Ocilla, GA

Ocilla is the Irwin County seat, founded in 1880, incorporated as a town in 1897, and reincorporated as a city in 1902. The name has several competing explanations, tied variously to Seminole leader Osceola, an Oswichee Native community, or the older place name Auscilla. That uncertainty is part of the town's local story, while the courthouse role is not: county offices and the Irwin County school system keep Ocilla at the center of the surrounding rural county. The district runs from prekindergarten through grade 12 with an elementary, middle, and high school. Ocilla is part of the Fitzgerald micropolitan area, and the Alapaha River country lies nearby. A 1911 Dixie Flyer train wreck on a trestle over the Alapaha River remains one of the region's historical markers. Ocilla is a small south Georgia county seat whose name, schools, and courthouse role reach beyond the city limits.