Lakeland, Georgia

By the late 1830s, a community known as Alapaha had come into existence along the road from Waresboro, Georgia, to Troupville, Georgia, near the mill established by Joshua Lee on what is now Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge. In 1838, a post office was established and was officially named Alapaha after the nearby Alapaha River. In 1848, Joshua Lee sold his mill to William Lastinger. In the 1850s, additional mills were established in the area and the population of the community continued to grow. In 1857, Alapaha was renamed Milltown. During the American Civil, William Lastinger sold his mill to Henry Banks. Milltown was incorporated in 1901. In 1919, Milltown was designated seat of the newly formed Lanier County. In 1928, the city was incorporated and renamed to its present form of Lakeland. ==Geography==

Lakeland is located at (31.039214, -83.070397). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (1.28%) is water. ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 2,875 people, 997 households, and 631 families residing in the city. The median age was 36.3 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 104.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.4 males age 18 and over. Among households in Lakeland, 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 28.8% were married-couple households, 22.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 39.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 1,211 housing units, of which 15.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.1%. ==Education==

headquarters The Lanier County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 94 full-time teachers and over 1,345 students. • Lanier County Primary School • Lanier County Elementary School • Lanier County Middle School • Lanier County High School The South Georgia Regional Library operates the W. L. Miller Memorial Library in Lakeland. Initially the community was served by a library that was only open during school periods, and therefore people in the community considered it to be a school library rather than a complete community library. This small library opened in the courthouse office of the superintendent of the county school system in 1950. It was relocated to the Lanier County Primary School's Kindergarten building and then to a portion of Lanier County High School. The first standalone library, then the Lanier-Lakeland Library, opened on May 18, 1980. The current facility, built as part of a State of Georgia grant-funded library wave and partially financed by the W. L. Miller family through a $45,000 donation, opened on March 13, 1988. It was renovated from August 9 through August 23, 2012. File:Lanier County High School.jpg|Lanier County High School File:Lanier County Middle School.jpg|Lanier County Middle School File:Lanier County Elementary School.jpg|Lanier County Elementary School File:Lanier County Primary School.jpg|Lanier County Primary School File:W L Miller Memorial Library.JPG|W. L. Miller Memorial Library of the South Georgia Regional Library ==References==