Cairo, Georgia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cairo, Georgia | |
 |
|
| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Grady |
| Area | |
| - Total | 9.4 sq mi (24.2 km²) |
| - Land | 9.3 sq mi (24.1 km²) |
| - Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.1 km²) |
| Elevation | 243 ft (74 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 9,239 |
| - Density | 982.9/sq mi (381.8/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 31728, 39827, 39828 |
| Area code(s) | 229 |
| FIPS code | 13-12400[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0354934[2] |
Cairo is a city in Grady County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 9,239. The city is the county seat of Grady County[3].
The city was named for Cairo, Egypt, but its name is pronounced /ˈkɛəroʊ/ (listen).
Contents |
[edit] Syrup City
Although Cairo is nicknamed the "Syrup City" it has no relationship with the Karo brand of corn syrup, which is pronounced like the city's name. Rather, Cairo earned its nickname by producing cane syrup from the early 1900s through the late 1990s. Of the several companies that produced cane syrup, Roddenbery's was the best known.
Reflecting this "syrup" heritage, the Cairo High School football team is nicknamed the Syrupmakers, and the school mascot is a syrup pitcher. According to local tradition, this began during a rainy football game, when the players wore donated ponchos with "Roddenbury Syrup" printed on them. Another tradition claims that a newspaper reporter referred to the Cairo Tigers in print as "the syrupmakers from Cairo."
The school's female athletic teams are named "Syrup Maids," often shortened to "Maids," while the male athletes are often dubbed "Makers." In 1986 ESPN chose "Syrupmakers" as the No. 1 nickname for a high school sports team.
[edit] Geography
Cairo is located at (30.877803, -84.208877)[4].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.4 square miles (24.3 km²), of which, 9.3 square miles (24.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.53%) is water. Cairo is 5-10 miles north of the birthplace of Jackie Robinson (the first black player to play Major League Baseball and first black winner of the Rookie of the Year Award) in the Beachton community near the Florida line. Jackie Robinson and his mother moved from Beachton to California soon after Jackie was born. In later years, Jackie never claimed Cairo as his birthplace, and an old Mike Wallace news segment (on film) from the late 50s or early 60s is stored in the archives at Roddenbery Memorial Library in Cairo that details the circumstances of Jackie and his mother leaving Grady County.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 9,239 people, 3,465 households, and 2,456 families residing in the city. The population density was 992.0 people per square mile (383.2/km²). There were 3,898 housing units at an average density of 418.5/sq mi (161.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 51.30% African American, 43.99% White, 0.42% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.80% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.05% of the population.
There were 3,465 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 24.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 83.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,054, and the median income for a family was $30,352. Males had a median income of $29,063 versus $20,542 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,759. About 24.4% of families and 30.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.2% of those under age 18 and 23.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Notable Natives
- Teresa Edwards, former professional basketball player and an Olympic Gold Medalist.
- Willie Harris, a member of the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox team, current member of the Washington Nationals.
- Ernest Riles, a shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball from 1985 through 1993.
- Jackie Robinson, a Baseball Hall of Fame member and the first person to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball
- Bill Stanfill, a former All-Pro National Football League defensive end.
- Mickey Thomas, lead singer of Starship (the 1980s incarnation of the band started as Jefferson Airplane)
- Daryle Singletary, country music singer
- Matthew Robinson, older brother of Jackie Robinson and Olympic Games silver medalist.
- Bobby Walden, former punter for Pittsburg Steelers and Minnesota Vikings
- Brandon Bowden,SO SO DEF RECORDINGS-Music producer.
- Jake Bundrick, drummer for Fearless Records rock band Mayday Parade
- Julian Terron, Renowned Cuban American artist- mixed media.
[edit] References
- ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- City of Cairo from georgia.gov
- [http://www.monrovia.com/ National Nursery Website
- Cairo, Georgia is at coordinates Coordinates:
|
|||||||||||
