedbygen01georgoog/page/n937 932]}}</ref> The present name is a transfer from nearby [[Old Damascus, Georgia|Old Damascus]], which it was named for [[Damascus]], [[Syria]]. Old Damascus would be bypassed when a new railroad line was being built through the area.<ref name="Names" />

In 2021, an [[February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm#Tornado outbreak|EF2 tornado]] struck the area south of town, causing major damage and injuring five people.<ref>{{cite report|via=National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Tallahassee, Florida|title=NWS Damage Survey for 02/15/2021 Tornado Event – Update #2|url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?pil=PNSTAE&e=202102172300|date=February 17, 2021|access-date=February 17, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|via=National Centers for Environmental Information|title=Storm Events Database February 15, 2021|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=942828|publisher=National Centers for Environmental Information|access-date=May 19, 2021}}</ref>

On June 14, 2023, [[Tornado outbreak sequence of June 14–19, 2023|a tornado]] struck the town destroying a home and slightly injuring three people.