Albany, GA Summary

Albany is 150 miles south of Atlanta in southwest Georgia.

Birthplace of Ray Charles (who sang the famous rendition of the song “Georgia on My Mind”), its population is 78,591. The Creek tribe first occupied the area but conflict in the early nineteenth century ended in their massacre and deportation from the area.

Albany was founded in 1836 at the navigable head of the Flint River. Cotton plantations soon emerged, with the town’s fortunes boosted by steamboat shipments from 1837. By 1900, it was a major rail center, stimulating local industry. Today, it serves as the principal center of southwest Georgia.

Albany’s Mt Zion Albany Civil Rights Movement Museum commemorates the important role played by southwest Georgia, and the African-American church, in the Civil Rights Movement. It is in the old Mt Zion Church where Dr Martin Luther King Jr preached in 1961. The Thronateeska Heritage Museum has three sections: the Science Discovery Center, the Wetherbee Planetarium, and the Heritage Center, which focuses on local and regional history. The main cultural attraction is the Albany Museum of Art, with the largest collection of traditional African art in the Southeast.

Of Albany’s historic buildings, Smith House (1859-60), was the first brick home. It has Masonic symbols in its gardens and a self-contained waterworks. The first bridge across the river and the Bridge House were built in 1857, to the slave Horace King’s design.

St Teresa’s is the oldest Catholic church in continuous use in Georgia. Built in 1859, it served as a hospital during the Civil War.

Lake Chehaw is located a little beyond the city limits. Boardwalks and walking/cycling trails traverse 100 acres of piney woods, providing glimpses of both native and exotic animals.

Albany has its own airport and sits at the intersection of US-19 and US-82.