right|thumb|[[Bacon County Courthouse ]]

Alma is a city in and the county seat of Bacon County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,433.

There are two theories about the origin of the name of the town. The first is that it was named for the wife of a traveling salesmen, Alma Sheridan; the other is that it was named for the initial letter of the four state capitals Georgia has had: Augusta, Louisville, Milledgeville, and Atlanta.

There are four sites in Alma listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Alma Depot, Bacon County Courthouse, Bacon County School, and the Rabinowitz Building.

Geography

Alma is located in southeastern Georgia at (31.541543, -82.466666).

The city is located along U.S. Routes 1 and 23 (Pierce Street). The two run through the center of the city together before splitting just north of the city. U.S. 1 connects the city with Baxley, to the north, and U.S. 23 connects the city with Hazlehurst, to the northwest. U.S. 1/23 also runs south to Waycross. Other highways that run through the city include Georgia State Routes 32 (16th Street) and 64 (Market Street).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 11.27%, is water.

Climate

Alma has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) with long, hot summers and short, mild winters.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Alma had a population of 3,433. The median age was 36.7 years. 27.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.7 males age 18 and over.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+Alma racial composition as of 2020

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

|-

!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 1,599

| 46.58%

|-

!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 1,455

| 42.38%

|-

!scope="row"| Native American

| 2

| 0.06%

|-

!scope="row"| Asian

| 25

| 0.73%

|-

!scope="row"| Pacific Islander

| 3

| 0.09%

|-

!scope="row"| Other/mixed

| 105

| 3.06%

|-

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 244

| 7.11%

|}

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,266 households in Alma, including 620 families. Of all households, 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 31.5% were married-couple households, 16.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 44.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The district has 126 full-time teachers and over 1,900 students, and operates these schools:

  • Bacon County Elementary School
  • Bacon County Primary School
  • Bacon County Middle School
  • Bacon County High School

Alma is also served by Coastal Pines Technical College.

Notable people

  • Harry Crews, novelist, playwright, short story writer and essayist
  • Braswell Deen, U.S. representative from Georgia; moved to Alma
  • Daniel W. Lee, recipient of Congressional Medal of Honor
  • Walter J. Leonard, former president of Fisk University
  • William M. Wheeler, U.S. representative from Georgia

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Bacon County, Georgia

References

  • City of Alma official website
  • Alma/Bacon County Development Authority