| Official Name: | Douglas, Georgia |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Motto: | Working Together to Serve You Better |
| Image Blank Emblem: | Logo of Douglas, Georgia.png |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Logo |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Georgia |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Coffee |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Tony Paulk |
| Leader Title1: | City Manager |
| Leader Name1: | Charles Davis |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 38.01 |
| Area Land Km2: | 37.39 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.61 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 14.67 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 14.44 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.24 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 11722 |
| Population Density Km2: | 313.50 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 811.94 |
| Timezone: | EST |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 31.5075°N -82.8508°W |
| Elevation M: | 77 |
| Elevation Ft: | 253 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP Codes |
| Postal Code: | 31533-31535 |
| Area Code: | 912 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 13-23872[2] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0313591[3] |
Douglas is a city in Coffee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,722. Douglas is the county seat of Coffee County[4] and the core city of the Douglas micropolitan statistical area, which had a population of 50,731 as of the 2010 census.[5]
Douglas was founded in 1855 as the seat of the newly formed Coffee County.[6] It was named for Senator Stephen A. Douglas from Illinois, a renowned stump speaker who was the challenger to Abraham Lincoln in the presidential election of 1860.[7]
Douglas was chartered as a town in 1895 and as a city in 1897. In 1895, the railroad came to Douglas and the community began to boom.[8] In 1909, the Georgia and Florida Railway located its offices in Douglas.
The Eleventh District Agricultural & Mechanical School was established in Douglas in 1906. In 1927, South Georgia College was founded as Georgia's first state-supported junior college.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Douglas was one of the major tobacco markets in the state. Much of this history is depicted in the Heritage Station Museum, located in the former Georgia and Florida Railway train station on Ward Street in downtown Douglas.
Douglas has two areas listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the downtown and Gaskin Avenue historic districts. They were added to the list in 1989.[9]
Douglas is located near the center of Coffee County at (31.507413, −82.850799).[10] It is driving distance northeast of Valdosta, Georgia, driving distance northwest of Jacksonville, Florida, and driving distance southeast of Atlanta.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Douglas has a total area of 36.2km2, of which 34.7sqkm is land and 1.5sqkm, or 4.08%, is water.[11] Major water bodies include Twenty Mile Creek, the Seventeen Mile River (a tributary of the Satilla River), and Hilliard's Pond, which was once the ski show park "Holiday Beach".
| White | 3,939 | 33.6% | |
| Black or African American | 6,113 | 52.15% | |
| Native American | 22 | 0.19% | |
| Asian | 110 | 0.94% | |
| Pacific Islander | 7 | 0.06% | |
| Other/Mixed | 357 | 3.05% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,174 | 10.02% |
Douglas is the principal city of the Douglas micropolitan statistical area, a micropolitan area that covers Atkinson and Coffee counties[13] and had a combined population of 50,731 at the 2010 census.[5]
Farming plays a large role in the area's economy. Major agricultural products from the town and surrounding county include peanuts, corn, tobacco, and cotton. Chicken is also a major part of the economy.[18]
Douglas is home to Heritage Station Museum, which displays artifacts of the city's history. The World War II Flight Training Museum (the old 63rd Army Air Forces Contract Pilot School),Broxton is home to the Broxton Rocks, and the Ashley-Slater House are also popular tourist attractions in the area. All three were recently named among "Georgia's Hidden Treasures" in a segment on WSB-TV.
Douglas has ten public parks. There are four golf courses in and around the city.
Nearby, the 1490acres General Coffee State Park draws more than 100,000 visitors a year and is the most popular tourist attraction in the area.
The Douglas-Coffee County area is served by the Coffee County Board of Education. The Coffee County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of eight elementary schools, a middle school, three high schools, and an alternative education center.[19] The district has 438 full-time teachers and over 8,000 students.[20]