Vidalia, Georgia
Encyclopedia
Vidalia, is a city in Toombs
and very slightly into Montgomery
counties in the U.S. state
of Georgia
. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,491. It is the largest city in Toombs, but is not the county seat
. Like so many towns in the region, it grew up around a train depot that serviced farm
ers in the area who grew such crops as pecan
s and tobacco
. The famous sweet onion
s were not an important crop
until much later.
Although it has never been officially confirmed, it is believed by locals that the 1996 song Vidalia
alludes to the Vidalia Sweet Onion
crop with its lyrics "...sweet Vidalia, You always gotta make me cry!" While uncertainty remains about the song, Vidalia sweet onions have recently made a name for the town through national media and the Onions and Ogres advertisement campaign which features the cartoon ogre Shrek
.
Vidalia is the principal city of the Vidalia Micropolitan Statistical Area
, a micropolitan area
that covers Montgomery and Toombs counties and had a combined population of 34,337 at the 2000 census
.
, the city has a total area of 17.4 square miles (45.1 km²), of which, 17.3 square miles (44.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.63%) is water.
Vidalia is located at 32°12′55"N 82°24′36"W (32.215305, -82.410086).
of 2000, there were 10,491 people, 4,167 households, and 2,758 families residing in the city; of these, 160 people lived in Montgomery and the rest in Toombs counties. The population density
was 605.4 people per square mile (233.7/km²). There were 4,676 housing units at an average density of 269.8 per square mile (104.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.61% White, 36.88% African American, 0.89% Asian, 0.14% Native American, 1.82% from other races
, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.24% of the population.
There were 4,167 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples
living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,365, and the median income for a family was $40,091. Males had a median income of $30,180 versus $18,496 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $16,369. About 15.4% of families and 19.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.
s. In 1986, the Vidalia Onion Trademark Act granted a state trademark and protection on the onions of the Vidalia and Toombs County, Georgia
area. The 1989 Federal Marketing Order #955 of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
gave the growers and handlers the legal rights to establish the Vidalia Onion Committee, and it granted U.S. federal protection of the onion's name and production.
Vidalia onion growers have protected their brand, and today all onions labelled Vidalia must be grown in one of thirteen different counties in Georgia or in specific portions of seven other counties. Because of their taste and reputation
, they are able to command an increased price in the marketplace.
In 1990, the Vidalia Onion was named as the "official vegetable" of the state of Georgia. Year 2000 production was estimated at 40,000,000 fifty-pound (22.68 kg) bags.
(See: Vidalia Onion and Protection as a Geographic Indication)
Each spring Vidalia holds a world famous Onion festival. The event lasts for five days and draws in many tourists with its wide variety of activities.
Vidalia
Toombs County, Georgia
Toombs County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on August 18, 1905. As of 2000, the population was 26,067. The 2007 Census Estimate showed a population of 27,820. The county seat is Lyons....
and very slightly into Montgomery
Montgomery County, Georgia
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 8,270. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 9,060...
counties in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,491. It is the largest city in Toombs, but is not the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
. Like so many towns in the region, it grew up around a train depot that serviced farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
ers in the area who grew such crops as pecan
Pecan
The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...
s and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. The famous sweet onion
Sweet onion
A sweet onion is a variety of onion that is not pungent. Their mildness is attributable to their low sulfur content and high water content when compared to other onion varieties.-Origins in the United States:...
s were not an important crop
Crop
Crop may refer to:* Crop, a plant grown and harvested for agricultural use* Crop , part of the alimentary tract of some animals* Crop , a modified whip used in horseback riding or disciplining humans...
until much later.
Although it has never been officially confirmed, it is believed by locals that the 1996 song Vidalia
Vidalia (song)
"Vidalia" is the title of a song written by Tim Nichols and Mark D. Sanders, and recorded by American country music artist Sammy Kershaw. It was released in July 1996 as the second single from the album Politics, Religion and Her...
alludes to the Vidalia Sweet Onion
Vidalia onion
A Vidalia onion is a sweet onion of certain varieties, grown in a production area defined by law in Georgia and by the United States Code of Federal Regulations . The varieties include the hybrid yellow granex, varieties of granex parentage, or other similar varieties recommended by the Vidalia...
crop with its lyrics "...sweet Vidalia, You always gotta make me cry!" While uncertainty remains about the song, Vidalia sweet onions have recently made a name for the town through national media and the Onions and Ogres advertisement campaign which features the cartoon ogre Shrek
Shrek
Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Loosely based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!...
.
Vidalia is the principal city of the Vidalia Micropolitan Statistical Area
Vidalia micropolitan area
The Vidalia Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Georgia, anchored by the city of Vidalia....
, a micropolitan area
United States micropolitan area
United States Micropolitan Statistical Areas , as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, are urban areas in the United States based around a core city or town with a population of 10,000 to 49,999. The micropolitan area designation was created in 2003...
that covers Montgomery and Toombs counties and had a combined population of 34,337 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 17.4 square miles (45.1 km²), of which, 17.3 square miles (44.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.63%) is water.
Vidalia is located at 32°12′55"N 82°24′36"W (32.215305, -82.410086).
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 10,491 people, 4,167 households, and 2,758 families residing in the city; of these, 160 people lived in Montgomery and the rest in Toombs counties. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 605.4 people per square mile (233.7/km²). There were 4,676 housing units at an average density of 269.8 per square mile (104.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.61% White, 36.88% African American, 0.89% Asian, 0.14% Native American, 1.82% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.24% of the population.
There were 4,167 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,365, and the median income for a family was $40,091. Males had a median income of $30,180 versus $18,496 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $16,369. About 15.4% of families and 19.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.
Vidalia City School District
The school district holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 144 full-time teachers and over 2,408 students.- J.D. Dickerson Primary School
- Sally Dailey Meadows Elementary School
- J.R. Trippe Middle School
- Vidalia Comprehensive High School
- Edward D Phillips Special Education Center.
Economy
Vidalia has a mixed economy, but its largest industry is agriculture. Since 1931, Granex onions grown in and near Vidalia have been licensed and sold internationally as Vidalia onionVidalia onion
A Vidalia onion is a sweet onion of certain varieties, grown in a production area defined by law in Georgia and by the United States Code of Federal Regulations . The varieties include the hybrid yellow granex, varieties of granex parentage, or other similar varieties recommended by the Vidalia...
s. In 1986, the Vidalia Onion Trademark Act granted a state trademark and protection on the onions of the Vidalia and Toombs County, Georgia
Toombs County, Georgia
Toombs County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on August 18, 1905. As of 2000, the population was 26,067. The 2007 Census Estimate showed a population of 27,820. The county seat is Lyons....
area. The 1989 Federal Marketing Order #955 of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
Agricultural Marketing Service
The Agricultural Marketing Service is a division of the United States Department of Agriculture, and has programs in five commodity areas: cotton and tobacco; dairy; fruit and vegetable; livestock and seed; and poultry...
gave the growers and handlers the legal rights to establish the Vidalia Onion Committee, and it granted U.S. federal protection of the onion's name and production.
Onions
Most people know Vidalia because of its onions. The Vidalia onion was first produced about 1931 when a farmer named Mose Coleman discovered that the onions he produced were sweeter than other onions. Other farmers started producing the same onion, and in the 1940s the Vidalia onion became an item sold to tourists.Vidalia onion growers have protected their brand, and today all onions labelled Vidalia must be grown in one of thirteen different counties in Georgia or in specific portions of seven other counties. Because of their taste and reputation
Reputation
Reputation of a social entity is an opinion about that entity, typically a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria...
, they are able to command an increased price in the marketplace.
In 1990, the Vidalia Onion was named as the "official vegetable" of the state of Georgia. Year 2000 production was estimated at 40,000,000 fifty-pound (22.68 kg) bags.
(See: Vidalia Onion and Protection as a Geographic Indication)
Each spring Vidalia holds a world famous Onion festival. The event lasts for five days and draws in many tourists with its wide variety of activities.
External links
- Official website
- Annual Festival website(2011 marks the 34th year of the festival)
- City of Vidalia entry from the State of Georgia government portal
- Official Vidalia Department of Tourism
- The Official Vidalia Onion Website: Recipes, Information & Links
- J.D. Dickerson Primary School
- Sally Dailey Meadows Elementary School
- J.R. Trippe Middle School
- Vidalia Comprehensive High School
- The Wall Street Journal-The Onion's Best Friend Is an Ogre
Vidalia
Vidalia (song)
"Vidalia" is the title of a song written by Tim Nichols and Mark D. Sanders, and recorded by American country music artist Sammy Kershaw. It was released in July 1996 as the second single from the album Politics, Religion and Her...