Cornelia, Georgia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cornelia is a city in Habersham County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,674 at the 2000 census. It is home to the world's largest apple.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Government
5 Notable Residents
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Cornelia is located at 34°30′49″N, 83°31′51″W (34.513716, -83.530942)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.9 km² (3.4 mi²), all land.

[edit] History

Cornelia was first settled by non-Native Americans in around 1860, along an old boundary line between the Cherokee and Creek Indian tribes. Workers of the Charlotte-Airline Railroad (later Southern Railway) invaded the virgin forest in 1872 and began building railway line from Gainesville to Toccoa. In 1882, the Blue Ridge and Atlantic Railroad opened a line that extended northward from the Charlotte-Airline to Clarkesville and Tallulah Falls. The Tallulah Falls Railway, as it came to be called, carried passengers and freight from Cornelia to Franklin, North Carolina.

The railroad depot was originally called Blaine for the Republican presidential candidate, James Gillespie Blaine, but the cluster of houses was called Rabun Gap Junction. When the first charter of the town was secured by an attorney representing the railroad, Judge Pope Barrow, the name was changed to Cornelia in honor of his wife. The official date of the town's incorporation was October 22, 1887.

The Big Red Apple stands on the railway depot grounds in downtown Cornelia. The replica of the North Georgia apple is seven feet high and has a circumference of twenty-two feet. It weighs 5,200 pounds and is painted in natural colors. The apple is constructed of steel and concrete and was molded in Winchester, Virginia, in 1925. The apple sits on an eight foot high concrete pedestal that is six feet square at the base. The monument was donated by Southern Railway, and for many years a festival was held in celebration of the apples grown in the area. Cornelia has since been called "The Home of the Big Red Apple."

German and Swiss immigrants used their wine-making skills to create an industry in the 1880s that flourished until a prohibition law stopped it. Cotton, timber and lumber products, and the apple and peach industries were also important to the success of the area. Riegel Textile built the community's first major industrial facility in 1966 with what was then an ultra-modern, cutting edge textile mill designed by Bill Pittendreigh although the mill was actually located on the edge of the community in Alto, Georgia. As with any city, there were a number of businesses, but hotels contributed greatly to the growth and development of the city in its early history.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,674 people, 1,488 households, and 958 families residing in the city. The population density was 413.6/km² (1,071.3/mi²). There were 1,611 housing units at an average density of 181.3/km² (469.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.97% White, 9.53% African American, 0.27% Native American, 4.65% Asian, 0.38% Pacific Islander, 9.55% from other races, and 2.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.16% of the population.

There were 1,488 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,111, and the median income for a family was $42,041. Males had a median income of $25,505 versus $20,404 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,701. About 8.8% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.1% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over.