Stockbridge, Georgia

{{Other uses|Stockbridge (disambiguation)}}

{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox settlement

|official_name = Stockbridge, Georgia

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|image_skyline = Stockbridge, Georgia City Hall.jpg

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|subdivision_type = Country

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|subdivision_name1 = Georgia

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|subdivision_name2 = Henry

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|leader_title = Mayor

|leader_name = Anthony S. Ford

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|area_total_km2 = 35.79

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|population_total = 28973

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|timezone = Eastern (EST)

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|elevation_m = 244

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|postal_code_type = ZIP code

|postal_code = 30281

|area_code = 770/678/470

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|blank_info = 13-73704{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}

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|website = {{URL|www.cityofstockbridge.com}}

|footnotes =

|named_for = Levi Stockbridge

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Stockbridge is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. As of 2020, its population was 28,973. Stockbridge is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.

History

The area was settled in 1829 when Concord Methodist Church was organized near present-day Old Stagecoach Road. It was granted a post office on April 5, 1847, named for a traveling professor, Levi Stockbridge, who passed through the area many times before the post office was built. He was said to be well known and respected in his namesake community. Others contend that the city was named after Thomas Stocks, who was State Surveyor and president of the Georgia State Senate in the 1820s.

In 1881, the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad was to pass through Stockbridge between Macon and Atlanta. The settlers who owned the land about Old Stockbridge asked such a high price for their land that two prominent Atlanta citizens, John W. Grant and George W. Adair, bought a tract about a mile south of Old Stockbridge and offered lots at a reasonable price. Here the railroad built their depot and many lots were sold. The depot was located about {{convert|600|ft|m}} north of what is now North Henry Blvd but was destroyed by the Southern Railway in the early 1980s.

Stockbridge was incorporated as a town in 1895 and as a city on August 6, 1920, turning 100 years old on August 6, 2020.{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/s.pdf| title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=213 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}

The Aaron and Margaret Parker Jr. House and Walden-Turner House in Stockbridge are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

=Naming mystery=

On May 6, 1992, Mayor Segio received a letter from John Stockbridge of South Carolina requesting a letter of "Greeting" from the City of Stockbridge to the attendees of the first reunion of the Stockbridge family. In his letter, he mentioned that he grew up in Georgia and had been told as a child that the city of Stockbridge was named after his great-great-grandfather Levi Stockbridge, who had traveled back and forth from the North to his property in Florida and stopped here on his journey.

Levi Stockbridge was born on March 13, 1820, and fits the time frame just prior to the Civil War. Levi would have been 27 years of age when Stockbridge was assigned a post office in 1847.

Until May 6, 1992, there had never been a name other than Professor Stockbridge. At that time, Levi Stockbridge was mentioned as the person for whom the city may have been named.

It is not certain that Levi Stockbridge was the individual for whom the citizens of the community named their post office and village. However, through John Stockbridge's letters and many conversations with him, it is believed that this is the rightful Professor Stockbridge who had been unknown for 146 years.

=Recent history=

==Eminent domain controversy==

In late 2005 the City of Stockbridge engaged in a controversial preemptive use of eminent domain to buy over {{convert|16|acre|m2}} of land near the current city hall running along East Atlanta Road. The city reportedly wanted to build a new city hall, park/square, and a small tract of land for new and more desirable business to incorporate a new image for the city. Stockbridge became the focus of national news and was also one of the largest issues in the 2006 Georgia General Assembly and their efforts to prevent abuse of eminent domain.

Many of the citizens of Stockbridge and Henry County were surprised by the apparent abuse of eminent domain by the city. Early in 2006, a protest was organized by the NAACP and supported by the Republican and Libertarian parties from the county. Syndicated Atlanta talk show host Neal Boortz said during his show, "Private property rights are dead in Stockbridge, Georgia," and called members of the Stockbridge City Council "sorry bastards".

Image:Stockbridge blocks opposing candidate.jpg

The Henry County Board of Commissioners took a stance on the issue by unanimously approving a non-binding resolution that the county would not take land for economic development purposes. However, the county legally has no say in what the City of Stockbridge can do with its land and its use of eminent domain. Many have said this was just a political strategy, as Henry County has been shown in recent voting history to be one of the most conservative counties in the Atlanta metro area, consistently voting Republican in early 21st century presidential elections. (However, as the population grew, the county voted Democratic in the 2016 and 2020 elections.)

The conflict between the city and the property owners came to an end on February 2, 2007, as the Georgia Court of Appeals threw out the condemnation. Only one store, a local florist, beat the eminent domain and was allowed to keep its store and property.{{Cite web |url=http://www.henryherald.com/local/local_story_033222054.html |title=Henry Daily Herald, McDonough, GA - Flower shop ruling upheld |access-date=2007-02-03 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070927021341/http://www.henryherald.com/local/local_story_033222054.html |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }} A brick fence was erected around the florist shop to separate it from the new City Hall.

==New city hall==

Image:Stockbridge, Georgia City Hall Fountain.jpg

After February 2007, the city had plans drawn up to build the new city hall. The plans called for the new city hall, park, and green space to be built around the florist's shop that started the now famous eminent domain lawsuit.

The city said that the new development would strengthen the old and worn-down downtown business district. Stockbridge City Manager Ted Strickland said that the new city hall was absolutely necessary, because some current city employees were working out of closets and supply rooms.{{Cite web |url=http://www.henryherald.com/archivesearch/local_story_044222826.html |title=Henry Daily Herald, McDonough, GA - First phase of new Stockbridge City Hall will begin in June |access-date=2007-07-09 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070927021306/http://www.henryherald.com/archivesearch/local_story_044222826.html |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }}

=Secession movement=

A group of residents in Stockbridge attempted to secede to form their own community called Eagle's Landing in the 2018 general election.{{cite news|url=http://www.henrycountytimes.com/2018/10/31/stockbridge-residents-to-vote-on-referendum/|title=Stockbridge residents to vote on referendum|last=Roark|first=Monroe|newspaper=Henry County Times|date=October 31, 2018|access-date=November 6, 2018}} The referendum was defeated.{{cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--politics/stockbridge-spent-more-than-600-000-defeat-eagle-landing-cityhood/S2TyIuEUYXEwIjctab6RtL/|title=Stockbridge spent more than $600,000 to defeat Eagle's Landing cityhood|last=Stafford|first=Leon|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=November 28, 2018|access-date=November 30, 2018}}{{Bluebook journal |first=|last=Note| title=Recent Legislation: Georgia Authorizes the Creation of the City of Eagle's Landing| volume=132 | journal=Harv. L. Rev. | page=2410 | url=http://harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2410-2417_Online.pdf| year=2019}}

Geography

Stockbridge is located in northwestern Henry County at {{Coord|33|32|3|N|84|13|52|W|type:city}} (33.534068, -84.231185).{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}} Its northwestern border follows the Clayton County line. Some unincorporated areas in Rockdale County have a Stockbridge mailing address, without actually being a part of the City of Stockbridge.

U.S. Route 23 is the main road through the center of the city, leading northwest {{convert|20|mi}} to downtown Atlanta and southeast {{convert|9|mi|0}} to McDonough, the Henry County seat. Interstate 75 passes through the southwest side of the city, with access from Exits 222, 224, and 228. I-75 leads northwest to Atlanta and southeast {{Convert|64|mi}} to Macon. Interstate 675 splits from I-75 in northwestern Stockbridge and provides access to the city from its Exit 1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Stockbridge has a total area of {{convert|34.8|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|34.5|km2|order=flip}} are land and {{convert|0.3|km2|order=flip|1}}, or 0.97%, are water.{{cite web |title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Stockbridge city, Georgia |url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1373704 |access-date=May 18, 2017 |work=American Factfinder |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1890= 287

|1920= 386

|1930= 392

|1940= 443

|1950= 717

|1960= 1201

|1970= 1561

|1980= 2103

|1990= 3359

|2000= 9853

|2010= 25636

|2020= 28973

|estyear=

|estimate=

|estref=

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=}}
1850-1870{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1870 Census of Population - Georgia - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1870|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1870/population/1870a-13.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=|page=}} 1870-1880{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1880 Census of Population - Georgia - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1880|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1880/vol-01-population/1880_v1-09.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=|page=}}
1890-1910{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1910 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1910|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/abstract/supplement-ga.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=|page=}} 1920-1930{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1930 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1930|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/03815512v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=|pages=251–256}}
1940{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1940 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1940|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-volume-1/33973538v1ch04.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}} 1950{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1950 Census of Population - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1950|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/population-volume-2/37779083v2p11ch2.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}} 1960{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1960 Census of Population - Population of County Subdivisions - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1960|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1960/population-volume-1/vol-01-12-c.pdf|accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}
1970{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1970 Census of Population - Population of County Subdivisions - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1970|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1970a_ga-01.pdf|accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}} 1980{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1980|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_gaABC-01.pdf|accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}} 1990{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 1990 Census of Population - Summary Social, Economic, and Housing Characteristics - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 1990|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cph-5/cph-5-12.pdf|accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}
2000{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 2000 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 2000|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2003/dec/phc-3-12.pdf |accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}} 2010{{Cite web|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= 2010 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Georgia |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date= 2010|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/2010/cph-2/cph-2-12.pdf|accessdate=|archive-url=| archive-date=}}

}}

class="wikitable"

|+Stockbridge racial composition as of 2020{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US1373704&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=2021-12-13|website=data.census.gov}}

!Race

!Num.

!Perc.

White (non-Hispanic)

|3,712

|12.81%

Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

|18,871

|65.13%

Native American

|68

|0.23%

Asian

|2,511

|8.67%

Pacific Islander

|19

|0.07%

Other/Mixed

|1,279

|4.41%

Hispanic or Latino

|2,513

|8.67%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 28,973 people, 10,244 households, and 7,549 families residing in the city.

Government

The Stockbridge city council has five council members, holding council meetings on the second Monday of each month. As of April 2025, the current mayor of Stockbridge is Anthony S. Ford, whose term expires on December 31st, 2025.[https://stockbridgega.org/council Elected Officials - City of Stockbridge, Georgia], City of Stockbridge GA.[https://stockbridgega.org/council/5977351007502336 Mayor - City of Stockbridge, Georgia], City of Stockbridge GA.

Parks and recreation

  • Clark Community Park
  • Gardner Park
  • Memorial Park
  • Monument Park at Eagle's Landing
  • Reeves Creek Trail
  • Eagles Landing Country Club
  • Bridgefest – held annually on the last weekend in September
  • Holiday Gala – held annually
  • Sounds of Summer concert series – held annually on City Hall lawn
  • Screen on the Green held annually – hosted by Stockbridge Main Street

Education

=Public schools=

Stockbridge is served by the Henry County School District. Schools serving the Stockbridge area include:

  • Cotton Indian Elementary School
  • Dutchtown Elementary, Middle, and High Schools
  • Eagles Landing Middle, and High Schools
  • Flippen Elementary School
  • Pate's Creek Elementary School
  • Pleasant Grove Elementary School
  • Red Oak Elementary School
  • Smith Barnes Elementary School
  • Stockbridge Elementary, Middle, and High Schools
  • Woodland Elementary, Middle, and High Schools

=Private schools=

Infrastructure

=Transportation=

Stockbridge is served by the following highways:

Notable people

Media

References