Lyons is a city in and the county seat of Toombs County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,239 in 2020.

History

Lyons was founded as a depot on the Central of Georgia Railway. The community was named after Mr. Lyons, a railroad official. It was incorporated on December 9, 1897. In 1905, Lyons was designated seat of the newly formed Toombs County.

Geography

Lyons is located at (32.204287, -82.322732).

The city is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 1 and 280. U.S. 1 runs north–south through the center of town, leading north 12 mi (19 km) to Oak Park just south of its junction with Interstate 16 and south 31 mi (50 km) to Baxley. U.S. 280 runs east–west through the city as West Liberty Avenue, leading southeast 15 mi (24 km) to Reidsville and west 6 mi (10 km) to Vidalia. Other highways that run through the city include Georgia State Routes 152, 178, and 292.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.53%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Lyons had a population of 4,239. The median age was 36.0 years. 27.3% 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 86.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 80.0 males age 18 and over.

84.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 15.6% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,674 households in Lyons, of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 30.9% were married-couple households, 19.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 42.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

|-

|White (non-Hispanic)

|2,011

|47.44%

|-

|Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

|1,390

|32.79%

|-

|Native American

|2

|0.05%

|-

|Asian

|22

|0.52%

|-

|Pacific Islander

|2

|0.05%

|-

|Other/Mixed

|144

|3.4%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino

|668

|15.76%

|}

Education

Toombs County School District

The Toombs County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 177 full-time teachers and over 2,856 students.

Notable people

  • Jeremy Beasley (born 1995), MLB Pitcher
  • Mel Blount (born 1948), NFL player who played with the Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Craig Campbell (born 1979), country music singer
  • Don Collins (1952–2022) former professional baseball player
  • John P. Coursey (1914–1992), brigadier general and naval aviator in the Marine Corps
  • Nick Eason (born 1980), NFL player currently with the Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Mads Krügger (born 1985), professional wrestler
  • Robert Mallard (1918–1948), lynching victim
  • Travares Tillman (born 1977), professional football player

References