Norman Park, GA

Norman Park is a Colquitt County city of 963 residents in the 2020 census, shaped by the farms and businesses of southwest Georgia. Jeremiah B. Norman Sr. settled near the future town in 1840 and built enterprises in lumber, livestock, and naval stores. The place was first called Obe; its post office opened in 1882, and the Tifton, Thomasville and Gulf Railroad reached it before the town took the Norman Park name and charter in 1902.

ATTRMichael Rivera / CC BY-SA 4.0

Education drove the town's early growth. J. B. Norman Jr. helped establish Norman Institute in 1901, a Christian school that later became Norman Junior College and then Norman College before closing in 1971. The former college buildings remain part of the local story and are now used as a Baptist assembly, while Norman Park Elementary serves younger students nearby. Early businesses included a gin, grist mill, sawmill, and turpentine still. Norman Park is a small agricultural city with a railroad origin and an unusually deep school history for its size.