Plains, Georgia | |
---|---|
City | |
Stores in Plains
|
|
Motto: "Home of the 39th President of the United States" | |
Location in Sumter County, Georgia, USA |
|
Coordinates: 32°2′1″N 84°23′36″W / 32.03361°N 84.39333°WCoordinates: 32°2′1″N 84°23′36″W / 32.03361°N 84.39333°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Georgia |
County | Sumter |
Area | |
• Total | 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km2) |
• Land | 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km2) |
• Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
Elevation | 499 ft (152 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 776 |
• Density | 970/sq mi (370/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 31780 |
Area code(s) | 229 Exchange: 824 |
FIPS code | 13-61628 |
GNIS feature ID | 0356474 |
Website | Official Page of the City of Plains, Georgia |
Plains is a town in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. The population was 776 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area. Plains is known as the birthplace and home of Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States.
Originally inhabited by the Muscogee people, by the 1840s three small settlements existed nearby: Plains of Dura, Magnolia Springs, and Lebanon. As railway access expanded into the region in response to increased cotton farming, these settlements coalesced closer to the new railway location. As businesses rapidly developed, local businessmen successfully petitioned the State Legislature to shorten Plains of Dura to Plains. Plains was subsequently incorporated in 1896. Plains continued to experience growth fueled by cotton cultivation well into the early twentieth century. A substantial school and the pioneering Wise Sanitarium were both built in the 1920s. Despite differentiation into peanut cultivation, the Great Depression deprived the community of much of its prosperity. Plains remained a quiet Southern town until Jimmy Carter rose to political prominence in the 1970s.
During the 1976 Presidential Election and for many years afterwards, Plains saw a giant influx in tourism. Nearly ten thousand people would pour into the community daily.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2), all of it land. The city's boundary is in the shape of a circle. Plains, Ga has a center longitude/latitude point which is -83.0813 / 33.4553.