LEESBURG, GA

Leesburg is a city in Lee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,480 at the 2020 census, up from 2,896 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Lee County and is part of the Albany, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Leesburg, originally known as "Wooten Station", was founded in 1870 as the Central of Georgia Railway arrived in the area. In 1872, the town was renamed "Wooten", and the seat was transferred from Starksville. In 1874, the town was incorporated and renamed again to its present form of Leesburg.

Leesburg is the site of the Leesburg Stockade incident, in which a group of African-American teenage and pre-teen girls were arrested for protesting racial segregation in Americus, Georgia, and were imprisoned without charges for 45 days in poor conditions in the Lee County Public Works building.

Geography

Leesburg is in south-central Lee County. U.S. Route 19 passes through the city, leading north to Americus and south to Albany. State Route 32 is Leesburg's Main Street; it leads east to Ashburn and west to Dawson. State Route 195 leads northeast from Leesburg to Leslie.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Leesburg has a total area of , of which , or 1.06%, are water. Kinchafoonee Creek flows through a western corner of the city; it leads south to the Flint River, part of the Apalachicola River watershed.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,480 people, 884 households, and 666 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,633 people, 796 households, and 612 families residing in the city. The population density was 557.2 people per square mile (214.9/km²). There were 851 housing units at an average density of 180.1 per square mile (69.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.56% White, 36.42% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population.

There were 796 households, out of which 49.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 26.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,958, and the median income for a family was $33,487. Males had a median income of $30,862 versus $18,710 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,690. About 16.8% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.4% of those under age 18 and 21.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Lee County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two primary schools, two elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. The district has 330 full-time teachers and over 5,350 students.

Notable people