Social Circle, Georgia

"Social Circle" redirects here. For the term in social science, see Social group.

Social Circle is a city in southern Walton County, extending into Newton County, in the U.S. state of Georgia, 45 miles east of Atlanta.

Social Circle, Georgia
City
Flag Seal
Motto:  "Georgia's Greatest Little Town"
Location in Walton County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 33°39′N 83°43′W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Counties	Walton, Newton
named:	1826
Incorporated	1832
Government
• Mayor	David Keener
Area [1]
• Total	14.69 sq mi (38.04 km2)
• Land	14.58 sq mi (37.76 km2)
• Water	0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2)
Elevation	886 ft (270 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	4,974
• Density	341.18/sq mi (131.73/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	30025
Area code	470/678/770
FIPS code	13-71660[2]
GNIS feature ID	0333086[3]
Website	socialcirclega.gov

History

It is unclear why the name "Social Circle" was applied to this place.^[4] According to tradition, Social Circle was named from an incident in which a group of people living in the settlement offered water to a weary traveler, whose response was "This certainly is a social circle".^[5] The city also officially notes that a citizen of another village community which was already known by the name of Social Circle joined the settlement in its early days.^[6]

Social Circle was incorporated as a town in 1869, and as a city in 1904.^[6]

Geographical data

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.3 square miles (29 km²), of which 11.2 square miles (29 km²) are land and 0.04-square-mile (0.10 km²) (100%) is water.

A CSX Transportation line maintenance facility operates in the city's railroad station. The city's railyard contained one of the relatively few remaining concrete coaling towers in the southeastern United States. The coaling tower was removed sometime after June 2022 as it is no longer visible on Google Maps as of February 2023.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	405		—
1880	606		49.6%
1890	737		21.6%
1900	1,229		66.8%
1910	1,590		29.4%
1920	1,781		12.0%
1930	1,766		−0.8%
1940	1,735		−1.8%
1950	1,685		−2.9%
1960	1,780		5.6%
1970	1,961		10.2%
1980	2,591		32.1%
1990	2,755		6.3%
2000	3,379		22.6%
2010	4,262		26.1%
2020	4,974		16.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]

Social Circle racial composition as of 2020^[8]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	2,986	60.03%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	1,635	32.87%
Native American	7	0.14%
Asian	31	0.62%
Other/Mixed	197	3.96%
Hispanic or Latino	118	2.37%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,974 people, 1,598 households, and 1,301 families residing in the city.

Education

The Social Circle City School District includes all of the city.^[9][10] The district holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.^[11] The district has 90 full-time teachers and over 1,448 students.^[12]

• Social Circle Primary School
• Social Circle Elementary School
• Social Circle Middle School
• Social Circle High School

Transportation

Through highways

SR 11

Nearby highways

I-20

US 278

SR 12

SR 402 (Unsigned Designation for I-20)

Notable people

• Kyle Chandler – actor
• Alonzo F. Herndon – Georgia's first African-American millionaire
• Jay C. (Jack) Higginbotham – jazz trombonist
• Eddie Mapp – country blues harmonicist
• Danny McDevitt – former baseball pitcher, retired here

In popular culture

• A season 5 episode of the Discovery Channel series A Haunting, called The Exorcism of Cindy Sauer, takes place in Social Circle in 2010.
• Paramount+ Movie: Jerry and Marge Go Large was filmed mainly in Social Circle.

• State of Georgia portal