| Official Name: | Folkston, Georgia |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Motto: | "Gateway to the Okefenokee"[1] |
| Image Blank Emblem: | FolkstonGeorgialogo.png |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Logo |
| Blank Emblem Size: | 125px |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Georgia |
| Subdivision Type2: | Counties |
| Subdivision Name2: | Charlton |
| Leader Title1: | Mayor |
| Leader Name1: | Lee Gowen |
| Leader Title2: | City Manager |
| Leader Name2: | Leonard H. Lloyd |
| Established Date3: | August 19, 1911[2] |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [3] |
| Area Total Km2: | 10.86 |
| Area Land Km2: | 10.86 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.00 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 4.19 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 4.19 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.00 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 4464 |
| Population Density Km2: | 411.21 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1065.14 |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 30.8344°N -82.0047°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 31537 |
| Area Code: | 912 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | [4] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | [5] |
Folkston is a city in and the county seat of Charlton County, Georgia, United States.[6] [7] The population was 4,464 in 2020.
Folkston was founded on August 19, 1911.[2] The city was named in honor of William Brandon Folks, M.D., a prominent physician and surgeon in his day. In the years 1925 through 1927, many new and commodious residences were built and several modern brick buildings were erected, including the Citizen Bank Block, the Masonic Temple building, a grammar school building, and a courthouse. Shortly after its creation, the village of Folkston was incorporated as a town government and functioned as a town until 1911 when the area was incorporated as a city. For a number of years, Folkston was the self-proclaimed "Marriage Capital of the World"; Floridians who could not endure their state's waiting period before tying the knot would cross the state line to wed.
Folkston is located near the southern boundary of Georgia at 30.8344°N -82.0047°W (30.834437, -82.004829).[8] U.S. Routes 1, 23, and 301 pass through the city as Second Street, leading south 2 miles to the state line. Route 1 and 23 lead northwest to Waycross, while Route 301 leads north to Nahunta. The eastern entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is southwest of Folkston via GA 23 and GA 121.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Folkston has a total area of 10.9km2, all land.[9]
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,088 | 24.37% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,309 | 29.32% | |
| Native American | 11 | 0.25% | |
| Asian | 80 | 1.79% | |
| Other/Mixed | 86 | 1.93% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,890 | 42.34% |
With a high percentage of rail traffic headed to Florida passing through Folkston, the rail lines through the city have acquired the nickname "The Folkston Funnel." To provide for a safe viewing situation, the city has built a platform for visitors, along with picnic tables, chairs, barbecue pits, restrooms,[11] grills, and even WiFi. At night, lights shine onto the double track if someone wanted to watch after sunset. Freight trains pass through the Folkston Funnel, and proceed to terminals such as Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami. Freight trains that originate in Florida take the same routes in opposite direction. In addition, Amtrak trains pass through the Folkston Funnel, they do not stop there.[12] At the covered viewing platform, there is an active scanner running and visitors can listen to train engineers.[11]
The Charlton County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve. It consists of three elementary schools and a high school.[13]