Camilla is a city in Mitchell County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 5,187, The name "Camilla" was chosen in honor of the granddaughter of Henry Mitchell, a Revolutionary War general for whom Mitchell County was named.

Camilla and Mitchell County were originally Creek country, surrendered to the United States in the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson. Georgia divided the land ceded by Native Americans into lots to be given away in land lotteries. The lottery of 1820 awarded lands covering much of the southwest section of the state (applying only to land south of the future Lee County line and extending west to the Chattahoochee River and east to settled counties in east Georgia), including the area later known as Mitchell County. Despite having access to free land, few people moved to the region. Citizens hesitated to improve land, according to an early twentieth-century history the region "which God Almighty had left in an unfinished condition." It took approximately forty years (1820–1857) for the area to obtain its necessary legal population to become a separate county, after which Camilla became the county seat.

In the early 2000s, the city was hit by two disastrous sets of tornadoes, both occurring in the dark hours of the early morning and both going through roughly the same area. The first outbreak was on February 14, 2000; the second was on March 20, 2003.

Camilla massacre

Camilla became the site of a racially motivated political white-on-black riot on Saturday, September 19, 1868.<!-- reported as August 1868 in The Camilla massacre was the culmination of smaller acts of violence committed by white inhabitants that had plagued southwest Georgia since the end of the Civil War. The 2012 song "Camilla" from the eponymous album by Caroline Herring pays a tribute to Mrs. King's memory.

Geography

Camilla is located in central Mitchell County at (31.230243, −84.209102). U.S. Route 19 is the main highway through the city, passing east of the downtown. US 19 leads north to Albany and southeast to Thomasville. State Routes 37 and 112 pass through the center of Camilla as Broad Street. Route 37 leads east to Moultrie and northwest to Newton, while Route 112 leads northeast to Sylvester and south to Cairo. State Route 97 leads southwest from Camilla to Bainbridge.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.20%, are water. Camilla has a relatively wet climate with high precipitation year-round, as typical of the eastern United States. Its southerly latitude in Georgia causes a greater tropical influence resulting in very mild winters in comparison with Atlanta for example.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Camilla had a population of 5,187. The median age was 39.4 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 79.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 72.3 males age 18 and over.

{| class="wikitable"

|+Camilla racial composition as of 2020

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

|-

|White (non-Hispanic)

|1,148

|22.13%

|-

|Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

|3,781

|72.89%

|-

|Native American

|6

|0.12%

|-

|Asian

|38

|0.73%

|-

|Other/Mixed

|103

|1.99%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino

|111

|2.14%

|}

92.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 7.9% lived in rural areas.

There were 2,077 households in Camilla, of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 24.1% were married-couple households, 18.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 50.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The district has 176 full-time teachers and over 2,855 students. The Mitchell County Head Start Center opened in 2001. District schools include:

  • South Mitchell County Elementary School
  • North Mitchell County Elementary School
  • Mitchell County Middle School
  • Mitchell County High School

Charter school

  • Baconton Community Charter School

Private education

  • Westwood Schools

Higher education

Andersonville Theological Seminary has its headquarters based in Camilla. The distance education seminary is accredited through the Association of Independent Christian College and Seminaries. The seminary's headquarters consists of two administrative buildings. It's widely reported by former students that the seminary is a diploma mill where sub-standard degrees are given for little or no actual coursework.

Government

The legislative authority of the government of the City of Camilla is vested in the six-member Council. Council members serve for terms of four years and until their respective successors are elected and qualified. Three members are elected from and by the voters of Council District No. 1, and three members are elected from and by the voters of Council District No. 2.

;Mayor:

  • Mayor Kelvin Owens (term expires December 31, 2023)

;Council members:

  • W.D. Palmer, III (District 2; term expires December 31, 2025)
  • Raymond Dewayne Burley (District 1; term expires December 31, 2025)
  • Corey Morgan (District 1; term expires December 31, 2023)
  • Steve Collins (District 2; term expires December 31, 2023)
  • Venterra Pollard (District 1; term expires December 31, 2025)
  • Laura Beth Tucker (District 2; term expires December 31, 2025)

Transportation

  • U.S. Highway 19 is the major travel route through the city, connecting Camilla to Albany in the north and Thomasville to the south
  • Georgia State Route 112 connects Cairo to the south and Sylvester to the northeast
  • Georgia State Route 37 connects Moultrie to the east
  • Georgia State Route 311 and Georgia State Route 97 connects Bainbridge to the southeast

Notable people

  • Kathryn Stripling Byer (1944–2017), poet and teacher; North Carolina Poet Laureate 2005–2009
  • Oscar Branch Colquitt (1861–1940), former governor of Texas
  • Danny Copeland (born 1966), NFL defensive back; Super Bowl winner with Washington Redskins
  • Tiger Flowers (1895–1927), first Black middleweight boxing champion of the world
  • James Griffin (born 1961), ex-NFL safety with Detroit Lions
  • Krysta Harden, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
  • Jumaine Jones (born 1979), professional basketball forward for Bnei HaSharon of Israel
  • Fred Nixon (born 1958), ex-NFL player with Green Bay Packers
  • Grover Stewart, NFL defensive tackle
  • Orson Swindle (born 1937), US Marine Corps colonel and former POW with John McCain in Vietnam

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File:Camilla Fire Department.jpg|Camilla Fire Department

File:City of Camilla Public Safety Complex.jpg|City of Camilla Public Safety Complex, which is attached to the fire station

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See also

  • Impact of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic on the meat industry in the United States

References

Further reading

  • Camilla Chamber of Commerce