Toomsboro, Georgia
Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Toomsboro is a town in Wilkinson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 383 in 2020.
History
[edit]Toomsboro was founded when the Central of Georgia Railway was extended to that point. Its railroad terminal was built in 1869.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
On August 30, 1871, Matthew Deason, a white man, and an African American woman who was possibly his wife, Serena Dul Cat C. Johnson (Georgia Marriages 1699–1944 in Wilkinson County Georgia) were lynched in Toomsboro by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Deason, a former Confederate soldier, was the elected sheriff of Wilkinson County. It was the first documented lynching of a black woman in Georgia after the Civil War.<ref>Feimster, Crystal N. Southern Horrors: Women and the Politics of Rape and Lynching. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009). page 160.</ref><ref>Editors (September 15, 1871) Untitled. Wisconsin State Journal.</ref>
The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Toomsboro as a town in 1904.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The community is named for 18th-century Georgia politician Robert Toombs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Freedom, Georgia
[edit]David Bumgardner, a developer who bought properties at auction, intended to turn the property he owned into a quaint tourist destination. In April 2012, Bumgardner and Bill Lucado, who also owned property, announced they were seeking a buyer for the properties by advertising "Toomsboro for sale" although the existing community of Toomsboro maintains its own identity.<ref name="Pat 2020-09-15">Template:Cite news</ref> They suggested a movie production company might be interested in using Toomsboro as a film set.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In September 2018, 36 pieces of property over Template:Cvt went up for sale for an asking price of $1.7 million, with an eye toward a preservation-minded buyer "who appreciates its history".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the aftermath of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in 2020, 19 families cooperatively bought Template:Cvt of land in Toomsboro to establish a Black community "where all Black people feel safe without fear of being murdered for who they are".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Freedom Georgia Initiative promotes the new community as Freedom, Georgia.Template:R
Geography
[edit]Toomsboro is located at Template:Coord (32.825423, -83.083196).<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of Template:Convert, all land.
Demographics
[edit]| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref> | Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | % 2000 | % 2010 | Template:Partial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 280 | 233 | 208 | 45.02% | 49.36% | 54.31% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 334 | 223 | 145 | 53.70% | 47.25% | 37.86% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.00% | 0.21% | 0.78% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.16% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 2 | 10 | 14 | 0.32% | 2.12% | 3.66% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 5 | 5 | 13 | 0.80% | 1.06% | 3.39% |
| Total | 622 | 472 | 383 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the census<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 622 people, 209 households, and 146 families residing in the town. In 2020, its population was 383.