Gainesville

Gainesville was established as "Mule Camp Springs" by European-American settlers in the early 1800s. It was named in honor of General Edmund P. Gaines, a hero of the War of 1812 and a noted military surveyor and road-builder. In 1851, much of the small city was destroyed by fire. After the Civil War, Gainesville began to grow from 1870. Chickens have since become the state's largest agricultural crop. This $1 billion a year industry has given Gainesville the title "Poultry Capital of the World" Gainesville served as the venue for the rowing and kayaking medal competitions in the 1996 Summer Olympics. The city's first high-rise, the Jackson Building, had its formal opening on December 22, 1915. In 1947, the airport was returned to the city of Gainesville, improved by the addition of two 4,000-foot (1,200 m) landing strips (one of which was later lengthened to 5,500 feet (1,700 m) The Lakeside water treatment plant opened in 2002. In January 2021, a poultry plant in Gainesville leaked liquid nitrogen, killing 6 and hospitalizing 12. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed Lake Sidney Lanier, by building Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River. In 2001, the city gained accreditation of its Parks and Recreation Department in 2001. This was the third department in the state to be accredited. In 2008, the Fair Street Neighborhood Center, the reopening of the Linwood Park Fishing Pier, and the completion of the Longwood Park fishing park opened.

History

Gainesville was established as "Mule Camp Springs" by European-American settlers in the early 1800s. It was named in honor of General Edmund P. Gaines, a hero of the War of 1812 and a noted military surveyor and road-builder. City services began in Gainesville on February 22, 1873, with the election of a City Marshal, followed by solid waste collection in 1874. In 1996, Gainesville served as the venue for the rowing and kayaking medal competitions, which were staged on Lake Lanier. The city has sponsored new social activities, including the Spring Chicken Festival in 2003, the Art in the Square gathering in 2004, and "Dredgefest" in 2008. On January 28, 2021, a poultry plant in Gainville leaked liquid nitrogen killing 6 and hospitalizing 12. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed Lake Sidney Lanier, by building Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River, in 1956. Gainesville is known as the "Poultry Capital of the World" because of its $1 billion-a-year poultry industry, which has made it the state's largest agricultural crop. It is the third largest city in Georgia to be accredited by the state Parks and Recreation Department, and the third in the state to receive accreditation from the National Conference of State Parks (NCSP) The city's first high-rise, the Jackson Building, had its formal opening on December 22, 1915.

Geography

Gainesville is located in central Hall County at 34°1816N 83°502W (34.304490, -83.833897). It is bordered to the southwest by the city of Oakwood. The city has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with cool to mild winters and hot, humid summers. Parts of Gainesville lie along the shore of one of the nation's most popular inland water destinations, Lake Lanier. The lake was created in 1956 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Chattahoochee River near Buford and flooded the river's valley. Gainesville was the site of a deadly F4 on June 1, 1903, which killed 98 people. In April 1974, an F4 tornado 22.6 miles away from the Gainesville city center killed six people and injured thirty. Both storms caused between $500,000 and $5,000,000 in property damages. Tornado watches are frequent in the spring and summer, with a warning appearing at least biannually, occasionally with more than one per year. The Gainesville area is above Georgia state average and is 108% greater than the overall U.S. average for tornadoes. The area is also home to the largest concentration of Supercell thunderstorms in the United States, which can sweep through any time between March and November, being primarily concentrated in the Spring and Summer. The town has a population of 1.2 million.

Transportation

Amtrak's Crescent train connects Gainesville with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Greensboro, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans. Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (GVL), built in 1940, is a city-owned airport with two runways (5,500 ft and 4,001 ft), and supports air taxi operations, itinerant operations, local operations, and military operations. In addition, Gainesville has three heliports, Beaver Trail, Lanier Park Hospital and Latham Creek. The Gainesville Amtrak station is situated at 116 Industrial Boulevard. The southbound train arrives on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday mornings, and the northbound train on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings. The WeGo connection was replaced by WeGo in 2021. The city is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy, which has a base in Gainesville, Florida, and an academy in Jacksonville, Florida. Gainesville is also the home of the University of Florida, where the football team has a team that won the NCAA championship in 2010. The town has a population of 2.2 million. The U.N. World Cup is held in Gainesville in 2016. The tournament will be the first ever to be held in the United States. It will take place in the city from August 16 to September 16. The event will be hosted by the University of Florida and will be followed by the U S. Open, which will be held the following week.

Economy

As of 2013, poultry farming remains a significant economic driver in Gainesville. It is the most well-known business in the area, with statewide revenue exceeding $3 billion. The jobs have attracted numerous Hispanic workers, adding to the diversity of families in the city and county. The proportion of Hispanic and Latino residents is more than 40 percent of the city's population, where the jobs are. According to Gainesville's 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the City are: Georgia Power, Georgia Southern University, and Georgia State University. The city's unemployment rate is 3.7 percent, the lowest of any U.S. city or county in the state. The unemployment rate for the state is 2.9 percent, and the rate of unemployment for the county is 1.8 percent. The average household income in the county in 2010 was $50,000. The median household income for the city was $52,000, the highest of any county or state in the country. The percentage of the working-age population that is Hispanic or Latino is nearly 40 percent, making it one of the most diverse cities in the United States. In 2010, the city had 7,600 employees, nearly one-quarter of the total population in theCity of Gainesville in 2010 (and a higher proportion of the Working-age Population in 2010). The city has a population of 4.2 million, or about one-third of its total population. The population of the county was 4.1 million in 2010, or approximately one-sixth of its population.

Culture

Gainesville is home to the Gainesville Theater Alliance (GTA), which is a partnership between Brenau University, the University of North Georgia, Theatre Wings, and the Professional Company. The Arts Council is a non-profit organization focused on providing Gainesville residents with a broad variety of visual, performing, and literary arts. The Gainesville Symphony Orchestra (GSO) was a volunteer orchestra founded in 1982 as the Lanier Symphony Orchestra. The Quinlan Visual Arts Center acts as an exhibit, with multiple galleries on display throughout the year, as well as an event center. Alta Vista Cemetery is a graveyard located just outside Downtown Gainesville. The famous Confederate general James Longstreet is buried here. Other notable gravesites include: several Georgia governors, an astronaut, a rocket scientist, a circus performer, and that of poultry pioneer Jesse Jewell (whom JesseJewell Parkway, Gainesville's main thoroughfare, is named after). The Gainville Ballet Company is a Partnership with BrenauUniversity and the Gainville School of Dance. It is also an affiliate of the Arts Council and provides art classes for both children and adults. The GSO shut down in 2013 due to a lack in funding during the Great Recession, after almost 30 years of operation. The Northeast Georgia History Center is a museum that focuses on the heritage of the Northeast Georgia region. Some notable exhibits include the Land of Promise and Northeast Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra has been known to perform at this location.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 33,804 people, 11,273 households, and 7,165 families residing in the city. In May 2013, the unemployment rate was 6.9%, less than the overall rate in Georgia of 8.3%, the US of 7.6%. Of the population aged 15 years and over, 31.0% have never been married; 50. 0% are now married; 2.4% are separated; 7.7% are widowed; and 9.9% are divorced. As of the 2020 U.S. census there were 42,296 people, 13,314 households and 8,796 families. The city's median income was $38,119, and the median income for a family was $43,734. The per capita income for the city was $19,439. About 24.9%. of families and 29.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.7%. of those under age 18 and 17.6% of those age 65 or over. The racial makeup of the city is 54.2% White, 15.2%, African American, 0.6%, Native American, 3.2%. and 3.4%. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 41.6! of the town's population. The median age was 29.5 years. For every 100 females, there are 91.6 males. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.55.

Healthcare

Gainesville is home to the Northeast Georgia Medical Center which houses the Ronnie Green Heart Center. Gainesville is also the location of the Georgia Children's Hospital. The hospital is one of the top 10 hospitals in the state, according to CNN.com.

Government and infrastructure

Arrendale State Prison of the Georgia Department of Corrections is a women's prison. It is located in unincorporated Habersham County, near Alto, and in the Gainesville area. The prison is home to the Georgia State Prison for Women, a women-only prison for women and girls. It was built in the 1970s. It has a maximum security prison for female inmates. It also houses male prisoners, including the state's highest-security female prison, which opened in 1978. It opened in the 1980s. The state prison is located near Alto in Georgia, near the U.S. border with Florida, and near the town of Gainesville, Georgia. It's also near the city of Alto, Georgia, where it was founded in 1881. It closed in the 1990s, and was reopened in the 2000s, when it was re-opened with a new prison wing. It now houses about 1,000 women and children, and has a population of about 2,000. It  is the largest women's jail in the state, with a total capacity of 1,100. Its facilities are located in Gainesville and Alto, as well as in the towns of Alto and Albertson and Gainesville. It holds about 100 women and women's inmates. The maximum security female prison is a maximum-security women's facility for women, with an average sentence of 10 years. The female prison population is 1,071. The women are held in the prison's main prison wing, which is made up of three dorms and two dorms.

Education

Beulah Rucker founded Timber Ridge Elementary School, the first school for Black children in Gainesville, in 1911. E. Butler served as an educator for just one year before earning his Physician's license. Ulysses Byas, like most Black school principals was offered a demotion. Rather than take a job as an assistant principal at Gainesville High School, he moved to Tuskegee, Alabama, where he became the nation's first Black school superintendent. Hall County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of twenty-one elementary schools, six middle schools, and seven high schools. Gainesville has three private schools: Riverside Military Academy which is a private, college preparatory, boarding and day school for boys in grades 7 through 12; Lakeview Academy; and Brenau Academy, a female, college Preparatory, residential school for grades 912. The Hall County Library, with an operating income of $3,078,611, offers a collection of 292,717 books, 1,355 e-books, 32,858 audio materials, 26,616 video materials, 36 state licensed databases, and 36 electronic serial subscriptions. The University of North Georgia (formerly Gainesville State College), was established January 8, 2013, as a result of the consolidation of NorthGeorgia College and State University and Gainesville state College. The school has produced a number of notable alumni including, Connor Shaw, starting quarterback for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks football team; Casey Cagle, Lt. Governor, State of Georgia; James Mills, Georgia State Representative; A.J. Styles, professional wrestler.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia = 62.4. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 30. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 99. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Gainesville = 5.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 42,296 individuals with a median age of 31.6 age the population grows by 29.78% in Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,265.4 residents per square mile of area (488.57/km²). There are average 2.91 people per household in the 10,792 households with an average household income of $41,578 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.00% of the available work force and has dropped -5.30% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 19.40%. The number of physicians in Gainesville per 100,000 population = 186.7.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Gainesville = 54.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 2.9 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 113. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 216. 88 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 31.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 38, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Gainesville, Hall County, Georgia which are owned by the occupant = 40.80%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 23 years with median home cost = $130,680 and home appreciation of -7.18%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $7.76 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,084 per student. There are 14.8 students for each teacher in the school, 389 students for each Librarian and 501 students for each Counselor. 3.05% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 15.15% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 8.82% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).