Tifton, Georgia
City
Tifton City Hall
Tifton City Hall
Nickname: 
Friendly City
Location in Tift County and the state of Georgia
Location in Tift County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 31°27′48″N 83°30′36″W / 31.46333°N 83.51000°W / 31.46333; -83.51000
CountryUnited States
StateGeorgia
CountyTift
Government
 • MayorJulie Smith
 • City ManagerEmily Beeman
Area
[1]
 • Total13.04 sq mi (33.76 km2)
 • Land12.84 sq mi (33.26 km2)
 • Water0.19 sq mi (0.50 km2)
Elevation
354 ft (108 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total17,045
 • Density1,327.18/sq mi (512.43/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
31793-31794
Area code229
FIPS code13-76476[2]
GNIS feature ID0324159[3]
Websitehttp://www.tifton.net

Tifton is a city in, and the county seat of, Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 17,045 at the 2020 census.[4]

The area's public schools are administered by the Tift County School District. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has its main campus in Tifton. Southern Regional Technical College and the University of Georgia also have Tifton campuses.

Sites in the area include the Coastal Plain Research Arboretum, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, and the Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village. The Tifton Commercial Historic District and the Tifton Residential Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Child workers at Tifton Cotton Mills, 1909. Photographed by Lewis Hine.

Tifton was founded in 1872 in Berrien County at the junction of the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad and the Brunswick and Western Railroad by sawmill owner Henry H. Tift. Tifton was incorporated as a city in 1890.[5] In 1905, it was designated county seat of the newly formed Tift County.

Several Chicago-Florida and Cincinnati-Florida passenger trains made stops in Tifton: the Atlantic Coast Line's Seminole, Flamingo and City of Miami and the Southern Railway's Ponce de Leon and Royal Palm. With the discontinuance of the City of Miami in 1971, Tifton was left without passenger service.

Geography

Tifton is located in south central Georgia along Interstate 75, which runs north to south through the city, leading north 167 mi (269 km) to Atlanta and south 45 mi (72 km) to Valdosta. Other highways that pass through the city include U.S. Route 41, U.S. Route 82, U.S. Route 319, and Georgia State Route 125.

Climate

Climate data for Tifton, Georgia, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1911–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 83
(28)		 90
(32)		 90
(32)		 93
(34)		 99
(37)		 105
(41)		 104
(40)		 104
(40)		 106
(41)		 98
(37)		 88
(31)		 84
(29)		 106
(41)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 75.5
(24.2)		 78.6
(25.9)		 82.6
(28.1)		 87.6
(30.9)		 92.7
(33.7)		 95.8
(35.4)		 96.9
(36.1)		 96.3
(35.7)		 93.8
(34.3)		 88.1
(31.2)		 82.0
(27.8)		 77.1
(25.1)		 98.1
(36.7)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 58.7
(14.8)		 63.8
(17.7)		 69.0
(20.6)		 75.4
(24.1)		 84.0
(28.9)		 87.9
(31.1)		 90.0
(32.2)		 89.4
(31.9)		 85.8
(29.9)		 77.1
(25.1)		 68.3
(20.2)		 62.6
(17.0)		 76.0
(24.5)
Daily mean °F (°C) 47.6
(8.7)		 52.0
(11.1)		 57.3
(14.1)		 63.7
(17.6)		 72.2
(22.3)		 77.6
(25.3)		 80.1
(26.7)		 79.6
(26.4)		 75.5
(24.2)		 66.1
(18.9)		 56.5
(13.6)		 51.1
(10.6)		 64.9
(18.3)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 36.6
(2.6)		 40.1
(4.5)		 45.6
(7.6)		 52.0
(11.1)		 60.3
(15.7)		 67.4
(19.7)		 70.2
(21.2)		 69.9
(21.1)		 65.2
(18.4)		 55.1
(12.8)		 44.6
(7.0)		 39.5
(4.2)		 53.9
(12.2)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 22.8
(−5.1)		 26.4
(−3.1)		 29.7
(−1.3)		 39.6
(4.2)		 49.0
(9.4)		 60.6
(15.9)		 65.4
(18.6)		 64.7
(18.2)		 56.3
(13.5)		 41.1
(5.1)		 30.3
(−0.9)		 26.3
(−3.2)		 20.7
(−6.3)
Record low °F (°C) 0
(−18)		 12
(−11)		 16
(−9)		 30
(−1)		 39
(4)		 48
(9)		 54
(12)		 54
(12)		 42
(6)		 28
(−2)		 10
(−12)		 6
(−14)		 0
(−18)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 4.08
(104)		 4.40
(112)		 4.77
(121)		 3.28
(83)		 2.67
(68)		 4.95
(126)		 5.16
(131)		 4.45
(113)		 4.28
(109)		 2.83
(72)		 3.16
(80)		 4.20
(107)		 48.23
(1,226)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 8.7 8.1 7.7 6.5 6.9 11.5 12.4 12.4 7.9 6.2 5.9 7.4 101.6
Source 1: NOAA[6]
Source 2: National Weather Service[7]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
19001,384—
19102,38172.0%
19203,00526.2%
19303,39012.8%
19405,22854.2%
19506,83130.7%
19609,90345.0%
197012,17923.0%
198013,74912.9%
199014,2153.4%
200015,0605.9%
201016,3508.6%
202017,0454.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
Tifton racial composition as of 2020[9]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 7,367 43.22%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 6,349 37.25%
Native American 29 0.17%
Asian 434 2.55%
Other/Mixed 575 3.37%
Hispanic or Latino 2,291 13.44%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,045 people, 5,906 households, and 3,779 families residing in the city.

Arts and culture

Tifton Post Office

Libraries

Tifton has a public library,[10] in addition to an extensive college library located at nearby Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Points of interest

Until recently, Tifton was the home of the world's second largest magnolia tree, which was located in Magnolia Tree Park. In 2004, the tree was burned in a fire. The cause of the fire has never been given by local authorities. Currently, the tree and observation area are blocked from visitors by a gate.[11] Although it no longer grows, the tree still stands. It is not known where the new second largest magnolia tree resides.

Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village

The Georgia Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village, formerly known as Agrirama, is located in Tifton, Georgia. It opened on July 4, 1976. The grounds consist of five areas: a traditional farm community of the 1870s, an 1890s progressive farmstead, an industrial sites complex, rural town, and national peanut complex; and the Museum of Agriculture Center. Over 35 structures have been relocated to the 95-acre (380,000 m2) site and faithfully restored or preserved. Costumed interpreters explain and demonstrate the lifestyle and activities of this time in Georgia's history.

Historic districts

The Tifton Residential Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 2008. It is bounded generally by 14th Street, Goff Street, 2nd Street and Forrest Avenue at coordinates 31°27′35″N 83°30′25″W / 31.45972°N 83.50694°W / 31.45972; -83.50694 (Tifton Residential Historic District). The Tifton Commercial Historic District and the Tift County Courthouse are also on the National Register.

Sports

In 2000, the boys 10u baseball team won the state championship with an undefeated season (24-0).

In 2010, the indoor football team Georgia Firebirds relocated from Waycross, Georgia to Tifton.

Education

Tift County School District headquarters

Tift County School District

The Tift County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of, eight elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, and an alternative school.[12] The district has 467 full-time teachers and over 7,641 students.[13]

Private schools

Higher education

Media

The Tifton Gazette is a weekly newspaper published Thursdays in Tifton, Georgia. It is operated by South Georgia Media Group, a division of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. The Tifton Grapevine [17] is a twice-weekly online newspaper with an email circulation of 5,800. It is operated by Sayles Unlimited Marketing.

Infrastructure

Tifton water tower seen from I-75

Transportation

Major highways

Airports

  • Henry Tift Myers Airport is a public airport located two miles (3 km) southeast of Tifton, serving the general aviation community, with no scheduled commercial airline service.

Notable people

Sister city

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. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. ↑ Hellmann, Paul T. (May 13, 2013). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Routledge. p. 250. ISBN 978-1135948597. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Tifton, GA". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  7. ↑ "NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Tallahassee". National Weather Service. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Quick Facts, Tifton, Georgia". Census.gov. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Homepage". Tifton - Tift County Public Library. Archived from the original on July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Landmark still recuperating from fire". The Tifton Gazette. 2006. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  12. ↑ Georgia Board of Education, Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  13. ↑ School Stats, Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  14. ↑ Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  15. ↑ Southern Regional Technical College- Tifton Campus, Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  16. ↑ University of Georgia- Tifton Agricultural Campus, Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Tifton Grapevine - Home". Tifton Grapevine.
  18. ↑ "Florida State all-time team". January 31, 2001. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  19. ↑ Tifton becomes sister city to Linyi, China » Local News Archived 2012-07-16 at archive.today. Tifton Gazette. Retrieved on 2013-08-09.
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