Editing McRae, Georgia

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
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|official_name            = McRae, Georgia
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|image_caption            = McRae-Helena City Hall
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|subdivision_name2        = [[Telfair County, Georgia|Telfair]]
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|population_as_of         = [[2010 United States Census|2010]]
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|population_total         = 5740
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|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
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|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 31055
|area_code                = [[Area code 229|229]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 13-49084<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              = 0317973<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|mcrae-helena.org}}
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}}

'''McRae''' was a city in and the [[county seat]]<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=2011-06-07|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref>  of [[Telfair County, Georgia|Telfair County]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], United States. It was designated as the seat in 1871, after being established the previous year as a station on the [[Macon and Brunswick Railroad]]. Upon the city's merger with adjacent [[Helena, Georgia|Helena]] in 2015, the new county seat is the combined city of [[McRae-Helena, Georgia|McRae-Helena]].

As of the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]], McRae had a population of 5,740,<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1349084| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212181635/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1349084| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): McRae city, Georgia| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=July 29, 2014}}</ref> up from 2,682 at the 2000 census, due largely to expansion of the city limits to incorporate the area and prison population of the [[McRae Correctional Institution]], a privately owned and operated prison under contract to the federal government. The prison is a low-security facility holding adult males; it is owned and operated by [[CoreCivic]].

==History==
[[File:Water works, McRae, GA, US.jpg|thumb|Old Water Works building]]

McRae was founded in 1870 as station number eleven on the [[Macon and Brunswick Railroad]]. In 1871, the seat of Telfair County was transferred to McRae from [[Jacksonville, Georgia|Jacksonville]]. McRae was incorporated on March 3, 1874, and was named for a pioneering Scottish family. The community was named after Daniel M. McRae, the original owner of the town site.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/m.pdf| title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=142 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}</ref> During the antebellum years and after the Civil War, the county had an economy largely based on cotton plantations, and McRae was a trading center. McRae was incorporated as a city in 1902.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC&pg=PA239 | title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States | publisher=Routledge | date=May 13, 2013 | access-date=30 November 2013 | author=Hellmann, Paul T. | pages=239| isbn=978-1135948597 }}</ref> During the racial violence of the [[Red Summer|Red Summer of 1919]] one Berry Washington, an elderly black man, was arrested and put in the McRae jail after defending two girls from assault. On May 25 a large mob led by a [[Baptists|Baptist]] minister{{sfn|Cayton's Weekly|1919|p=3}} {{sfn|Phoenix Tribune|1919|p=1}} conspired with a McRae deputy to [[Berry Washington|seize Berry Washington from jail and lynch him over in Milan]].{{sfn|Phoenix Tribune|1919|p=1}}

McRae and Telfair County approved construction of a private prison in the early 21st century to hold federal prisoners, in the belief that it would provide jobs to local residents. McRae Correctional Facility, a low-security prison for adult males, has been owned and operated by [[Corrections Corporation of America|CCA]], the largest prison company in the United States in 2015, since it opened in 2003.

==Geography==
[[File:McRae Georgia statue of liberty.JPG|120px|thumb|right|Liberty Square]]
McRae is located in northern Telfair County at {{coord|32|3|52|N|82|53|54|W|type:city}} (32.064508, -82.898251).<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> [[Helena, Georgia|Helena]] is to the northwest.

Several U.S. highways pass through McRae. U.S. Routes [[U.S. Route 23 in Georgia|23]] and [[U.S. Route 341|341]] pass through the city as Oak Street, leading northwest {{convert|20|mi}} to [[Eastman, Georgia|Eastman]] and southeast {{convert|24|mi}} to [[Hazlehurst, Georgia|Hazlehurst]], while U.S. Routes [[U.S. Route 280 in Georgia|280]], [[U.S. Route 319 in Georgia|319]], and [[U.S. Route 441 in Georgia|441]] pass through as Third Avenue, crossing US 23/341 in the center of town. US 280 leads northeast {{convert|33|mi}} to [[Vidalia, Georgia|Vidalia]] and west {{convert|55|mi}} to [[Cordele, Georgia|Cordele]], while US 319/441 leads south {{convert|19|mi}} to the small town of [[Jacksonville, Georgia|Jacksonville]] and north {{convert|35|mi}} to [[Dublin, Georgia|Dublin]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|11.4|sqkm|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|11.2|sqkm|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.2|sqkm|disp=flip}}, or 1.77%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010"/> The [[Little Ocmulgee River]] flows just northeast of the city limits.

==Sites of interest==
Located in downtown McRae is Liberty Square, home of a [[Statue of Liberty]] replica that is one-twelfth the size of the original. It has a replica of the [[Liberty Bell]] and a marble memorial to Telfair County residents who died in military service.

On the outskirts of McRae is the Talmadge Home. This historic home was occupied by two former Georgia governors, [[Eugene Talmadge]] and [[Herman Eugene Talmadge]]. McRae was also the birthplace of [[Marion B. Folsom]] (1893–1976), a longtime executive of the [[Eastman Kodak Company]] who served as the [[United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare]] during the [[Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower administration]].

Famous railfan photographer William B. Folsom is buried in McRae. 1940–2008.

== Education ==

=== Telfair County School District ===
The [[Telfair County School District]] holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school.<ref>[http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=111&PID=62&PTID=69&CountyId=734&T=0&FY=2009 Georgia Board of Education]{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Retrieved June 27, 2010.</ref> The district has 112 full-time teachers and over 1,648 students.<ref>[http://www.school-stats.com/GA/TELFAIR/TELFAIR_COUNTY.html School Stats], Retrieved June 27, 2010.</ref>
*Telfair County Elementary School
*Telfair County Middle School
*[[Telfair County High School]]

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|deleted= yes
|1900= 1020
|1910= 1160
|1920= 1273
|1930= 1314
|1940= 1595
|1950= 1904
|1960= 2738
|1970= 3151
|1980= 3409
|1990= 3007
|2000= 2682
|2010= 5740
|2020= 6253
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2018">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2018.html|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|access-date=September 14, 2019}}</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>
}}

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 2,682 people, 1,057 households, and 714 families residing in the city.  The population density was {{convert|796.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 1,310 housing units at an average density of {{convert|389.1|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the city was 55.48% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 42.69% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.30% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.12% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.41% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.57% of the population.

There were 1,057 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.3 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,236, and the median income for a family was $37,250. Males had a median income of $29,055 versus $20,321 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $15,911.  About 16.4% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 23.4% of those under age 18 and 25.2% of those age 65 or over.

==See also==
{{stack|{{portal|Georgia (U.S. state)}}}}
* [[Telfair County Courthouse and Jail]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
*{{cite news |date= September 20, 1919|title= Georgia's Shame|last=Cayton's Weekly|author-link=Horace R. Cayton Sr.|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87093353/1919-09-20/ed-1/seq-2/#|newspaper=Cayton's Weekly|publisher=[[Horace R. Cayton Sr.]]|location=Seattle, Washington |issn=2158-4699|oclc=17248379|pages=1–4|access-date= July 27, 2019 }}
*{{cite news |date= August 2, 1919|title= Baptist Minister Leads Georgia Mob In Recent Outrage|last=Phoenix Tribune|author-link=Phoenix Tribune|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn96060881/1919-08-02/ed-1/seq-1/#|newspaper=[[Phoenix Tribune]]|publisher=Arthur Randolph Smith|location=Phoenix, Arizonz|oclc=35642959|pages=1–4|access-date= July 27, 2019 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|McRae, Georgia}}
* [https://www.mcrae-helena.org/ City of McRae-Helena official website]
* [http://www.telfairco.org Telfair County Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.thetelfairenterprise.com ''Telfair Enterprise'' newspaper]
* [https://vimeo.com/126635180 Christiane Badgly, ''A Prison for McRae''] (50:29 minutes), 2003, made for Arte France; not yet aired in the US

{{Telfair County, Georgia}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Cities in Telfair County, Georgia]]
[[Category:County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Former municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in 2015]]