Fort Gaines, Georgia
Fort Gaines, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Clay County Courthouse in Fort Gaines | |
| Motto: "A historic past - A promising future" | |
 Location in Clay County and the state of Georgia | |
| Coordinates: 31°36′51″N 85°2′54″W / 31.61417°N 85.04833°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Clay |
| Area | |
• Total | 7.70 sq mi (19.94 km2) |
| • Land | 4.78 sq mi (12.37 km2) |
| • Water | 2.93 sq mi (7.58 km2) |
| Elevation | 226 ft (69 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 995 |
| • Density | 208.4/sq mi (80.45/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP codes | 39851 |
| Area code | 229 |
| FIPS code | 13-30816[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0355877[3] |
| Website | www |
Fort Gaines is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Georgia, United States.[4] It has a population of 995 as of the 2020 census.
History
[edit]The present town of Fort Gaines was founded in 1816 as protection against the indigenous Creeks and prospered due to riverboat trade.[5] Though it was named for General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, he did not arrive there with the 4th Infantry of the United States Army until 1816.[5][6] A fort of the same name had been built in 1814 nearby on the Chattachoochee River. In 1854, Fort Gaines was designated seat of the newly formed Clay County.[7]
According to The Floridian newspaper of 1840, in Fort Gaines were the Chattahoochee Female College and the Independent College for Young Men, boarding schools (not colleges, as that word is traditionally used today). "The writer esteems that the society and location of Fort Gaines for literary purposes, so far as the education of youths is concerned, equal to that of Sparta [Georgia]."[8]
Geography
[edit]Fort Gaines is located along the western edge of Clay County at 31°36′51″N 85°2′54″W / 31.61417°N 85.04833°W (31.614226, -85.048317).[9] Its western boundary is the