Leesburg is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,480 at the 2020 census, up from 2,896 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Albany, Georgia metropolitan statistical area.

History

Leesburg, originally known as "Wooten Station", was founded in 1870 as the Central of Georgia Railway arrived in the area. In 1872, the town was renamed "Wooten", and the seat was transferred from Starksville. In 1874, the town was incorporated and renamed again to its present form of Leesburg. Leesburg is the site of the Leesburg Stockade incident, in which a group of African-American teenage and pre-teen girls were arrested for protesting racial segregation in Americus, Georgia, and were imprisoned without charges for 60 days in poor conditions in the Lee County Public Works building.

Geography

Leesburg is in south-central Lee County. U.S. Route 19 passes through the city, leading north 26 mi to Americus and south 11 mi to Albany. State Route 32 is Leesburg's Main Street; it leads east 32 mi to Ashburn and west 18 mi to Dawson. State Route 195 leads northeast from Leesburg 17 mi to Leslie. According to the United States Census Bureau, Leesburg has a total area of 12.9 km2, of which 0.14 km2, or 1.06%, are water. Kinchafoonee Creek flows through a western corner of the city; it leads south to the Flint River, part of the Apalachicola River watershed.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,480 people, 884 households, and 666 families residing in the city.

Education

The Lee County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two primary schools, two elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. The district has 330 full-time teachers and over 5,350 students.

Notable people