Editing Lovejoy, Georgia

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
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|official_name            = Lovejoy, Georgia
|other_name               = 
|native_name              = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
|nickname                 = 
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|motto                    = A great place to grow and prosper
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|image_flag               = Flag of Lovejoy, Georgia.png
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|image_map                = Clayton_County_Georgia_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Lovejoy_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250x200px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Clayton County, Georgia|Clayton County]] and the state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
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|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Georgia (U.S. state)|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Clayton County, Georgia|Clayton]]
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|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_13.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=December 18, 2021}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 7.61
|area_land_km2            = 7.54
|area_water_km2           = 0.07
|area_total_sq_mi         = 2.94
|area_land_sq_mi          = 2.91
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.03
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|area_blank1_sq_mi        = <!-- Population   ----------------------->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_note          = 
|population_total         = 10122
|population_density_km2   = 1342.38
|population_density_sq_mi = 3477.16
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|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
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|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|coordinates              = {{coord|33|26|39|N|84|18|54|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes      = <!--for references: use <ref> tags-->
|elevation_m              = 290
|elevation_ft             = 951
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 30250
|area_code                = [[Area code 770|770]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 13-47616<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0317440<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=2007-10-25}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|www.cityoflovejoy.com}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
}}
'''Lovejoy''' is a city in [[Clayton County, Georgia|Clayton County]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]],  United States. During the [[American Civil War]], it was the site of the [[Battle of Lovejoy's Station]] during the [[Atlanta Campaign]] of 1864. Lovejoy was incorporated as a town on September 16, 1861.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us {{!}} Lovejoy, GA - Official Website |url=https://www.cityoflovejoy.com/863/About-Us#:~:text=Lovejoy%20was%20the%20site%20of,of%20a%20quarter-horse%20farm. |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=www.cityoflovejoy.com}}</ref> As of 2020, its population was 10,122. It has an African American majority.

Lovejoy is proposed by the [[Georgia Department of Transportation]] and [[Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority|MARTA]] to be the endpoint of [[metro Atlanta]]'s first commuter rail line.

==History==
Around 1850, the location just north of [[Fosterville, Georgia]] was positioned along the new railway from Atlanta to Macon. The trainstop there was named for a prosperous local planter, James Lankford Lovejoy. On early maps, the location is called "Lovejoys."<ref>[https://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/histcountymaps/henry1863map.htm 1863 Map]</ref> It became known as Lovejoy's Station by 1864, where it was the setting of a civil war battle during Sherman's campaign through Georgia. James Lovejoy left the region and died in Clinch County, Georgia in 1877.

The [[Georgia General Assembly]] incorporated Lovejoy as a town in 1891.<ref>{{cite book|title=Acts Passed by the General Assembly of Georgia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRE4AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA806|year=1892|publisher=J. Johnston|page=806}}</ref>

Lovejoy was the site of a [[cotton gin]] until 1932.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us {{!}} Lovejoy, GA - Official Website |url=https://www.cityoflovejoy.com/863/About-Us#:~:text=Lovejoy%20was%20the%20site%20of,of%20a%20quarter-horse%20farm. |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=www.cityoflovejoy.com}}</ref>

In 1979, [[Betty Talmadge]], former first-lady of Georgia, purchased the remnants of the Hollywood set "[[Tara (plantation)|Tara]]," the fictional plantation featured in [[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone With the Wind]], and brought them to Lovejoy.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150909175247/http://oldgeorgiahomes.com/2015/02/tara-from-gone-with-the-wind-tour-and-lovejoy-plantation Tara from Gone With The Wind Tour and Lovejoy Plantation] Archived from [https://oldgeorgiahomes.com/2015/02/tara-from-gone-with-the-wind-tour-and-lovejoy-plantation/ the original] on 2015-09-09. Retrieved on 2023-02-23.</ref> The main road through Lovejoy is named "Tara Blvd." The remnants of Tara are available to be toured at the Lovejoy Plantation.

==Geography==

Lovejoy is located in southern Clayton County at {{coord|33|26|39|N|84|18|54|W|type:city}} (33.444164, -84.315105).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It is bordered by [[Henry County, Georgia|Henry County]] to the south and the unincorporated community of [[Bonanza, Georgia|Bonanza]] to the north. U.S. Routes [[U.S. Route 19 (Georgia)|19]] and [[U.S. Route 41 in Georgia|41]] pass through the western part of Lovejoy, leading north {{convert|24|mi}} to downtown [[Atlanta]] and south {{convert|14|mi}} to [[Griffin, Georgia|Griffin]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|6.8|km2|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|0.06|sqkm|disp=flip|2}}, or 0.91%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web |title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Lovejoy city, Georgia |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1347616 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212181945/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1347616 |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |access-date=July 28, 2014 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 198
|1920= 221
|1930= 178
|1980= 205
|1990= 754
|2000= 2495
|2010= 6422
|2020= 10122
| estyear = 2023
| estimate = 12080
| estref = <ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2020-2023/cities/totals/SUB-IP-EST2023-POP-13.xlsx |date=May 16, 2024|title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=May 16, 2024}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Lovejoy racial composition as of 2020<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US1347616&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=2021-12-13|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
|932
|9.21%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
|7,709
|76.16%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
|21
|0.21%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|105
|1.04%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
|5
|0.05%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|334
|3.3%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|1,016
|10.04%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 10,122 people, 1,756 households, and 1,272 families residing in the city.

==Education==
[[Clayton County Public Schools]] operates public schools. The schools in this area are: Lovejoy Middle School and [[Lovejoy High School (Georgia)|Lovejoy High School]].

In 1989, [[professional wrestler]] [[Jody Hamilton]] opened a [[wrestling school|school and training facility]] in Lovejoy. It was later moved to Atlanta and operated as the [[WCW Power Plant]] until 2001.<ref name=Hamilton>{{cite news |last1=Russo |first1=Ric |title=What ever happened to ... The Assassin |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2000-10-13-0010130084-story.html |access-date=11 May 2020 |work=The Orlando Sentinel |date=13 October 2000}}</ref>

==Infrastructure==

===Transit systems===
[[Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority|MARTA]] serves the city. A planned [[Clayton County commuter rail|commuter rail]] service is expected to terminate in the city.

==Notable people==
*[[Kokomo Arnold]], Blues Singer and Guitarist
*[[Bub Means]], wide receiver in the NFL<ref>https://triblive.com/sports/high-school-coachs-memories-of-pitts-bub-means-go-beyond-football/</ref>
*[[Jocasta Odom]], Reality TV show personality and Minister
*[[Preston Williams]], NFL Wide Receiver

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cityoflovejoy.com/ City of Lovejoy official website]
*[http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/clayton/cavalry-action-at-lovejoys-station Cavalry Action at Lovejoy's Station] historical marker
*[http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/clayton/georgia-militia-at-lovejoys-station Georgia Militia at Lovejoy's Station] historical marker

{{Clayton County, Georgia}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Cities in Clayton County, Georgia]]