| Official Name: | Hephzibah, Georgia |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Georgia#USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of Georgia |
| Pushpin Label: | Hephzibah |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Richmond |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 50.65 |
| Area Land Km2: | 50.47 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.18 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 19.56 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 19.49 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.07 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 3830 |
| Population Density Km2: | 75.89 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 196.54 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 30815 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 13-38040 |
Hephzibah is a city in southern Richmond County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Augusta metropolitan area. The population was 4,011 at the 2010 census,[2] and 3,830 in 2020. Hephzibah is a poetic name used in the Book of Isaiah (62:4) to refer to Jerusalem, meaning "My delight is in Her."
Hephzibah was originally named Brothersville, in honor of three brothers who settled near one another. In October 1860, a Baptist seminary was established in Brothersville by a group of Appling residents. They established the Hephzibah Baptist Church in 1862. The prominence of these new religious institutions in the area swayed the state of Georgia to rename the town Hephzibah in 1870.[3] In 1909, Walter A. Clark published a book of local history, named A Lost Arcadia - The Story of My Old Community, detailing the earliest days of Hephzibah.[4]
In 1996 the governments of the city of Augusta and Richmond County combined to form a consolidated government. The residents of Hephzibah and nearby Blythe voted to maintain their separate city governments prior to this action. Some municipal services in Hephzibah are provided by the consolidated Augusta-Richmond County, while water, fire, and police services are maintained by the city.
Hephzibah is located at (33.304126, -82.097923).[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 50.2sqkm, of which 0.17sqkm, or 0.34%, is water.[6]
| White (non-Hispanic) | 2,168 | 56.61% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,319 | 34.44% | |
| Native American | 23 | 0.6% | |
| Asian | 9 | 0.23% | |
| Pacific Islander | 5 | 0.13% | |
| Other/Mixed | 190 | 4.96% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 116 | 3.03% |
Richmond County School System operates public schools, including Hephzibah Elementary School,[8] Hephzibah Middle School, and Hephzibah High School.
There is also a charter school, Georgia School of Innovation and the Classics (GSIC).[9]
This list includes people who were born in Hephzibah or who spent a significant amount of time living in the town.
| Name | Date of Birth | Notes | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darrell Blocker, nicknamed "The Spy Whisperer" | CIA agent | [10] | ||
| Wendell Chavous | 1985 | NASCAR driver | ||
| John Wesley Gilbert | 1863 | First student and black professor of Paine College, one of the first black American archaeologists | [11] | |
| George Kitchens | 1983 | Track and field athlete | ||
| Arthur Marshall | 1969 | former NFL wide receiver. | ||
| Marlon Riggs | 1957 | Filmmaker and educator | [12] | |
| Vaughn Taylor | 1976 | PGA Tour golfer | [13] | |
| Itoro Umoh-Coleman | 1977 | WNBA basketball player and Clemson assistant coach | ||
| Ben Chestnut | 1973/1974 | Founder and CEO of Mailchimp | [14] |