Milan, Georgia

Not to be confused with Millen, Georgia.

Milan (/ˈmaɪlən/ MY-lən)^[4] is a city in Dodge and Telfair counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 700 at the 2010 census,^[5] down from 1,012 in 2000. By 2020, its population was 613.

Milan, Georgia
City
Location in Dodge County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 32°1′13″N 83°3′51″W
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Counties	Telfair, Dodge
Area [1]
• Total	3.15 sq mi (8.16 km2)
• Land	3.11 sq mi (8.06 km2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.10 km2)
Elevation	312 ft (95 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	613
• Density	196.98/sq mi (76.05/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	31060
Area code	229
FIPS code	13-51408[2]
GNIS feature ID	0318146[3]
Website	https://milanga.org/

History

Milan was founded in the 1880s when the railroad was extended to that point.^[6] The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Milan as a town in 1891.^[7] The city was named after Milan, in Italy.^[8]

On May 25, 1919, at the age of 72, a black man named Berry Washington defended two young black girls who were attacked by two drunken white men. A mob of 75 to 100 white men hung him from a post, then shot his corpse to pieces. In spite of a $1,000 reward offered by Governor Dorsey, no one was ever arrested.^[9][10]

Geography

Milan is located in southeastern Dodge County and northwestern Telfair County at 32°1′13″N 83°3′51″W (32.020195, -83.064091).^[11] The county boundary passes through the center of the city. U.S. Route 280 passes through the city just south of the center, leading east 10 miles (16 km) to McRae and west 15 miles (24 km) to Abbeville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.2 km²), of which 3.1 square miles (8.1 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²), or 1.26%, is water.^[5]

Milan, Georgia

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	287		—
1920	593		106.6%
1930	630		6.2%
1940	748		18.7%
1950	750		0.3%
1960	786		4.8%
1970	1,084		37.9%
1980	1,115		2.9%
1990	1,056		−5.3%
2000	1,012		−4.2%
2010	700		−30.8%
2020	613		−12.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[12]

Milan racial composition as of 2020^[13]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	474	77.32%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	117	19.09%
Native American	1	0.16%
Asian	2	0.33%
Other/Mixed	15	2.45%
Hispanic or Latino	4	0.65%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 613 people, 269 households, and 168 families residing in the city.

Notable person

• Wayne Cooper, former NBA basketball player, born in Milan

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
3. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
4. Robinson, Calli; et al. (December 26, 2018), "We Try to Pronounce These Georgia Town Names", It's a Southern Thing, Birmingham: Red Clay Media.
5. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Milan city, Georgia". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved October 22, 2015.^{[dead link‍]}
6. "Telfair County". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
7. Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia. Clark & Hines, State Printers. 1892. p. 894.
8. Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 147. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
9. McWhirter, Cameron (2011). Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America. Henry Holt and Company. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4299-7293-2.
10. "Rewards Offered In Lynching Case". Atlanta Constitution. July 27, 1919.
11. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
12. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
13. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 18, 2021.