Richmond Hill, Georgia

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Coordinates: 31°56′17″N 81°18′49″W / 31.93806, -81.31361
Richmond Hill, Georgia
Location in Bryan County and the state of Georgia
Country	United States
State	Georgia
County	Bryan
Government
- Mayor	Richard R. Davis
Area
- Total	10.1 sq mi (26.4 km²)
- Land	10.1 sq mi (26.3 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0.1 km²)
Elevation	20 ft (6 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	6,959
- Density	689/sq mi (263.6/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	31324
Area code(s)	912
FIPS code	13-65044^[1]
GNIS feature ID	0342353^[2]

Richmond Hill is a city in Bryan County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,959 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Locality
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Schools
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Richmond Hill is located at 31°56′17″N, 81°18′49″W (31.938151, -81.313750)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.2 square miles (26.4 km²), of which, 10.1 square miles (26.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.49%) is water.

The main intersection in Richmond Hill is between U.S. 17, running north and south, and S.R. 144 (Ford Avenue), running east and west. Interstate 95 has two exits within the city limits, one with each highway. The U.S. 17/I-95 interchange is the larger of the two, with numerous fast food restaurants, motels, and a large truckstop.

[edit] Locality

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In some respects, it might be helpful to differentiate between Richmond Hill city proper and the larger South Bryan County area. A large percentage of South Bryan residents live outside the city limits of Richmond Hill, especially in a number of planned developments east of the city along S.R. 144. This area contains large amounts of marsh and riverfront property, Fort McAllister Historic Park, and the small community of Keller. Geographically, it is significantly larger than the municipal limits of Richmond Hill itself. However, the area contains no schools and few businesses or other public accommodations. As a result, residents of the entire South Bryan area rely on Richmond Hill proper for basic services, and must travel through the city to leave Bryan County, especially when commuting to Savannah, Georgia via U.S. 17 or I-95. Most South Bryan residents, especially the large percentage of relative newcomers, would likely say they were "from Richmond Hill."

[edit] History

Richmond Hill has a strong historical connection to industrialist Henry Ford. Ford used the town, formerly known as Ways Station, as a summer home, building the complex now known as the Ford Plantation along the Ogeechee River in the 1930s. After just one visit they chose this area as their Winter Home... Clara's dream house was built on the site of Richmond Plantation, which was burned by General Sherman just as he ended his March to the Sea at nearby Fort McAllister. Ford's holdings eventually totaled 85,000 acres (340 km²) of old Southern Plantations. Ford was also responsible for the construction of a number of public buildings, including a schoolhouse which now houses the museum of the Richmond Hill Historical Society, and a chapel which now houses St. Anne's Catholic Church. Both are located on Georgia Highway 144, also known as Ford Avenue within the Richmond Hill city limits. The Ford Plantation has now been redeveloped as a luxury resort, with vacation cottages, a clubhouse, tennis, and golf. When it was suggested that the town be renamed with "Ford", Henry declined and instead Ways Station was renamed "Richmond Hill" after his plantation's former name and the hill Clara's dream home was built on.

Richmond Hill was incorporated in March 1962. The current Mayor is Richard Davis, who has served in that capacity since 1989 and was last reelected to a four year term in November 2005. The city is governed by the Mayor and a four member city council. See the official website below for more details.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 6,959 people, 2,433 households, and 1,883 families residing in the city. The population density was 686.5 people per square mile (265.0/km²). There were 2,573 housing units at an average density of 253.8/sq mi (98.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.28% White, 13.69% African American, 0.60% Native American, 1.42% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.28% from other races, and 1.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.71% of the population.

There were 2,433 households out of which 51.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.6% were non-families. 19.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.0% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 36.1% from 25 to 44, 14.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,061, and the median income for a family was $54,457. Males had a median income of $36,823 versus $25,810 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,891. About 9.8% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Schools

Richmond Hill currently has five public schools. The schools are for people between the ages of 5-21 (21 in cases of challenged high-school students). The schools are named, Richmond Hill Primary School (RHPS), Richmond Hill Elementary School (RHES), George Washington Carver Upper Elementary School (GWCUES), Richmond Hill Middle School (RHMS), and Richmond Hill High School (RHHS).