Ludowici, Georgia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ludowici is a city in Long County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,440 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Long County^GR6. It is a part of the Hinesville-Fort Stewart metropolitan statistical area.

1 General Information
2 Demographics
3 Education System
4 External links

[edit] General Information

Ludowici is located at 31°42′38″N, 81°44′40″W (31.710597, -81.744423)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.8 km² (2.2 mi²). 5.7 km² (2.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.45% is water.

Ludowici pronounced "Loo'duh-wih'-see"

Originally called Johnston Station it was incorporated on August 23, 1905, the city was renamed after William Ludowici. A German immigrant, who contributed substantially to the construction of the county high school. Ludowici is located 30 miles from the coast and is nestled between Jesup, Georgia, Darien, Georgia, Hinesville/Ft. Stewart, Georgia and Glennville, Georgia.

There are four schools located in Ludowici. Smiley Elementary School, Walker Middle School (named after the late Rev. Samson Walker), Long County High School, and Faith Baptist Christian Academy, a Christian school.

Other properties in Ludowici include a grocery store I.G.A and Dollar General for shopping purposes;also a couple fast food shops. Such as Subway, Dairy Queen, Huddle House, L&B's Southern Fried Chicken,The Greasy Spoon (catering), and Debbie's Diner.

The main tourist attraction is the Altamaha River, extended swamp land across the county, deer hunting, dirt bogging, and cultivation.

“The Ludowici Brick and Tile Company” employed most people that resided in Long County in the early 20th century. The company produced the Ludowici tile, a distinctive clay roofing material that was popular among contractors in Florida at that time. There are a number of homes in the city that still display these distinctive roofs. The Ludowici Tile is now a favorite for residents living in the west i.e. California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona. One tile can range from $25 to $50 each.

The town gained notoriety during the 1950's and 1960's for its aggressive traffic enforcement policies. The AAA motoring organization went so far as to specifically label Ludowici as a speed trap. Allegedly, members of the local police force were engaging in manipulation of the timing of the traffic signal downtown so as to catch unsuspecting out-of-area motorists 'running' a suddenly changed red light. This activity subsequently came to an end when then-Governor Lester Maddox stated that the practices of the Ludowici police were giving the entire state a bad reputation.

The Governor went so far as to put billboards, along with state troopers with their lights flashing to highlight the billboards, on the outskirts of town along US 301 warning motorists to slow down and that he was trying to resolve the problem. Ultimately, traffic enforcement authority was stripped from the local police and handed over to the Georgia Highway Patrol. The signal that was responsible for the ticket trap now hangs in Doris and Zip's bait and tackle shop in town. Myrtice Warren is the mayor

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,440 people, 526 households, and 370 families residing in the city. The population density was 250.4/km² (649.0/mi²). There were 636 housing units at an average density of 110.6/km² (286.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.78% White, 23.82% African American, 1.18% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 1.25% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.29% of the population.

There were 526 households out of which 41.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were married couples living together, 19.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the city the population was spread out with 33.6% under the age of 18, 11.7% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,386, and the median income for a family was $28,792. Males had a median income of $25,272 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,701. About 18.5% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.9% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.