Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780.
The city is in the Warner Robins metropolitan area and the Macon–Warner Robins combined statistical area.
History
thumb|Oak Lawn Cemetery, which has graves of Confederate soldiers|left
The town's name is a mystery, as it has never had a fort. Historians believe that the name was mistakenly changed in a transcription error when the post office was named; the area was originally thought to have been called Fox Valley.
Fort Valley was the backdrop for a Life feature story in the March 22, 1943, edition. The World War II-era story focused on the town's sponsoring of the "Ham and Egg Show," a contest held by African-American farmers to highlight ham and poultry production in Peach County, Georgia.
Geography
thumb|Police department
The city is located in the central part of the state along U.S. Route 341, which is the main route through the city. Via U.S. 341, Roberta is northwest, and Perry is southeast. Georgia State Routes 49, 96, and 540 (Fall Line Freeway) also run through the city. GA-49 leads northeast to Byron and southwest to Marshallville. GA-96 leads east to Warner Robins and west to Reynolds. The Fall Line Freeway runs north of the city as a four-lane divided highway, leading northeast to Byron with GA-49 and west to Reynolds with GA-96.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2020 census
{| class="wikitable"
|+Fort Valley racial composition
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|White (non-Hispanic)
|992
|11.3%
|-
|Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
|6,825
|77.73%
|-
|Native American
|14
|0.16%
|-
|Asian
|23
|0.26%
|-
|Pacific Islander
|1
|0.01%
|-
|Other/Mixed
|213
|2.43%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino
|712
|8.11%
|}
As of the 2020 census, Fort Valley had a population of 8,780. The median age was 28.8 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 13.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 84.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 78.5 males age 18 and over.
99.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.9% lived in rural areas.
There were 3,084 households in Fort Valley, and there were 1,685 families residing in the city. Of all households, 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 21.3% were married-couple households, 22.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 49.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Education
Public schools
The Peach County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. The district has 270 full-time teachers and over 3,927 students.
- Byron Elementary School
- Hunt Elementary School
- Kay Road Elementary School
- Byron Middle School
- Fort Valley Middle School
- Peach County High School
Colleges and universities
The city is home to Fort Valley State University, a historically black college.
Infrastructure
thumb|A water tower in Fort Valley
Transportation
Highways
U.S. Route:
- 20px U.S. Route 341
State Routes:
- 20px State Route 7
- 20px State Route 42
- 20px State Route 49
- 20px State Route 96
Health care
- The Medical Center of Peach County
==Notable people==<!--consensus reached to standardize this heading per WP:WikiProject Cities/US Guideline -->
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- Louie Crew (1936–2019), emeritus professor at Rutgers University, poet and activist, taught at Fort Valley State from 1973 to 1979
- Antone Davis (born 1967), former National Football League offensive lineman
- Jacquez Green (born 1976), former National Football League wide receiver and punt returner
- Dick Hartley (1900–1978), college football player for the Georgia Bulldogs during 1920 and 1921
- Alvin Holsey (born 1965), United States Navy admiral, retired
- Harold Houser (1897–1981), United States Navy Rear admiral, and the 35th Governor of American Samoa
- Edward H. Hurst (1916–1997), Brigadier general in the Marine Corps and recipient of Navy Cross
- Louis Ivory (born 1980), former college football running back, 2000 Walter Payton Award winner
- Kearis Jackson (born 1999), wide receiver for the Georgia Bulldogs
- Benny Johnson (1948–1988), NFL player
- Pete Johnson (born 1954), former NFL player
- Greg Lloyd (born 1965), former NFL player
- Danny Lockett (born 1964), former NFL player
- Randy McMichael (born 1979), former NFL player for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and the St. Louis Rams
- Marcus Robinson (born 1975), former National Football League wide receiver
- A. T. Walden (1885–1965), lawyer and civil rights leader
- Tim Watson (born 1970), former American football safety in the National Football League