Moultrie is the county seat and largest city of Colquitt County, Georgia, United States. It is the third largest city in Southwest Georgia, behind Thomasville and Albany. As of the 2020 census, Moultrie's population was 14,638. It was originally known as Ochlockoney until it was incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly in 1859. Moultrie is an agricultural community set in the Southern Rivers part of Georgia.

Downtown Moultrie contains the Moultrie Commercial Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The district includes the Colquitt Theatre.

It is well known for its boutiques and farming industry. Moultrie is the home of former United States Senator Saxby Chambliss.

History The city was named after Gen. William Moultrie, the Revolutionary War hero after whom Fort Moultrie was named following the successful defense of Charleston, South Carolina, against the British under Peter Parker, an anniversary subsequently celebrated as Carolina Day.

Colquitt County became the 115th county in Georgia by an act of the Legislature on February 25, 1856. It was named after Walter Terry Colquitt, a minister, slave owner, statesman, and lawyer who was a military leader in the mid-1800s. In 1879, a charter was adopted, and in the center of the county was declared the county seat.

The founders of naval stores started harvesting timber in the late 1890s. They set up turpentine stills and built tram roads, allowing for the railroad to come into the territory. The Boston & Albany line, which later became the Georgia Northern Railway, was the first through town, bringing with it growth and prosperity for the county. Practically every train brought new residents interested in supplying naval stores or working in the sawmills.

By 1900, through the work of businessmen, bankers, and speculators, the county was becoming a farmer's paradise.

Land was cleared, and development companies began dividing the forested area into farm tracts. Experienced farmers from north Georgia and the Carolinas were invited to come and develop the land. The county's agriculture industry thrives today.

The official flag of Moultrie is a rendition of the Moultrie Flag designed by the city's namesake, William Moultrie, during the American Revolutionary War; adopted by resolution of the mayor and council, it consists of a blue field measuring 3 by 5 feet with a white crescent in the upper hoist corner inscribed with the word "Liberty", with an identical design on both sides.

Geography Located in southwest Georgia, Moultrie is in the center of Colquitt County, west of Interstate 75, and about south of Atlanta and northeast of Tallahassee, Florida. The city is located between Albany to the northwest, Tifton to the northeast, Thomasville to the southwest, and Valdosta to the southeast.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.15%, is water. Moultrie is located at (31.170188, -83.783601).

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

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Moultrie had a population of 14,638. There were 2,988 families residing in the city. The median age was 37.5 years. 25.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.1 males age 18 and over.

94.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.5% lived in rural areas.

There were 5,831 households in Moultrie, of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 29.9% were married-couple households, 21.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 43.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 6,577 housing units, of which 11.3% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.2%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 5,892 40.3% Black or African American 6,687 45.7% American Indian and Alaska Native 108 0.7% Asian 130 0.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 4 0.0% Some other race 940 6.4% Two or more races 877 6.0% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 1,963 13.4% Education Colquitt County School District Moultrie public schools are controlled by the Colquitt County Board of Education. The Colquitt County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, consisting of ten elementary schools, a middle school, a junior high school, and one high school.Georgia Board of Education, Retrieved June 4, 2010. As of November 27, 2020, the district had more than 9,100 students and 1,351 staff, which includes both certified and classified staff.Retrieved Dec 3, 2020.

Elementary schools Cox Elementary School Doerun Elementary School Funston Elementary School G.E.A.R. Gifted Center Hamilton Elementary School Norman Park Elementary School Odom Elementary School Okapilco Elementary School Stringfellow Elementary School Sunset Elementary School Wright Elementary School Pre-K Program

Middle schools Williams Middle School

Junior high schools C. A. Gray Junior High School

High schools Colquitt County High School Alternative schools

Colquitt County Achievement Center

Private schools Colquitt County also has a small, private Christian School, Colquitt Christian Academy, which is located at Calvary Baptist Church.

Higher education Southern Regional Technical College – Main CampusSouthern Regional Technical College, Retrieved 2015. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – Moultrie CampusAbraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Retrieved 2012. Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine – South Georgia Campus. PCOM South Georgia opened in August 2019, offering a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree, and added a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences in the fall of 2020.

Industry Industry in the Moultrie area grew considerably when Sanderson Farms opened a processing plant in 2006 that now employs over 1,000 workers, over 10 percent of the local workforce. The manufacturer of light, single-engined STOL aircraft, the Maule Air, is also located in Moultrie.

Telecommunications There are three radio channels and three television stations located in Moultrie.

Radio WMTM-1300 AM News/Talk WMTM-93.9 FM Oldies Cruisin' 94 WWGW-LP 102.5 FM Television WSWG CBS TV' CW44 CW TV WSWG2 My Network TV

Historic sites Moultrie is home to several sites on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Colquitt County, Georgia of the National Register of Historic Places.Colquitt County Historic Buildings

Points of interest

Museum of Colquitt County History Reed Bingham State Park – offers camping, hiking, fishing, birding, and boating on a 375-acre lake. Wildlife includes bald eagles, alligators, and gopher tortoises. Ellen Payne Odom Genealogy Library Spence Field Colquitt County Arts Center – home to permanent collections, theatre groups, concerts, art education, and the Fall Quilt Exhibition Tom White Linear Park – a 7.5-mile "Rails to Trails" project, for walkers and cycle enthusiasts St. Mark's Anglican Church

Transportation Moultrie is served by US 319, which connects to Interstate 75 and Interstate 10. State Road 37 and State Road 111 also run through Moultrie. Moultrie has two public airports used primarily for general aviation, Moultrie Municipal Airport and Spence Airport.

Notable people

References

External links

Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce Olde Greenfield Church and Historic Cemetery historical marker