Cusseta ( ) is a city in Chattahoochee County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it o ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. The population was 11,267 at the 2010 census. The city is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Chattahoochee County, with which it shares a consolidated city-county government. Despite this, Cusseta is not coterminous with the county; it remains a geographically distinct municipality within the county.

History

Chattahoochee County was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on February 13, 1854. It was formed from portions of Muscogee and Marion counties and named for the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

that forms its western boundary. The act appointed five commissioners to choose a site for the county seat, which they named Cusseta to commemorate the Creek Indian town that used to exist nearby. The original courthouse is preserved at the tourist attraction of Westville in

. Cusseta was incorporated as a city on December 22, 1855. It is still the only incorporated city in Chattahoochee County. Cusseta briefly prided itself on having the world's tallest man-made structure, the WTVM/WRBL-TV & WVRK-FM Tower, a guyed transmission tower built in 1962 about one mile from the city. However, it was surpassed only one year later by the KVLY-TV mast in Fargo, North Dakota. In 2003, the city and county formed a consolidated Cusseta-Chattahoochee County government.

Geography

Cusseta is located at (32.305451, -84.776929). The city is located southeast of

along U.S. Route 280, Georgia State Route 520 (known as South Georgia Parkway), and U.S. Route 27. The three highways run northwest 18 miles (29 km) to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

. U.S. Route 280 and Georgia 520 separate from U.S. Route 27 in the city, with U.S. 280 and Georgia 520 running south and east 43 miles (69 km) to Americus and 69 miles (111 km) to Albany. Other highways such as Georgia State Route 26, Georgia State Route 137, and

Georgia State Route 355 State Route 355 (SR 355) is a south–north state highway in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. Its route is contained within portions of Marion, Chattahoochee, and Talbot counties. The northern segment was originall ...

pass through or begin in the city. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.66% is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 1,196 people, 436 households, and 316 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 543 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 60.54%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 36.45%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.42% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.33%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.50% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.67% of the population. There were 436 households, out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 20.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% 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 3.19. In the city, the population was spread out, with 32.2% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,625, and the median income for a family was $26,736. Males had a median income of $25,380 versus $19,205 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $14,115. About 25.8% of families and 28.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 37.0% of those under age 18 and 27.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Chattahoochee County School District

The Chattahoochee County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 85 full-time teachers and over 1000 students.School Stats
, Retrieved June 3, 2010. *Chattahoochee County Education Center *Chattahoochee County Middle School *Chattahoochee County High School

Gallery

File:Chattahoochee County, Georgia Courthouse.JPG, The Chattahoochee County Courthouse is located in Cusseta, the

. File:Cusseta, GA Post Office (31805).JPG, Cusseta Post Office ( ZIP code: 31805) File:Chattahoochee County Public Library (Cusseta, GA).JPG, Chattahoochee County Public Library File:Chattahoochee County Jail (Cusseta, GA; NRHP).JPG, Constructed in Cusseta in 1902, this two-story fireproof jail facility served the county until 1975. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on March 13, 1986. File:Cusseta Industrial High School (Cusseta, GA; NRHP).JPG, The Cusseta Industrial High School is a Rosenwald School constructed from 1929 to 1930. It was listed on the

on April 15, 2011. File:Cusseta First Baptist Church (Est 1839).JPG, Cusseta First Baptist Church, the oldest church in Cusseta, was established in 1839.

References

External links

City of Cusseta
at georgia.gov
Official website
of the Unified Government of Cusseta-Chattahoochee County
Cusseta School
historical marker {{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Chattahoochee County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Columbus metropolitan area, Georgia Georgia populated places on the Chattahoochee River 1854 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)