Waycross, Georgia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Waycross is a city in Ware County, Georgia, United States. The population was 15,333 at the 2000 census, and a micropolitan area of 51,611. The city is the largest city and county seat of Ware County^GR6.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Famous residents 4 Trivia 5 External links

[edit] Geography

Waycross is located at 31°12′50″N, 82°21′18″W (31.213860, -82.354911)^GR1 and is the closest city to the Okefenokee Swamp. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.3 km² (11.7 mi²). 30.3 km² (11.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.17%) is water. Residents take pride in the fact that it is the largest city in the largest county in the largest state east of the Mississippi River.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 15,333 people, 6,094 households, and 3,741 families residing in the city. The population density was 506.4/km² (1,311.8/mi²). There were 7,534 housing units at an average density of 248.8/km² (644.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 44.31% White, 53.51% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.

There were 6,094 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.3% were married couples living together, 21.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,399, and the median income for a family was $28,712. Males had a median income of $24,865 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,468. About 24.8% of families and 30.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.9% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Famous residents

• Gram Parsons - Musician of The Byrds
• Ossie Davis - actor.
• Pernell Roberts - actor.
• Sonora Webster Carver
• Burt Reynolds- actor.
• Nikki DeLoach Member of the now disbanded girl group Innosense and actress on the FOX television series North Shore.
• Caroline Miller- Pulitzer Prize winning author
• Rory Segrest- Special Teams coordinator, Philadelphia Eagles.
• Fred Gibson- Wide Receiver with the Atlanta Falcons.
• Juanita Bynum- President and founder of Juanita Bynum Ministries and wife of Bishop Thomas Weeks III, Pastor of Global Destiny Church in Duluth, GA.

[edit] Trivia

• Mickey Newbury's 1969 epic song "San Francisco Mabel Joy" tells the story of a Waycross farm boy's tragic life.

[edit] External links

• Waycross Tourism & Conference Bureau
• KD's Cafe in Downtown Waycross
• City of Waycross
• Historic Waycross
• Waycross picture gallery
• Waycross College
• Okefenokee Technical College
• Okefenokee Area Development Authority
• Ware County Board of Education
• Official Ware County website
• Wacona Elementary School
• Georgia's Coast in photographs and more
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 31.21386° -82.354911°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA