LaGrange, Georgia

in LaGrange listed on the National Register of Historic Places (HRHP) 's LaGrange home, Bellevue, was built in 1854–55; it is listed on the HRHP and is a designated National Historic Landmark. LaGrange is named after the country estate near Paris of the wife of the Marquis de La Fayette. When La Fayette, a Revolutionary War hero, visited Georgia in 1825 on a national tour, he remarked on the similarity of local topography to his wife's property. The European-American settlement of LaGrange began in the early 19th century, soon after the territory was ceded to the United States by the Creek Indians and the territorial legislature established Troup County. The city was incorporated in December 1828. was founded in LaGrange in 1973. It has its largest manufacturing center here. LaGrange is also home to a plant for Weiler Forestry. The city of LaGrange is a full-service utility provider for the region, including electricity, natural gas, water, sewer, refuse collection, and telecommunication. In 2000 the city was named "Intelligent Community of the Year" by the Intelligent Community Forum, joining other cities such as New York, Singapore, Seoul, Glasgow and Toronto. Since 2000 the city has provided free Internet service to every household. It also has been ranked as a Georgia City of Excellence, and received a Government Technology Leadership Award. The police did not report nor investigate his murder very thoroughly. On November 8, 2021, it was announced that Upstate New York-based firearms manufacturer, Remington Arms, would be moving their global headquarters from Ilion, New York to La Grange, and would be hiring 865 people over the span of five years. Construction is expected to cost $100 million. The southern half of the city was heavily damaged by an EF2 tornado on January 12, 2023. The tornado injured four people along its path as well. ==Geography==

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water. ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, LaGrange had a population of 30,858 and 6,862 families. The median age was 35.0 years. 26.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 87.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 80.4 males age 18 and over. There were 11,995 households in LaGrange, of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 31.0% were married-couple households, 19.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 42.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 13,077 housing units, of which 8.3% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%. ==Government==

LaGrange is governed by a mayor and six-person city council. The mayor is elected citywide (at-large). Three council members are elected to one post each from each of two council districts, designated as 1a, 1b, and 1c from the first district, with similar naming for posts in the second district. Candidates must declare for a post in one of the districts at the time of their filing, and must win a majority to be elected. This system was established for the first municipal election in 2011. (This was in compliance with a consent decree and court order settling litigation since 1982 under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.) Previously a smaller number of city council members were elected at-large; as each candidate had to command a majority of electors, the minority seldom could elect a candidate of their choice. The Department of Justice recorded objections to the city of LaGrange changes to election methods in October 1993 and December 1994. The 1993 objection related to the use of two at-large seats in a mixed city council plan with four single-member districts; the 1994 objection related to the use of one at-large seat in a mixed city council plan with two "super-districts" and four single-member districts. From 1997, more city council seats were established in LaGrange. Municipal elections are held in odd-numbered years. The mayor and all council members are elected for four-year terms on a nonpartisan basis. The city council hires a full-time city manager, who oversees daily operations of city departments. In January 2017, Police Chief Louis M. Dekmar apologized publicly for his department's failure in 1940 to protect a 16-year-old black youth, who was lynched. ==Education==

is the oldest private college in Georgia Troup County School District The Troup County School System holds pre-school to grade 12, and consists of 11 elementary schools, three middle schools (Callaway Middle School, Gardner Newman Middle School, and Long Cane Middle School), and three high schools (Callaway High School, LaGrange High School, and Troup County High School). The county is divided into three school zones. The county school system serves Hogansville, LaGrange and West Point. It is home to over 20 new and recently renovated schools. Private education • Hillside Montessori • Lafayette Christian • LaGrange Academy • Oak Grove Christian Academy • Sound Doctrine Christian Academy Higher education • LaGrange College - Main Campus • Point University • West Georgia Technical College ==Infrastructure==

Transportation Highways in LaGrange include Interstate 85, Interstate 185, U.S. Route 27, U.S. Route 29, Georgia State Route 219, and Georgia State Route 109. LaGrange-Callaway Airport is southwest of the city. ==Notable people==

• J. Paul Austin - chairman, President, and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, born in LaGrange. • Ryan Bliss – minor league baseball player in the Seattle Mariners organization, grew up in LaGrange • Bob the Drag Queen – drag queen • Hammett L. Bowen Jr. – recipient of Medal of Honor • Mary G. Bryan – archivist • Chris Burnette – NFL player • Austin Callaway – 16-year-old African American youth lynched by whites on September 8, 1940 • Fuller Earle Callaway – textile magnate • Daz Cameron – Major League Baseball player • Mike Cameron – former Major League Baseball player • Wallace H. Clark Jr. – pathologist and cancer researcher; born (c.1924) and raised in LaGrange • Elizabeth Caroline Dowdell - leader of women's patriotic and religious organizations • Joyce Grable – former professional wrestler; born (c. 1952) and raised in LaGrange • Jimmy Haynes – Major League Baseball player • Albert E. Jarrell – Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy; born in Rome, Georgia, but raised in LaGrange • Tom Jarriel – ABC news correspondent; born in LaGrange in 1934 • John Johnson – National Football League (NFL) player • Elijah Kelley – actor • David Kelton – Major League Baseball player • Mike Lazzo – network executive for Adult Swim • Wynona Lipman (1923–1999) – first African-American woman elected to New Jersey Senate • Randolph Mahaffey – professional basketball player, born in LaGrange • Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman – record producer and songwriter • Lewis Render Morgan – Georgia state representative and judge • Fred Newman – actor • Bubba Sparxxx – rapper • James M. Sprayberry – recipient of the Medal of Honor • Dernell Stenson – Major League Baseball Player • Horace Ward – first African-American federal judge in Georgia; also first person to attempt to integrate University of Georgia law school • Carla Williams - Athletic Director at the University of Virginia • Wesley Woodyard – NFL player • Louis Tompkins Wright – physician, graduate of Harvard Medical School, first African-American physician to be appointed to staff of a New York City municipal hospital; notable for many scientific breakthroughs, including introduction of intradermal smallpox vaccination ==Sister cities==

Sister cities include: • Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland • Poti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Georgia • Aso, Kumamoto, Japan ==See also==