Stockbridge, Georgia
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Stockbridge is a city located in Henry County, Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 9,853. This was the home of spree killer Mark O. Barton (1999). It is also the home town of the band Collective Soul.
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Geography
Stockbridge is located at 33°32'3" North, 84°13'52" West (33.534068, -84.231185)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.5 km² (11.0 mi²). 28.4 km² (10.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.45% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 9,853 people, 3,749 households, and 2,654 families residing in the city. The population density is 347.4/km² (900.0/mi²). There are 3,991 housing units at an average density of 140.7/km² (364.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 71.63% White, 20.51% African American, 0.27% Native American, 4.55% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 1.44% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. 4.21% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 3,749 households out of which 39.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% are married couples living together, 14.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% are non-families. 22.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.61 and the average family size is 3.06.
In the city the population is spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 38.1% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $48,296, and the median income for a family is $51,341. Males have a median income of $38,457 versus $28,938 for females. The per capita income for the city is $21,380. 6.8% of the population and 6.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 5.9% of those under the age of 18 and 17.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
Old Stockbridge was a settlement that existed for over half a century. There was a settlement as early as 1829 when Old Stockbridge Concord Methodist Church was organized.
The original Old Stockbridge was a crossroads community when it applied for a post office sometime prior to the Civil War. A post office called for a name, so the citizens decided to name their post office and village for a Professor Stockbridge, a Yankee school teacher. According to tales, if Professor Stockbridge was not the first school teacher in this section of the country, he was the most outstanding of the pioneer teachers.
Stockbridge was granted it’s first post office on April 5, 1847 located on Old Stagecoach Road. Mr. Edward Taliaferro was appointed postmaster with an annual compensation of $2.42.
The coming of the Southern Railroad in the year 1881 was an epoch and made great changes. The railroad was built from Macon to Atlanta. The settlers who owned the land about Old Stockbridge advanced the price of their land to such a degree the railroad would not buy the land to locate a depot.
Two prominent Atlanta citizens, John W. Grant and George W. Adair bought a tract of land about a mile south of Old Stockbridge and offered lots at a reasonable price. This offer was readily accepted by many. On this tract of land a depot was built and the present Stockbridge began its existence in 1882.
The old railroad depot was destroyed by the Southern Railroad in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s. The railroad depot was located about 600 feet north of Highway 42 and US 23 as you cross the bridge in Stockbridge.
Stockbridge was incorporated as a town in 1895 and as a city August 6, 1920.
Naming Mystery
On May 6, 1992, Mayor Rudy Kelley received a letter from Mr. John Stockbridge of South Carolina requesting a letter of "Greeting" from the City of Stockbridge to the attendees of the first reunion of the Stockbridge family. In his letter, he mentioned that he grew up in Georgia and had been told as a child that the City of Stockbridge was named after his great-great-grandfather Levi Stockbridge who traveled back and forth from the north to his property in Florida and stopped here on his journey.
Levi Stockbridge was born on March 13, 1820, and fits the time frame just prior to the Civil War. Levi would have been 27 years of age when Stockbridge was assigned a post office in 1847.
Until May 6, 1992, there had never been a name other than Professor Stockbridge. At that time, Levi Stockbridge was mentioned as the possible person for whom the City received it’s name.
It is not certian that Levi Stockbridge was the individual for which the citizens of the community named their post office and village. However, through the efforts of John Stockbridge’s letters and many conversations with him, it is believed that this is the rightful Professor Stockbridge who had been unknown for 146 years.
External links
- City of Stockbridge (http://www.cityofstockbridge.com/)