Lumpkin, GA

Lumpkin is the seat of Stewart County, a small west Georgia city on the hill above Hodchodkee Creek. U.S. 27 passes west of town, while Georgia 27 runs through the city toward Richland and Georgetown. Columbus lies about thirty-six miles north, and the Alabama line is part of the regional map. Lumpkin’s county-seat role gives the compact center a reach beyond its population; the courthouse area, schools, and local businesses serve a wide spread of farms and rural roads.

ATTRUpstateherd / CC BY-SA 4.0

Surveyors chose this hill during Georgia’s 1827 land lottery, and a Baptist congregation was established here soon after. Lumpkin became the seat of Randolph County in 1830, then the seat of newly created Stewart County later that year. The city was named for Wilson Lumpkin, a Georgia politician who supported Indian removal, a part of the name’s history that should not be skipped. Nearby Providence Canyon State Park, Florence Marina State Park, and Hatchett’s Drug Store Museum give the area a strong heritage-and-outdoors mix. With 891 residents in 2020, Lumpkin still works as a courthouse town first, and a gateway to Stewart County’s canyons, lakes, and old roads second.