Athens, GA
| Athens | |
|---|---|
| Consolidated city–county | |
| Athens-Clarke County | |
| Nickname(s): "The Classic City" | |
 Location in Clarke County and the state of Georgia |
|
 Athens
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| Coordinates: 33°57′N 83°23′W / 33.950°N 83.383°WCoordinates: 33°57′N 83°23′W / 33.950°N 83.383°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Clarke |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Nancy Denson |
| Area | |
| • Consolidated city–county | 118.2 sq mi (306.2 km2) |
| • Land | 117.8 sq mi (305.0 km2) |
| • Water | 0.5 sq mi (1.2 km2) |
| Elevation | 636 ft (194 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Consolidated city–county | 115,452 |
| • Density | 851.5/sq mi (328.8/km2) |
| • Metro | 192,541 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 30601, 30602, 30603, 30604, 30605, 30606, 30607, 30608, 30609, 30612 |
| Area code(s) | 706/762 |
| FIPS code | 13-03440 |
| Website | athensclarkecounty.com |
Athens (formally known as Athens-Clarke County) is a consolidated city–county in the U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former city of Athens proper (the county seat) and Clarke County. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public research university, is located in this college town, and contributed to its initial growth. In 1991, after a vote the preceding year, the original city abandoned its charter to form a unified government with Clarke County, referred to jointly as Athens-Clarke County. As of the 2010 census, the consolidated city-county (including all of Athens-Clarke County except Winterville and a portion of Bogart) had a total population of 115,452; all of Clarke County had a population of 116,714. Athens is the sixth-largest city in Georgia, and the principal city of the Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 192,541 as of the 2010 census. Athens-Clarke County has the smallest geographical area of a county in Georgia.
In the late 18th century, a trading settlement on the banks of the Oconee River called Cedar Shoals stood where Athens is located today. On January 27, 1785, the Georgia General Assembly granted a charter by Abraham Baldwin for the University of Georgia as the first state-supported university. Sixteen years later, in 1801, a committee from the university's board of trustees selected a site for the university on a hill above Cedar Shoals in what was then Jackson County. On July 25, John Milledge, one of the trustees and later governor of Georgia, bought 633 acres (256 ha) from Daniel Easley and donated it to the university. Milledge named the surrounding area Athens after the city that was home to the academy of Plato and Aristotle in Greece.
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