Brunswick, Georgia
Encyclopedia
Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern
Georgia
in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor
near the Atlantic Ocean
, approximately 30 miles (50 km) north of Florida
and 70 miles (110 km) south of South Carolina
. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
which separates it from the Golden Isles
. It is the second-largest city on Georgia's coast, after Savannah
, and is the seat of government
for Glynn County
.
As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,383 with a metropolitan population of 103,841. The city's metropolitan area
is the twelfth-largest in the state of Georgia and includes the counties of Glynn, Brantley
, and McIntosh
.
The city traces its roots to its 1738 settlement as a tobacco plantation by British
colonists and a southern buffer to Spanish Florida
. It came under provincial
control in 1771 and was founded as Brunswick after the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg
in Germany, the ancestral home of the Hanoverians
. It was officially incorporated in 1856.
Brunswick is near Jacksonville
, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia. With a deepwater port, Brunswick supports thriving seafood and shipping industries. Naval stores, pulp and wood products, bulk cargoes, and tourism are prominent in the local economy. Additionally, the headquarters facility of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
(FLETC) is located 5 miles (8 km) north of the central business district
of the city and is adjacent to Brunswick Golden Isles Airport
, which provides commercial air service to the region.
, a Timucua
-speaking people, originally occupied the lands in what is now Brunswick. The Spanish established mission
s in Timucua
n villages beginning in 1568. During this time, much of the Native American population was depleted through enslavement and disease. When the Province of Carolina
was founded in 1663, the British claimed all lands south to the 31st parallel north
, but little colonization occurred south of the Altamaha River
as the Spanish also claimed this land. Three years after the Province of Georgia
was founded in 1733, James Oglethorpe
had the town of Frederica
built on St. Simons Island, challenging Spaniards who laid claim to the island. The Spanish were driven out of the province after British victories in the battles of Bloody Marsh
and Gully Hole Creek
in 1742; it was not until the Treaty of Paris of 1763
that Spain's threat to the province was formally ended, when all lands north of the St. Marys River and south of the Savannah River
were designated as Georgia.
The area's first European settler, Mark Carr, arrived in 1738. Carr, a Scotsman
, was a captain in Oglethorpe's Marine Boat Company. Upon landing, he established his 1000 acres (404.7 ha) tobacco
plantation, which he called "Plug Point", along the East and Brunswick rivers. The Province of Georgia purchased Carr’s fields in 1771 and laid out the town of Brunswick in the grid plan
akin to that of Savannah, with large, public squares at given intervals. The town was named for the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg
in Germany, the ancestral home of George III
and the House of Hanover
. Brunswick was a rectangular tract of land consisting of 383.5 acres (155.2 ha). The first lot was granted on June 30, 1772; 179 lots were granted in the first three years. However, about this time Brunswick lost most of its citizens, many of whom were Loyalist
s, to East Florida
, the Caribbean Basin
, and the United Kingdom
for protection during the American Revolutionary War
. From 1783 to 1788 a number of these lots were regranted and there collected in Brunswick a few families who desired proper education for their children. By act of the General Assembly on February 1, 1788, eight town commissioners were appointed and Glynn Academy
was chartered, the funding of which was to come from the sales of town lots. Brunswick was recognized as an official port of entry in 1789 by act of the United States Congress
. In 1797 the General Assembly transferred the seat of Glynn County from Frederica to Brunswick.On March 25, 1765, Georgia's colonial assembly divided the territory south of the Altamaha River into four new parishes. Two of these parishes—St. David and St. Patrick—would later be combined to form the mainland portion of Glynn County. Additionally, the 1765 act assigned Jekyll Island to St. James Parish, meaning that this parish consisted entirely of St. Simons and Jekyll islands. On February 5, 1777, the state's first constitution was adopted. Article IV of that document transformed the existing colonial parishes into seven counties, with Native American-ceded lands to the north forming an eighth county. Glynn County, which was seventh on the list and thus is considered Georgia's seventh county, consisted of all of St. David and St. Patrick parishes. In 1789 the legislature added St. Simons and Jekyll islands to Glynn County. Frederica on St. Simons Island served as Glynn County's seat beginning in 1789, at the absorption of the islands into Glynn. In an act of February 10, 1787, Georgia's legislature provided that Glynn County's courthouse and jail be erected and that county elections be held in Brunswick—which made it the county seat. Ten years later—on February 13, 1797—the legislature formally designated Brunswick the seat of Glynn County. (see Glynn County Courthouse at the Digital Library of Georgia).
At the end of the eighteenth century, a large tract of land surrounding Brunswick on three sides had been laid off and designated as Commons. Commissioners were named in 1796 to support these efforts. The General Assembly authorized them to sell 500 acres of Commons; one-half of the proceeds to go to the construction of the courthouse and jail and one-half to the support of the academy. In 1819 the commissioners erected a comfortable building for school purposes on the southeastern corner of Reynolds and L streets. This was the first public building in Brunswick. It was abandoned four years later, but a new building was erected on Hillsborough Square in 1840 using Commons proceeds. A courthouse and jail were built around this time. The town was officially incorporated as a city on February 22, 1856. By 1860 Brunswick had a population of 468, a bank, a weekly newspaper, and a sawmill which employed nine workers.
Brunswick was abandoned during the Civil War
when citizens were ordered to evacuate. The city, like many others in the South
, suffered from post-war depression. After one of the nation’s largest lumber mills began operation on nearby St. Simons Island, economic prosperity returned. Rail lines were constructed from Brunswick to inland Georgia, and, unlike many other southern cities during the Reconstruction period, Brunswick experienced an economic boom
.
In 1878, poet and native Georgian Sidney Lanier
, who sought relief from tuberculosis
in Brunswick’s climate, wrote The Marshes of Glynn
, a poem based on the salt marsh
es that span across Glynn County. The December 1888 issue of Harper's Weekly
predicted that "Brunswick by the Sea" was destined to become the "winter Newport
of America." Jekyll Island
had become a resort destination for some of the era's most influential families (most notably Rockefeller
s, Vanderbilt
s, Pulitzer
s and Goodyear
s) who arrived by train or yacht.
A yellow fever
epidemic began in 1893 which heralded a decade of hardships for the city; it was flooded in 1893 when a modern-day Category 3 hurricane (today known as the Sea Islands Hurricane
) paralleled the coast of Georgia before hitting South Carolina
. The storm left the city under six feet of water. A Category 4 hurricane hit Cumberland Island
just south of Brunswick in October 1898, which caused a 16 feet (4.9 m) storm surge in the city. As a result, 179 were killed.
Construction of an electric streetcar
line began in 1909 and was completed in 1911. Tracks were located in the center of several city streets. In July 1924, the F.J. Torras Causeway, the roadway between Brunswick and St. Simons Island, was completed, and passenger boat service from Brunswick to St. Simons Island was terminated. By 1926, the electric streetcar line in Brunswick was discontinued; the decline of the streetcar systems coincided with the rise of the automobile
.
In World War II
, Brunswick served as a strategic military location. German U-boats threatened the coast of the southern United States
, and blimp
s became a common sight as they patrolled the coastal areas. During the war, blimps from Brunswick’s Naval Air Station Glynco
(at the time, the largest blimp base in the world) safely escorted almost 100,000 ships without a single vessel lost to enemy submarines.
In World War II, Brunswick boomed as over 16,000 workers of the J.A. Jones Construction Company
produced ninety-nine Liberty ship
s and "Knot" ships (type C1-M ships
which were designed for short coastal runs, and most often named for knot
s) for the U.S. Maritime Commission
to transport materiel
to the European
and Pacific Theatres
.
The first ship was the SS James M. Wayne (named after James Moore Wayne
), whose keel was laid on July 6, 1942 and was launched on March 13, 1943. The last ship was the SS Coastal Ranger whose keel was laid on June 7, 1945 and launched on August 25, 1945. The first six ships took 305 to 331 days each to complete, but soon production ramped up and most of the remaining ships were built in about two months, bringing the average down to 89 days each. By November 1943, about four ships were launched per month. The SS William F. Jerman was completed in only 34 days in November and December 1944. Six ships could be under construction in slipway
s at one time.
Brunswick is located in the southeastern United States
, in southeastern Georgia
, approximately halfway between Jacksonville
and Savannah
. The city is located at the apex of the bight of the Georgia coast, the westernmost point on the Atlantic seaboard
, and is naturally sheltered by two barrier islands, Jekyll
and St. Simons
. The city is situated on a peninsula with the East River and the Turtle River to the west, the Brunswick River to the south, and the Intracoastal Waterway
to the east. An abundance of salt marsh
es separate the city from the Intracoastal Waterway, which passes between Brunswick and the barrier islands. The East River separates Brunswick from Andrews Island, a dredge spoil-site.
The city is the lowest in the state of Georgia, with an elevation of only 10 feet (3 m) above sea level. Brunswick's land area is estimated at 17.2 square miles (44.5 km²). Its total area is 25.2 square miles (65.3 km²); 8 square miles (20.7 km²) of this is water.
Brunswick's climate is classified as humid subtropical
(Cfa in Köppen climate classification system). During the summer months, it is common for the temperature to reach over 90 °F (32 °C). However, the humidity results in a heat index
higher than the actual temperature. Summer mornings average nearly 90 percent humidity
and nearly 60 percent in the afternoon. Scattered afternoon thunderstorm
s are common in the summer. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Brunswick was 106 °F (41 °C) in 1986. Winters in Brunswick are fairly temperate. The average high in January, the coldest month, is 63 °F (17 °C), while the average low is 44 °F (7 °C). Snow
fall is very rare. The last snow accumulation in Brunswick was on December 23, 1989. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Brunswick was 5 °F (−15 °C) in 1985.
Brunswick receives a high amount of rainfall annually, averaging about 49 inches each year. The wettest months are August and September, the peak of hurricane season
. The city has suffered less damage from hurricane
s than most other East Coast cities. A major hurricane has not made landfall on the Georgia coast since 1898, and the only hurricane that has hit the coast since then was Hurricane David
in 1979. However, the city has experienced hurricane or near-hurricane conditions several times due to storms passing through Florida from the Gulf of Mexico
and entering Georgia or passing to the north or south in the Atlantic and brushing the area.
sites, formerly home to heavily contaminated toxic waste
sites. The Hanlin Group, which maintained a facility to the north of the city called "LCP Chemicals," was convicted of dumping 150 short ton
s of mercury
into Purvis Creek, a tributary of the Turtle River, and surrounding tidal marshes between the mid-1980s and its closure in 1994. The State of Georgia asked the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to take immediate action at the site upon its closing. The facility was declared a Superfund site; the LCP facility had previously been under scrutiny by the EPA when biologist
s discovered mercury poisoning
in endangered wood stork
s on St. Simons Island. Fish, shellfish, crabs, and shrimp taken in coastal waters as well as other bird species also contained the toxic metal. The EPA traced the source of the contamination to the LCP plant and documented the extent of the damage to wildlife resources—an effort that resulted in the addition of Endangered Species Act
charges to those that would be brought against Hanlin and its officers.
There are three other Superfund sites in the area: Brunswick Wood Preserving, Hercules 009 Landfill
, and Terry Creek Dredge Spoil Areas/Hercules Outfall.
of 2000, there were 15,600 people, 6,085 households, and 3,681 families residing in the city. The population density
was 906 people per square mile (349.8/km²). There were 6,952 housing units at an average density of 403.8 per square mile (155.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.81% African American, 36.41% White, 0.27% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.73% from other races
, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.82% of the population.
The top five ancestry groups in the city were American
(5.3%), English
(5.1%), Subsarahan African (4.3%), Irish
(4.1%), and German
(3.6%). 54.1% of the population reported another ancestry.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males.
There were 6,085 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.4% were married couples
living together, 24.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% 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 3.13.
The median income for a household in the city was $22,272, and the median income for a family was $28,564. Males had a median income of $26,172 versus $18,602 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $13,062. About 25.2% of families and 30.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.9% of those under age 18 and 21.7% of those age 65 or over.
The Port of Brunswick
forms a vital part of the city's economy. It is recognized as one of the most productive ports on the East Coast
and is the sixth-busiest automobile port in the United States; it is the primary export
facility for two of the three United States traditional automotive manufacturers
: Ford
and General Motors
. In addition, the port is also the primary export facility for Mercedes-Benz
. The port serves as the central import
facility for Hyundai
, Jaguar, Kia
, Land Rover
, Mitsubishi
, Porsche
, and Volvo
. Audi
, BMW
, and Volkswagen
utilize the port as a facility for imports as well. International Auto Processing is one of the town's largest employers. In addition to automobiles, exports also include agricultural products
and other bulk cargo
es.
The port is operated by the Georgia Ports Authority
and features four separate terminals: Colonel's Island RoRo, Colonel's Island Agri-bulk, Mayor's Point, and Marine Port. Mayor's Point is the only terminal located within the city. The Colonel's Island and Marine Port terminals are located southwest of the city.
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
(FLETC), a large agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security
, is headquartered in Glynco
, north of the city. A study conducted by Georgia Tech
identified FLETC as the largest employer in Glynn County; it was further determined that FLETC's annual localized economic impact is in excess of $600 million.
Southeast Georgia Health System is the largest private employer in Brunswick. Other major employers in Brunswick include King & Prince Seafood, GSI Commerce
, Pinova and Gulfstream Aerospace
. Wood pulp
is produced by the Georgia-Pacific
mill
in Brunswick. The mill, which has been in operation since 1937, has the capability to produce over 800,000 metric tons of cellulose
each year. Additionally, it is the largest single-site fluff production facility in the world. Hercules
, a manufacturer and marketer of chemical specialties, operates a production facility on the north side of Brunswick. Jet aircraft manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace
also has a presence at the city's airport.
Tourism is the single largest industry in the city and the county. Brunswick and the Golden Isles are a year-round resort community. The islands' beaches, resorts, shops, and historic sites annually attract visitors from around the world. President George W. Bush
hosted the G8 summit
in 2004 on Sea Island.
Brunswick uses the city commission
model of municipal government
. The city commission consists of five individuals elected on a plurality-at-large
basis. Commissioners constitute the legislative body
of the city and, as a group, are responsible for taxation, appropriations, ordinances, and other general functions. Individual commissioners are assigned responsibility for a specific aspect of municipal affairs. One commissioner is designated to function as mayor
. The mayor of Brunswick is Bryan Thompson
who was first elected in 2005.
The city is divided into two wards with each ward electing two city commission representatives. The mayor serves as an at-large
commissioner and chairperson
. The commission meets twice each month at Old City Hall in Old Town. The city commission appoints a city manager
to serve at will for an infinite term. The main duty of the manager is to oversee policy set by the city commission on a daily basis. The city manager is to see that all laws, provisions of the city charter
, and any acts of the city commission are executed and enforced. The city manager of Brunswick is Roosevelt Harris, Jr.
(Taiwan
) Ganzhou
(China
)
Brunswick has an active sister cities program designed to encourage cultural and economic exchanges. Brunswick has two sister cities: Ilan
(Taiwan
) and Ganzhou
(China
).
In November 2008, Mayor Thompson and the city commission of Brunswick traveled to Ganzhou to strengthen ties between the two cities. Ganzhou, a city with a population of 8.5 million, reciprocated, sending a delegation to Brunswick where an official sister city agreement was signed at Old City Hall on April 3, 2009.
, but in 2008, the college began its transition to a four-year institution. The college is currently a state college
within the University System of Georgia
, with bachelor's degree programs in education
, business
, and nursing sciences
, and other associate degree
programs designed to prepare students to transfer to senior colleges and universities
. The college offers one- and two-year career programs that prepare students for immediate employment as well as developmental and remedial courses for students who need to refresh or strengthen their academic background. Bachelor's and master's degree
s from Armstrong Atlantic State University
, Georgia Southern University
, and Valdosta State University
are obtainable in certain degree programs through the Brunswick campus.
is the governing authority of public schools in the city. More than 12,000 students attend schools in the school system. There are ten elementary school
s, three middle school
s, and two high school
s: Brunswick High School
and Glynn Academy
. Glynn Academy, the second-oldest public high school in the American South
and the seventh-oldest public high school in the United States, was founded in 1788 by an act of the Georgia General Assembly
. Brunswick High School opened in 1967. Specialized institutions including performance learning centers, an early college academy, and a career-technical academy are present within the system.
There are several private schools operating in the area. In the city, there is one Catholic school
and one Seventh-day Adventist
school. There are also Baptist
, Pentecostal
, and non-denominational Christian
schools north of the city. On St. Simons Island, there is a Presbyterian
school. The only private high school in the area is Frederica Academy
although several smaller Christian schools in Brunswick offer high school education. Frederica, a nonsectarian
school on St. Simons Island, offers classes from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
Brunswick is home to a variety of arts and cultural events. The most significant professional performing-arts group is the Coastal Symphony of Georgia, in existence since 1982, which stages productions each year at Glynn Academy's Memorial Auditorium. This group of professional musicians also has a Youth Symphony division and a fundraising auxiliary.
Old Town Brunswick's historic and ornate Ritz Theatre hosts a range of performances. Renovated in the early 1980s and again in 2000 through 2001, the Ritz is home to the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association, the coordinating arts council for Brunswick and Glynn County. The association hosts an annual performing arts series and rents space to individual producers and organizations.
The city is home to various art galleries. Art Downtown is a cultural arts center featuring a fine art gallery, studio, and production company. It is home to the Brunswick Actors' Theatre. The Gallery on Newcastle is home to a display of scenes from coastal Georgia's marshes.
Along Union Street is a collection of 19th and early 20th century Victorian
mansions. Each December the Magnolia Garden Club tours select Union Street homes in addition to other areas in historic Brunswick as part of its Christmas Tour of Homes.
's quad-A Region 2 sporting events. From 1950 to 2007, Brunswick served host to the Golden Isles Bowl Classic, one of the most prestigious junior college football bowl games in the country. Scholastic and intramural sports are held at school and park facilities around the city. Glynn County Stadium and Lanier Field are two sports stadiums available in the city.
Golden Isles Speedway, a mile (1 km) race track
, is located in western Glynn County, approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) west of the city.
The PGA Tour
holds the McGladrey Classic
every year at the Seaside Course on Sea Island. The area is notorious for its golf resort
s. In 2008 Sea Island was ranked the number-one destination for business meetings and golf by Golf Digest
and USA Today
. Sea Island was also ranked number-one among the best golf resorts in North America
by Golf Digest. There are three golf courses located just north of the city, and combined with Jekyll, St. Simons, and Sea islands, there are 252 holes of golf in the Brunswick area.
The Brunswick area is home to two out of three publicly accessible beach
es in the state. Brunswick is the gateway city to Jekyll and St. Simons islands; both are accessible via automobile only by causeways from the city. The islands, known colloquially as the Golden Isles
, feature white-sand public beaches and are popular destinations for tourists and local citizens.
In 1906 the city was home to a Class D-level minor league baseball
team, the River Snipes, a team shared with Columbus
as part of the inaugural season of the Georgia State League
. The league went defunct following that season. In 1913 the Brunswick Pilots debuted as part of the short-lived Empire State League, before joining the Georgia State League in 1914, and the Florida-Alabama-Georgia League in 1915. The Pilots stopped play following the 1915 season. Thirty-six years passed before Brunswick had another professional baseball team. In 1951 the Brunswick Pirates, a Class D minor league affiliate of the major league
Pittsburgh Pirates
, began play in the Georgia-Florida League
, beginning eight years of presence in the city. The Pirates won league championships in 1954 and 1955. In 1957 the Pirates became affiliates of the Philadelphia Phillies
, respectively adopting the name Brunswick Phillies. Following the 1958 season, the Phillies ceased play. Brunswick was home to the Cardinals of the Georgia-Florida League in 1962 and 1963 before the league disbanded in 1963.
The Brunswick Parks and Recreation Department operates city park
s and squares. Six original squares still exist in the city, although all but one, Hanover, have been bisected by a city street. There are also two additional squares located within the city, Orange and Palmetto. Numerous parks exist in the city, the largest being Howard Coffin
Park. The parks include features such as playgrounds, baseball fields, softball fields, soccer fields, basketball courts, and picnic areas. Coffin Park includes a walking track. The district also owns the Roosevelt Lawrence Community Center, a center equipped with popular and traditional recreational game tables, two classrooms, and a multi-purpose gymnasium.
The Brunswick area is rich in live oak
trees, particularly the Southern live oak
. Such is the quality of the live oak trees in the Brunswick and the Golden Isles area that Revolutionary warships such as the USS Constitution
(nicknamed Old Ironsides) were clad in St. Simons Island oak planks. Brunswick has a notable live oak named Lover's Oak (located at Prince and Albany Streets). As of 2005, it is approximately 900 years old. According to the State of Georgia and American Indian folklore, Native American braves and their maidens would meet under the oak.
, a tomato
-based stew containing various types of lima beans, corn
, okra
, and other vegetable
s, and one or more types of meat
. Most recipes claiming authenticity
call for squirrel
or rabbit
meat, but chicken
, pork
and beef
are also common ingredients. A twenty-five-gallon (95 L) iron pot outside the city bears a plaque declaring the stew was first cooked there in 1898. The Brunswick Rockin' Stewbilee, held annually in October, features a stew tasting contest where visitors sample over 50 teams' stews. The Stewbilee became notorious when the city invited Brunswick County
, Virginia
to the festival for a stew cookoff in the 1980s, which led the Brunswick "Stew Wars" to be featured in Southern Living
.
Brunswick is the center of Georgia's shrimping
industry. The city was once called The Shrimp Capital of the World, but in recent times, production has been far below average. Nevertheless, nearby Jekyll Island hosts the Wild Georgia Shrimp & Grits Festival in September. Apart from shrimping, the area is also the center of Georgia's crab
and oyster
industries.
Brunswick Golden Isles Airport
(BQK, KBQK) is served by Delta Air Lines
with several daily round trips to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
. The city was formerly served by DayJet
, with service to cities in Alabama
, Florida, and Georgia; the company suspended its operations in September 2008. Two railway lines run through the city: CSX and Norfolk Southern
. The Golden Isles Terminal Railroad
is a short line operating 12.6 miles (20.3 km) of mainline trackage between Anguilla Junction and the Colonel's Island and Marine Port terminals of the Port of Brunswick
. This line connects with a line that originates in Old Town Brunswick at Anguilla Junction. Amtrak
passenger service is available in Jesup
, 40 miles (64 km) northwest of the city.
The original Sidney Lanier Bridge
was a vertical lift bridge
on U.S. 17
crossing over the Brunswick River and was opened on June 22, 1956. On November 7, 1972, the ship African Neptune struck the bridge, causing parts of the bridge to collapse, taking cars with it. The accident resulted in ten deaths. On May 3, 1987 the bridge was again struck by a ship, the Polish
freighter Ziemia Bialostocka (ziemia Białostocka). A new cable-stayed bridge
with the same name opened in 2003 to allow larger ships to enter the port and to eliminate the need for the drawbridge on U.S. 17. It is the longest-spanning bridge in Georgia. The elevation at the top of the support towers is 480 feet (146 m).
Three federal highways pass through Brunswick: U.S. Route 17, U.S. Route 341
, and U.S. Route 25
. U.S. 17 runs north to south through the eastern part of town and is a four lane highway. U.S. 341 is multiplexed with U.S. 25 for almost the entire route and originates in Brunswick off of U.S. 17. Interstate 95
runs west and northwest of the city and U.S. Route 82
originates at the junction of U.S. 17 and State Route 303
.
In 2006, Glynn County applied for approximately $930,000 for first-year funding for a transit
service. The county and city match was for over $100,000 combined. The first year project would fund the purchase of up to four buses, two vans, signage, equipment, and facility improvements. The first-year application is still pending with the Georgia DOT
and the Federal Transit Administration
.
Southeast Georgia Health System recently opened the Outpatient Care Center on the Brunswick campus. This six-story, 195000 square feet (18,116.1 m²) building includes outpatient surgery
and imaging services
, the Cancer Care Center, a retail area, the Dick Mitchell Health Information Center, as well as physician offices and suites.
In 2004, the Brunswick campus was named Best Large Hospital in the State of Georgia by the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals.
The Brunswick News
is one of two major daily newspapers serving Brunswick; the other is The Georgia Times-Union, a subsidiary of the Jacksonville-based Florida Times-Union
. Brunswick has one free weekly newspaper delivered to most homes in Glynn County, The Harbor Sound (a free publication). The Islander is a weekly paper, member of the Georgia Press Association, and available at newsstands or by subscription.
The major AM radio stations in Brunswick are WSFN
790, an ESPN
affiliate and primarily a sports station; WCGA
1100; WGIG 1440; and WMOG
1490, which are all news and talk stations. The city's FM stations include NPR affiliate WWIO-FM 88.9, public radio
WWEZ at 94.7 (St. Simons Island) and 97.5 (Brunswick), and commercial stations WAYR-FM 90.7, WBGA
92.7, WMUV
100.7, WSOL
101.5, WYNR
102.5, WWSN
103.3, WRJY
104.1, WXMK
105.9, and WHFX
107.7.
WPXC-TV
, channel 21, an Ion affiliate, is the only broadcast television
station in Brunswick. The station became an ABC
affiliate in 1996, but in 2001, Allbritton Communications
sold the station and, therefore, the station lost its affiliation. All major U.S. television networks are represented in Brunswick from Jacksonville- and Savannah-based television stations.
Brunswick has been featured in scenes from the film
s The View from Pompey's Head
(1955), Conrack
(1974), The Longest Yard (1974), and the documentary Criminalizing Dissent (2006).
The city is also the setting for the novel "Ravens" by the author George Dawes Green
.
Colonial Coast
Southeastern Georgia's Lower Coastal Plain is a subregion that encompasses the lowest lying areas of the Atlantic coastal plain in the state, containing barrier islands, marshes, and swampy lowlands, as well as flat plains and low terraces. It differs from Georgia's Upper Coastal Plain in that it...
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...
in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
near the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, approximately 30 miles (50 km) north of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and 70 miles (110 km) south of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...
which separates it from the Golden Isles
The Golden Isles of Georgia
The Golden Isles of Georgia are a group of four barrier islands on the 100-mile-long coast of Georgia on the Atlantic Ocean. They include St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Jekyll Island, Little St. Simons Island, and Historic Brunswick. They are part of the Sea Islands.Since the American Civil War,...
. It is the second-largest city on Georgia's coast, after Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, and is the seat of government
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....
for Glynn County
Glynn County, Georgia
Glynn County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 67,568. The 2008 Census Estimate showed a population of 75,884...
.
As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,383 with a metropolitan population of 103,841. The city's metropolitan area
Brunswick metropolitan area
The Brunswick, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, known colloquially as metropolitan Brunswick, consists of Glynn County , Brantley County, and McIntosh County. In 2005, the population of the MSA was 98,433...
is the twelfth-largest in the state of Georgia and includes the counties of Glynn, Brantley
Brantley County, Georgia
Brantley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the 'Brunswick, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Brantley, Glynn, and McIntosh counties. As of 2000, the population is 14,629. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 15,440...
, and McIntosh
McIntosh County, Georgia
McIntosh County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Brunswick, Georgia, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of McIntosh, Glynn, and Brantley counties. As of 2010, the population is 14,333. The county seat is Darien.-History:McIntosh County was split...
.
The city traces its roots to its 1738 settlement as a tobacco plantation by British
British America
For American people of British descent, see British American.British America is the anachronistic term used to refer to the territories under the control of the Crown or Parliament in present day North America , Central America, the Caribbean, and Guyana...
colonists and a southern buffer to Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
. It came under provincial
Province of Georgia
The Province of Georgia was one of the Southern colonies in British America. It was the last of the thirteen original colonies established by Great Britain in what later became the United States...
control in 1771 and was founded as Brunswick after the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...
in Germany, the ancestral home of the Hanoverians
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. It was officially incorporated in 1856.
Brunswick is near Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, Florida, and Savannah, Georgia. With a deepwater port, Brunswick supports thriving seafood and shipping industries. Naval stores, pulp and wood products, bulk cargoes, and tourism are prominent in the local economy. Additionally, the headquarters facility of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for 90 United States government federal law enforcement agencies.-Location:...
(FLETC) is located 5 miles (8 km) north of the central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of the city and is adjacent to Brunswick Golden Isles Airport
Brunswick Golden Isles Airport
Brunswick Golden Isles Airport , previously known as Glynco Jetport, is a county-owned public-use airport located five nautical miles north of the central business district of Brunswick, a city in Glynn County, Georgia, United States...
, which provides commercial air service to the region.
History
The MocamaMocama
The Mocama were a Native American people who lived in the coastal areas of what are now northern Florida and southeastern Georgia. A Timucua group, they spoke the dialect known as Mocama, the best-attested dialect of the Timucua language. Their territory extended from about the Altamaha River in...
, a Timucua
Timucua language
Timucua is a language isolate formerly spoken in northern and central Florida and southern Georgia by the Timucua people. Timucua was the primary language used in the area at the time of Spanish arrival in Florida. Linguistic and archaeological studies suggest that it may have been spoken from...
-speaking people, originally occupied the lands in what is now Brunswick. The Spanish established mission
Spanish missions in Georgia
The Spanish missions in Georgia comprise a series of religious outposts established by Spanish Catholics in order to spread the Christian doctrine among the local Native Americans. The Spanish chapter of Georgia's earliest colonial history is dominated by the lengthy mission era, extending from...
s in Timucua
Timucua
The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The various groups of Timucua spoke several dialects of the...
n villages beginning in 1568. During this time, much of the Native American population was depleted through enslavement and disease. When the Province of Carolina
Province of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
was founded in 1663, the British claimed all lands south to the 31st parallel north
31st parallel north
The 31st parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 31 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean.Part of the border between Iran and Iraq is defined by the parallel....
, but little colonization occurred south of the Altamaha River
Altamaha River
The Altamaha River is a major river of the American state of Georgia. It flows generally eastward for 137 miles from its origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties into the ocean near Brunswick, Georgia. There are no dams...
as the Spanish also claimed this land. Three years after the Province of Georgia
Province of Georgia
The Province of Georgia was one of the Southern colonies in British America. It was the last of the thirteen original colonies established by Great Britain in what later became the United States...
was founded in 1733, James Oglethorpe
James Oglethorpe
James Edward Oglethorpe was a British general, member of Parliament, philanthropist, and founder of the colony of Georgia...
had the town of Frederica
Fort Frederica National Monument
Fort Frederica National Monument, on St. Simons Island, Georgia, preserves the archaeological remnants of a fort and town built by James Oglethorpe between 1736 and 1748 to protect the southern boundary of the British colony of Georgia from Spanish raids. About 630 British troops were stationed at...
built on St. Simons Island, challenging Spaniards who laid claim to the island. The Spanish were driven out of the province after British victories in the battles of Bloody Marsh
Battle of Bloody Marsh
The Battle of Bloody Marsh took place on July 18, 1742 between Spanish and British forces, and the latter were victorious. Part of the War of Jenkin's Ear, the battle was for control of the road between the British forts of Frederica and St. Simons, to control St. Simons Island and the forts'...
and Gully Hole Creek
Battle of Gully Hole Creek
The Battle of Gully Hole Creek was a skirmish in 1742 on St. Simons Island, Georgia, between Spanish troops from the Spanish colony of Florida and British colonial troops on St. Simons Island. It was won by the British...
in 1742; it was not until the Treaty of Paris of 1763
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
that Spain's threat to the province was formally ended, when all lands north of the St. Marys River and south of the Savannah River
Savannah River
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...
were designated as Georgia.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
, was a captain in Oglethorpe's Marine Boat Company. Upon landing, he established his 1000 acres (404.7 ha) 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...
plantation, which he called "Plug Point", along the East and Brunswick rivers. The Province of Georgia purchased Carr’s fields in 1771 and laid out the town of Brunswick in the grid plan
Grid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
akin to that of Savannah, with large, public squares at given intervals. The town was named for the duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...
in Germany, the ancestral home of George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
and the House of Hanover
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. Brunswick was a rectangular tract of land consisting of 383.5 acres (155.2 ha). The first lot was granted on June 30, 1772; 179 lots were granted in the first three years. However, about this time Brunswick lost most of its citizens, many of whom were Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
s, to East Florida
East Florida
East Florida was a colony of Great Britain from 1763–1783 and of Spain from 1783–1822. East Florida was established by the British colonial government in 1763; as its name implies it consisted of the eastern part of the region of Florida, with West Florida comprising the western parts. Its capital...
, the Caribbean Basin
Caribbean Basin
The Caribbean Basin is generally defined as the area running from Florida westward along the Gulf coast, then south along the Mexican coast through Central America and then eastward across the northern coast of South America. This region includes the islands of the archipelago of the West Indies...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for protection during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. From 1783 to 1788 a number of these lots were regranted and there collected in Brunswick a few families who desired proper education for their children. By act of the General Assembly on February 1, 1788, eight town commissioners were appointed and Glynn Academy
Glynn Academy
Glynn Academy is an American public high school in Brunswick, Georgia, USA,, enrolling 1,755 students in grades 9–12. Along with Brunswick High School, it is one of two high schools in the Glynn County School System...
was chartered, the funding of which was to come from the sales of town lots. Brunswick was recognized as an official port of entry in 1789 by act of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. In 1797 the General Assembly transferred the seat of Glynn County from Frederica to Brunswick.On March 25, 1765, Georgia's colonial assembly divided the territory south of the Altamaha River into four new parishes. Two of these parishes—St. David and St. Patrick—would later be combined to form the mainland portion of Glynn County. Additionally, the 1765 act assigned Jekyll Island to St. James Parish, meaning that this parish consisted entirely of St. Simons and Jekyll islands. On February 5, 1777, the state's first constitution was adopted. Article IV of that document transformed the existing colonial parishes into seven counties, with Native American-ceded lands to the north forming an eighth county. Glynn County, which was seventh on the list and thus is considered Georgia's seventh county, consisted of all of St. David and St. Patrick parishes. In 1789 the legislature added St. Simons and Jekyll islands to Glynn County. Frederica on St. Simons Island served as Glynn County's seat beginning in 1789, at the absorption of the islands into Glynn. In an act of February 10, 1787, Georgia's legislature provided that Glynn County's courthouse and jail be erected and that county elections be held in Brunswick—which made it the county seat. Ten years later—on February 13, 1797—the legislature formally designated Brunswick the seat of Glynn County. (see Glynn County Courthouse at the Digital Library of Georgia).
At the end of the eighteenth century, a large tract of land surrounding Brunswick on three sides had been laid off and designated as Commons. Commissioners were named in 1796 to support these efforts. The General Assembly authorized them to sell 500 acres of Commons; one-half of the proceeds to go to the construction of the courthouse and jail and one-half to the support of the academy. In 1819 the commissioners erected a comfortable building for school purposes on the southeastern corner of Reynolds and L streets. This was the first public building in Brunswick. It was abandoned four years later, but a new building was erected on Hillsborough Square in 1840 using Commons proceeds. A courthouse and jail were built around this time. The town was officially incorporated as a city on February 22, 1856. By 1860 Brunswick had a population of 468, a bank, a weekly newspaper, and a sawmill which employed nine workers.
Brunswick was abandoned during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
when citizens were ordered to evacuate. The city, like many others in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, suffered from post-war depression. After one of the nation’s largest lumber mills began operation on nearby St. Simons Island, economic prosperity returned. Rail lines were constructed from Brunswick to inland Georgia, and, unlike many other southern cities during the Reconstruction period, Brunswick experienced an economic boom
Boom and bust
A credit boom-bust cycle is an episode characterized by a sustained increase in several economics indicators followed by a sharp and rapid contraction. Commonly the boom is driven by a rapid expansion of credit to the private sector accompanied with rising prices of commodities and stock market index...
.
Sidney Lanier
Sidney Lanier was an American musician and poet.-Biography:Sidney Lanier was born February 3, 1842, in Macon, Georgia, to parents Robert Sampson Lanier and Mary Jane Anderson; he was mostly of English ancestry. His distant French Huguenot ancestors immigrated to England in the 16th century...
, who sought relief from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in Brunswick’s climate, wrote The Marshes of Glynn
The Marshes of Glynn
The Marshes of Glynn is one of Sidney Lanier's poems featured in "Hymns of the Marshes," an unfinished set of lyrical nature poems that describe the open salt marshes of Glynn County in coastal Georgia. The poem describes a marsh in detail, while evoking senses of patience and common decency.In...
, a poem based on the salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es that span across Glynn County. The December 1888 issue of Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...
predicted that "Brunswick by the Sea" was destined to become the "winter Newport
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
of America." Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island is an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, in Glynn County; it is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia. The city of Brunswick, Georgia, the Marshes of Glynn, and several other islands, including the larger St. Simons Island, are nearby...
had become a resort destination for some of the era's most influential families (most notably Rockefeller
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
s, Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt family
The Vanderbilt family is an American family of Dutch origin prominent during the Gilded Age. It started off with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy...
s, Pulitzer
Pulitzer
Pulitzer may refer to:* Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award* Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain* Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-profit organization for journalists- People :...
s and Goodyear
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
s) who arrived by train or yacht.
A yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
epidemic began in 1893 which heralded a decade of hardships for the city; it was flooded in 1893 when a modern-day Category 3 hurricane (today known as the Sea Islands Hurricane
1893 Sea Islands Hurricane
On August 27, 1893 a major hurricane which came to be known as the Sea Islands Hurricane struck the United States near Savannah, Georgia. It was one of two deadly hurricanes during the 1893 Atlantic hurricane season; the storm killed an estimated 1,000–2,000 people, mostly from storm surge...
) paralleled the coast of Georgia before hitting South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. The storm left the city under six feet of water. A Category 4 hurricane hit Cumberland Island
Cumberland Island
Cumberland Island is one of the Sea Islands. Cumberland is the largest in terms of continuously exposed land area of Georgia's barrier islands. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia and is part of Camden County...
just south of Brunswick in October 1898, which caused a 16 feet (4.9 m) storm surge in the city. As a result, 179 were killed.
Construction of an electric streetcar
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
line began in 1909 and was completed in 1911. Tracks were located in the center of several city streets. In July 1924, the F.J. Torras Causeway, the roadway between Brunswick and St. Simons Island, was completed, and passenger boat service from Brunswick to St. Simons Island was terminated. By 1926, the electric streetcar line in Brunswick was discontinued; the decline of the streetcar systems coincided with the rise of the automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Brunswick served as a strategic military location. German U-boats threatened the coast of the southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, and blimp
Blimp
A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is a floating airship without an internal supporting framework or keel. A non-rigid airship differs from a semi-rigid airship and a rigid airship in that it does not have any rigid structure, neither a complete framework nor a partial keel, to help the airbag...
s became a common sight as they patrolled the coastal areas. During the war, blimps from Brunswick’s Naval Air Station Glynco
Naval Air Station Glynco
Naval Air Station Glynco was an operational naval air station from 1942 to 1974. Now known as Brunswick Golden Isles Airport , it was previously known as Glynco Jetport following NAS Glyncos closure. It is now a public airport located 5 miles north of the city of Brunswick, in Glynn County,...
(at the time, the largest blimp base in the world) safely escorted almost 100,000 ships without a single vessel lost to enemy submarines.
Liberty ships
J.A. Jones Construction
J.A. Jones Construction was a heavy construction company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Operating internationally since the 1950s, it merged with Germany's Philipp Holzmann AG in 1979....
produced ninety-nine Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
s and "Knot" ships (type C1-M ships
Type C1 ship
Type C1 was a designation for small cargo ships built for the U.S. Maritime Commission before and during World War II. The first C1 types were the smallest of the three original Maritime Commission designs, meant for shorter routes where high speed and capacity were less important. Only a handful...
which were designed for short coastal runs, and most often named for knot
Knot
A knot is a method of fastening or securing linear material such as rope by tying or interweaving. It may consist of a length of one or several segments of rope, string, webbing, twine, strap, or even chain interwoven such that the line can bind to itself or to some other object—the "load"...
s) for the U.S. Maritime Commission
United States Maritime Commission
The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...
to transport materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
to the European
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
and Pacific Theatres
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
.
The first ship was the SS James M. Wayne (named after James Moore Wayne
James Moore Wayne
James Moore Wayne was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and was a United States Representative from Georgia.-Biography:...
), whose keel was laid on July 6, 1942 and was launched on March 13, 1943. The last ship was the SS Coastal Ranger whose keel was laid on June 7, 1945 and launched on August 25, 1945. The first six ships took 305 to 331 days each to complete, but soon production ramped up and most of the remaining ships were built in about two months, bringing the average down to 89 days each. By November 1943, about four ships were launched per month. The SS William F. Jerman was completed in only 34 days in November and December 1944. Six ships could be under construction in slipway
Slipway
A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...
s at one time.
Topography
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
, in southeastern 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...
, approximately halfway between Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
and Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
. The city is located at the apex of the bight of the Georgia coast, the westernmost point on the Atlantic seaboard
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, and is naturally sheltered by two barrier islands, Jekyll
Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island is an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, in Glynn County; it is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia. The city of Brunswick, Georgia, the Marshes of Glynn, and several other islands, including the larger St. Simons Island, are nearby...
and St. Simons
St. Simons, Georgia
St. Simons is a census-designated place located on St. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. Both the community and the island are commonly considered to be one location, known simply as "St. Simons Island", or locally as "The Island". St...
. The city is situated on a peninsula with the East River and the Turtle River to the west, the Brunswick River to the south, and the Intracoastal Waterway
Intracoastal Waterway
The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...
to the east. An abundance of salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es separate the city from the Intracoastal Waterway, which passes between Brunswick and the barrier islands. The East River separates Brunswick from Andrews Island, a dredge spoil-site.
The city is the lowest in the state of Georgia, with an elevation of only 10 feet (3 m) above sea level. Brunswick's land area is estimated at 17.2 square miles (44.5 km²). Its total area is 25.2 square miles (65.3 km²); 8 square miles (20.7 km²) of this is water.
Climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
(Cfa in Köppen climate classification system). During the summer months, it is common for the temperature to reach over 90 °F (32 °C). However, the humidity results in a heat index
Heat index
The heat index is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity in an attempt to determine the human-perceived equivalent temperature — how hot it feels, termed the felt air temperature. The human body normally cools itself by perspiration, or sweating, which evaporates and carries...
higher than the actual temperature. Summer mornings average nearly 90 percent humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
and nearly 60 percent in the afternoon. Scattered afternoon thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
s are common in the summer. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Brunswick was 106 °F (41 °C) in 1986. Winters in Brunswick are fairly temperate. The average high in January, the coldest month, is 63 °F (17 °C), while the average low is 44 °F (7 °C). Snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
fall is very rare. The last snow accumulation in Brunswick was on December 23, 1989. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Brunswick was 5 °F (−15 °C) in 1985.
Brunswick receives a high amount of rainfall annually, averaging about 49 inches each year. The wettest months are August and September, the peak of hurricane season
Hurricane season
Hurricane season refers to a period in a year when hurricanes usually form. For more information see: Tropical cyclone#Times.* The Atlantic hurricane seasonFor a lists of past seasons, see:...
. The city has suffered less damage from hurricane
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
s than most other East Coast cities. A major hurricane has not made landfall on the Georgia coast since 1898, and the only hurricane that has hit the coast since then was Hurricane David
Hurricane David
Hurricane David was the fourth named tropical cyclone, second hurricane, and first major hurricane of the 1979 Atlantic hurricane season. A Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, David was among the deadliest hurricanes in the latter half of the 20th century, killing...
in 1979. However, the city has experienced hurricane or near-hurricane conditions several times due to storms passing through Florida from the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
and entering Georgia or passing to the north or south in the Atlantic and brushing the area.
Environment
The Brunswick area has four SuperfundSuperfund
Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...
sites, formerly home to heavily contaminated toxic waste
Toxic waste
Toxic waste is waste material that can cause death or injury to living creatures. It spreads quite easily and can contaminate lakes and rivers. The term is often used interchangeably with “hazardous waste”, or discarded material that can pose a long-term risk to health or environment.Toxic waste...
sites. The Hanlin Group, which maintained a facility to the north of the city called "LCP Chemicals," was convicted of dumping 150 short ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s of mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
into Purvis Creek, a tributary of the Turtle River, and surrounding tidal marshes between the mid-1980s and its closure in 1994. The State of Georgia asked the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) to take immediate action at the site upon its closing. The facility was declared a Superfund site; the LCP facility had previously been under scrutiny by the EPA when biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
s discovered mercury poisoning
Mercury poisoning
Mercury poisoning is a disease caused by exposure to mercury or its compounds. Mercury is a heavy metal occurring in several forms, all of which can produce toxic effects in high enough doses...
in endangered wood stork
Wood Stork
The Wood Stork is a large American wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was formerly called the "Wood Ibis", though it is not really an ibis.-Appearance:...
s on St. Simons Island. Fish, shellfish, crabs, and shrimp taken in coastal waters as well as other bird species also contained the toxic metal. The EPA traced the source of the contamination to the LCP plant and documented the extent of the damage to wildlife resources—an effort that resulted in the addition of Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
charges to those that would be brought against Hanlin and its officers.
There are three other Superfund sites in the area: Brunswick Wood Preserving, Hercules 009 Landfill
Hercules 009 Landfill
The Hercules 009 Landfill Superfund site is a property that is bordered by Georgia State Route 25 on the west; an automobile dealership on the north; a juvenile slash pine forest on the east; and several homes, a church, a school, and a strip shopping center to the south/southeast of the property...
, and Terry Creek Dredge Spoil Areas/Hercules Outfall.
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 15,600 people, 6,085 households, and 3,681 families residing in the city. 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 906 people per square mile (349.8/km²). There were 6,952 housing units at an average density of 403.8 per square mile (155.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.81% African American, 36.41% White, 0.27% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.73% 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 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.82% of the population.
The top five ancestry groups in the city were American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(5.3%), English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(5.1%), Subsarahan African (4.3%), Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(4.1%), and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(3.6%). 54.1% of the population reported another ancestry.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.8 males.
There were 6,085 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.4% 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, 24.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% 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 3.13.
The median income for a household in the city was $22,272, and the median income for a family was $28,564. Males had a median income of $26,172 versus $18,602 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 $13,062. About 25.2% of families and 30.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.9% of those under age 18 and 21.7% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Port of Brunswick
The Port of Brunswick is an Atlantic seaport located in Brunswick, Georgia in the southeast corner of the state. It is one of four ports operated by the Georgia Ports Authority....
forms a vital part of the city's economy. It is recognized as one of the most productive ports on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
and is the sixth-busiest automobile port in the United States; it is the primary export
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
facility for two of the three United States traditional automotive manufacturers
Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
: Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
. In addition, the port is also the primary export facility for Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
. The port serves as the central import
Import
The term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...
facility for Hyundai
Hyundai Motor Company
Hyundai Motor Company is a Korean multinational automaker based in Seoul, South Korea which, along with Kia, comprises the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the world's fourth largest automaker as of 2009. As of 2011, it is the world's fastest growing automaker for two years running...
, Jaguar, Kia
Kia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
, Land Rover
Land Rover
Land Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
, Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
, Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
, and Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
. Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
, BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
, and Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
utilize the port as a facility for imports as well. International Auto Processing is one of the town's largest employers. In addition to automobiles, exports also include agricultural products
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and other bulk cargo
Bulk cargo
Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. This cargo is usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or as a mass of relatively small solids , into a bulk carrier ship's hold, railroad car, or tanker truck/trailer/semi-trailer body...
es.
The port is operated by the Georgia Ports Authority
Georgia Ports Authority
The Georgia Ports Authority is the administrative agency of the U.S. state of Georgia that oversees the development, maintenance and operation of two deepwater seaports and two inland ports in the state. The GPA was established in 1945 by State Ports Authority Act #422 and is currently...
and features four separate terminals: Colonel's Island RoRo, Colonel's Island Agri-bulk, Mayor's Point, and Marine Port. Mayor's Point is the only terminal located within the city. The Colonel's Island and Marine Port terminals are located southwest of the city.
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for 90 United States government federal law enforcement agencies.-Location:...
(FLETC), a large agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
, is headquartered in Glynco
Glynco, Georgia
Glynco is an area in Glynn County, Georgia located on the northwestern edge of Brunswick, GA. Glynco is a contraction of the words "Glynn County".In 1942 the Naval Air Station Glynco was established on the area now known as Glynco...
, north of the city. A study conducted by Georgia Tech
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
identified FLETC as the largest employer in Glynn County; it was further determined that FLETC's annual localized economic impact is in excess of $600 million.
Southeast Georgia Health System is the largest private employer in Brunswick. Other major employers in Brunswick include King & Prince Seafood, GSI Commerce
GSI Commerce
GSI Commerce is an eBay company specializing in creating, developing and running online shopping sites for brick and mortar brands and retailers....
, Pinova and Gulfstream Aerospace
Gulfstream Aerospace
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is a producer of several models of jet aircraft. Gulfstream has been a unit of General Dynamics since 1999.The company has produced more than 1,500 aircraft for corporate, government, private, and military customers around the world...
. Wood pulp
Wood pulp
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibres from wood, fibre crops or waste paper. Wood pulp is the most common raw material in papermaking.-History:...
is produced by the Georgia-Pacific
Georgia-Pacific
Georgia-Pacific LLC is an American pulp and paper company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of tissue, pulp, paper, packaging, building products and related chemicals. As of Fall 2010, the company employed more than 40,000 people at more...
mill
Pulp mill
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fibre source into a thick fibre board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...
in Brunswick. The mill, which has been in operation since 1937, has the capability to produce over 800,000 metric tons of cellulose
Cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β linked D-glucose units....
each year. Additionally, it is the largest single-site fluff production facility in the world. Hercules
Hercules Inc.
Hercules, Inc., was a chemical and munitions manufacturing company based in Wilmington, Delaware, which was formed in 1912 as the Hercules Powder Company. Hercules was spun-off from the DuPont Corporation as a result of U.S. federal government actions in the field of antitrusts...
, a manufacturer and marketer of chemical specialties, operates a production facility on the north side of Brunswick. Jet aircraft manufacturer Gulfstream Aerospace
Gulfstream Aerospace
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is a producer of several models of jet aircraft. Gulfstream has been a unit of General Dynamics since 1999.The company has produced more than 1,500 aircraft for corporate, government, private, and military customers around the world...
also has a presence at the city's airport.
Tourism is the single largest industry in the city and the county. Brunswick and the Golden Isles are a year-round resort community. The islands' beaches, resorts, shops, and historic sites annually attract visitors from around the world. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
hosted the G8 summit
30th G8 summit
The 30th G8 summit took place in Sea Island, Georgia, United States, on June 8 – June 10, 2004.-Overview:The Group of Seven was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and...
in 2004 on Sea Island.
Government
| Mayor | Bryan Thompson Bryan Thompson (politician) Bryan Thompson is the Mayor of Brunswick, Georgia. He ran on the Republican ballot and was elected mayor in 2005. He is originally from Plain City, Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University with a major in performing arts. On March 13, 2006, Thompson appeared on the game show Deal or No... |
| Mayor Pro Tem | Cornell Harvey |
| Commissioner | James H. Brooks |
| Commissioner | Mark Spaulding |
| Commissioner | Jonathan Williams |
| Manager | Roosevelt Harris, Jr. |
Brunswick uses the city commission
City commission government
City commission government is a form of municipal government which once was common in the United States, but many cities which were formerly governed by commission have since switched to the council-manager form of government...
model of municipal government
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
. The city commission consists of five individuals elected on a plurality-at-large
Plurality-at-large voting
Plurality-at-large voting is a non-proportional voting system for electing several representatives from a single multimember electoral district using a series of check boxes and tallying votes similar to a plurality election...
basis. Commissioners constitute the legislative body
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
of the city and, as a group, are responsible for taxation, appropriations, ordinances, and other general functions. Individual commissioners are assigned responsibility for a specific aspect of municipal affairs. One commissioner is designated to function as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
. The mayor of Brunswick is Bryan Thompson
Bryan Thompson (politician)
Bryan Thompson is the Mayor of Brunswick, Georgia. He ran on the Republican ballot and was elected mayor in 2005. He is originally from Plain City, Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University with a major in performing arts. On March 13, 2006, Thompson appeared on the game show Deal or No...
who was first elected in 2005.
The city is divided into two wards with each ward electing two city commission representatives. The mayor serves as an at-large
At-Large
At-large is a designation for representative members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body , rather than a subset of that membership...
commissioner and chairperson
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
. The commission meets twice each month at Old City Hall in Old Town. The city commission appoints a city manager
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
to serve at will for an infinite term. The main duty of the manager is to oversee policy set by the city commission on a daily basis. The city manager is to see that all laws, provisions of the city charter
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
, and any acts of the city commission are executed and enforced. The city manager of Brunswick is Roosevelt Harris, Jr.
Sister cities
IlanYilan City
Yilan City historically spelled Ilan or I-lan, is the capital of Yilan County, Taiwan. It is on the north side of Lanyang River. The first Han Chinese settled there in 1802....
(Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
) Ganzhou
Ganzhou
Ganzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. Its administrative seat is at Zhanggong .-History:...
(China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
)
Brunswick has an active sister cities program designed to encourage cultural and economic exchanges. Brunswick has two sister cities: Ilan
Yilan City
Yilan City historically spelled Ilan or I-lan, is the capital of Yilan County, Taiwan. It is on the north side of Lanyang River. The first Han Chinese settled there in 1802....
(Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
) and Ganzhou
Ganzhou
Ganzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. Its administrative seat is at Zhanggong .-History:...
(China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
).
In November 2008, Mayor Thompson and the city commission of Brunswick traveled to Ganzhou to strengthen ties between the two cities. Ganzhou, a city with a population of 8.5 million, reciprocated, sending a delegation to Brunswick where an official sister city agreement was signed at Old City Hall on April 3, 2009.
Higher education
Brunswick is home to the College of Coastal Georgia, which has more than 3,000 enrolled students. Since 1961, the college had been a two-year institutionCommunity colleges in the United States
In the United States, community colleges are primarily two-year public institutions of higher education and were once commonly called junior colleges....
, but in 2008, the college began its transition to a four-year institution. The college is currently a state college
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
within the University System of Georgia
University System of Georgia
The University System of Georgia is the organizational body that includes 35 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The System is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates general policy to educational institutions as well as administering...
, with bachelor's degree programs in education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
, and nursing sciences
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
, and other associate degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
programs designed to prepare students to transfer to senior colleges and universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
. The college offers one- and two-year career programs that prepare students for immediate employment as well as developmental and remedial courses for students who need to refresh or strengthen their academic background. Bachelor's and master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
s from Armstrong Atlantic State University
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Armstrong Atlantic State University, also referred to as Armstrong Atlantic, Armstrong, or simply AASU, is a four-year public university part of the University System of Georgia. It is located on a campus in suburban Savannah, Georgia, United States...
, Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University is a national public university located on a campus in Statesboro, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1906, it is part of the University System of Georgia and is the largest center of higher education in the southern half of Georgia offering 117 academic majors in a comprehensive...
, and Valdosta State University
Valdosta State University
Valdosta State University, also referred to as VSU, or Valdosta State, is an American public university and is one of the two regional universities in the University System of Georgia. Valdosta State is located on a campus at the heart of the city of Valdosta...
are obtainable in certain degree programs through the Brunswick campus.
Primary and secondary schools
The Glynn County School SystemGlynn County School District
The Glynn County School District is a public school district in Glynn County, Georgia, USA, based in Brunswick, Georgia. It serves the communities of Brunswick, Country Club Estates, Dock Junction, and St...
is the governing authority of public schools in the city. More than 12,000 students attend schools in the school system. There are ten elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
s, three middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s, and two high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s: Brunswick High School
Brunswick High School (Georgia)
Brunswick High School is a public high school located in Brunswick, Georgia in Glynn County, Georgia. It is part of the Glynn County School District and opened in 1967....
and Glynn Academy
Glynn Academy
Glynn Academy is an American public high school in Brunswick, Georgia, USA,, enrolling 1,755 students in grades 9–12. Along with Brunswick High School, it is one of two high schools in the Glynn County School System...
. Glynn Academy, the second-oldest public high school in the American South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and the seventh-oldest public high school in the United States, was founded in 1788 by an act of the Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
. Brunswick High School opened in 1967. Specialized institutions including performance learning centers, an early college academy, and a career-technical academy are present within the system.
There are several private schools operating in the area. In the city, there is one Catholic school
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
and one Seventh-day Adventist
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
school. There are also Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
, Pentecostal
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
, and non-denominational Christian
Non-denominational Christianity
In Christianity, nondenominational institutions or churches are those not formally aligned with an established denomination, or that remain otherwise officially autonomous. This, however, does not preclude an identifiable standard among such congregations...
schools north of the city. On St. Simons Island, there is a Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
school. The only private high school in the area is Frederica Academy
Frederica Academy
Frederica Academy is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school located on Saint Simons Island, Georgia, USA. It currently serves students from grades Pre-K to 12. The school has a fully functional lower school, middle school, and high school...
although several smaller Christian schools in Brunswick offer high school education. Frederica, a nonsectarian
Nonsectarian
Nonsectarian, in its most literal sense, refers to a lack of sectarianism. The term is also more narrowly used to describe secular private educational institutions or other organizations either not affiliated with or not restricted to a particular religious denomination though the organization...
school on St. Simons Island, offers classes from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
Arts and theatre
Old Town Brunswick's historic and ornate Ritz Theatre hosts a range of performances. Renovated in the early 1980s and again in 2000 through 2001, the Ritz is home to the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association, the coordinating arts council for Brunswick and Glynn County. The association hosts an annual performing arts series and rents space to individual producers and organizations.
The city is home to various art galleries. Art Downtown is a cultural arts center featuring a fine art gallery, studio, and production company. It is home to the Brunswick Actors' Theatre. The Gallery on Newcastle is home to a display of scenes from coastal Georgia's marshes.
Along Union Street is a collection of 19th and early 20th century Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
mansions. Each December the Magnolia Garden Club tours select Union Street homes in addition to other areas in historic Brunswick as part of its Christmas Tour of Homes.
Sports and recreation
The College of Coastal Georgia has an active collegiate sports program. The local high schools compete in the Georgia High School AssociationGeorgia High School Association
The Georgia High School Association governs athletic and club events for member high schools in Georgia, USA. The GHSA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations. The association comprises 437 public and private high schools...
's quad-A Region 2 sporting events. From 1950 to 2007, Brunswick served host to the Golden Isles Bowl Classic, one of the most prestigious junior college football bowl games in the country. Scholastic and intramural sports are held at school and park facilities around the city. Glynn County Stadium and Lanier Field are two sports stadiums available in the city.
Golden Isles Speedway, a mile (1 km) race track
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
, is located in western Glynn County, approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) west of the city.
The PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
holds the McGladrey Classic
McGladrey Classic
The McGladrey Classic is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour named for its main sponsor, McGladrey, an accounting, tax and business consulting firm. It had its first playing in October 2010 in St. Simons Island, Georgia at the Sea Island Seaside Golf Club...
every year at the Seaside Course on Sea Island. The area is notorious for its golf resort
Golf resort
Golf resorts are resorts that cater specifically to the sport of golf, and include access to one or more golf course and or clubhouse. Golf resorts typically provide golf packages that provide visitors with all greens and cart fees, range balls, luxury accommodations and...
s. In 2008 Sea Island was ranked the number-one destination for business meetings and golf by Golf Digest
Golf Digest
Golf Digest is a monthly golf magazine published by Condé Nast Publications in the United States. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. Condé Nast Publications also publishes the more specialized , and Golf World Business. The...
and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
. Sea Island was also ranked number-one among the best golf resorts in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
by Golf Digest. There are three golf courses located just north of the city, and combined with Jekyll, St. Simons, and Sea islands, there are 252 holes of golf in the Brunswick area.
The Brunswick area is home to two out of three publicly accessible beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es in the state. Brunswick is the gateway city to Jekyll and St. Simons islands; both are accessible via automobile only by causeways from the city. The islands, known colloquially as the Golden Isles
The Golden Isles of Georgia
The Golden Isles of Georgia are a group of four barrier islands on the 100-mile-long coast of Georgia on the Atlantic Ocean. They include St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Jekyll Island, Little St. Simons Island, and Historic Brunswick. They are part of the Sea Islands.Since the American Civil War,...
, feature white-sand public beaches and are popular destinations for tourists and local citizens.
In 1906 the city was home to a Class D-level minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team, the River Snipes, a team shared with Columbus
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
as part of the inaugural season of the Georgia State League
Georgia State League
The Georgia State League was an American Class D minor league in professional baseball that existed in 1906, 1914, 1920-21 and 1948-56. During its last incarnation, it existed alongside two nearby Class D circuits, the Georgia-Florida League and the Georgia-Alabama League.The version of the GSL...
. The league went defunct following that season. In 1913 the Brunswick Pilots debuted as part of the short-lived Empire State League, before joining the Georgia State League in 1914, and the Florida-Alabama-Georgia League in 1915. The Pilots stopped play following the 1915 season. Thirty-six years passed before Brunswick had another professional baseball team. In 1951 the Brunswick Pirates, a Class D minor league affiliate of the major league
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, began play in the Georgia-Florida League
Georgia-Florida League
The Georgia-Florida League was a minor baseball league that existed from 1935 through 1958 and in 1962–1963...
, beginning eight years of presence in the city. The Pirates won league championships in 1954 and 1955. In 1957 the Pirates became affiliates of the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, respectively adopting the name Brunswick Phillies. Following the 1958 season, the Phillies ceased play. Brunswick was home to the Cardinals of the Georgia-Florida League in 1962 and 1963 before the league disbanded in 1963.
Parks and squares
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
s and squares. Six original squares still exist in the city, although all but one, Hanover, have been bisected by a city street. There are also two additional squares located within the city, Orange and Palmetto. Numerous parks exist in the city, the largest being Howard Coffin
Howard E. Coffin
Howard Earle Coffin was an American engineer and industrialist. He was one of the founders of the Hudson Motor Car Company with Roy D. Chapin...
Park. The parks include features such as playgrounds, baseball fields, softball fields, soccer fields, basketball courts, and picnic areas. Coffin Park includes a walking track. The district also owns the Roosevelt Lawrence Community Center, a center equipped with popular and traditional recreational game tables, two classrooms, and a multi-purpose gymnasium.
The Brunswick area is rich in live oak
Live oak
Live oak , also known as the southern live oak, is a normally evergreen oak tree native to the southeastern United States...
trees, particularly the Southern live oak
Southern live oak
Quercus virginiana, also known as the southern live oak, is a normally evergreen oak tree native to the southeastern United States. Though many other species are loosely called live oak, the southern live oak is particularly iconic of the Old South....
. Such is the quality of the live oak trees in the Brunswick and the Golden Isles area that Revolutionary warships such as the USS Constitution
USS Constitution
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel...
(nicknamed Old Ironsides) were clad in St. Simons Island oak planks. Brunswick has a notable live oak named Lover's Oak (located at Prince and Albany Streets). As of 2005, it is approximately 900 years old. According to the State of Georgia and American Indian folklore, Native American braves and their maidens would meet under the oak.
Cuisine
The city lays claim to Brunswick stewBrunswick stew
Brunswick stew is a traditional dish, popular in the American South. The origin of the dish is uncertain, and there are two competing claims as to the place in the South where it originated, in addition to some claim to a German origin...
, a tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
-based stew containing various types of lima beans, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, okra
Okra
Okra is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is valued for its edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with supporters of South Asian, Ethiopian and West African origins...
, and other vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s, and one or more types of meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
. Most recipes claiming authenticity
Authentication
Authentication is the act of confirming the truth of an attribute of a datum or entity...
call for squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
or rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
meat, but chicken
Chicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
, pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
and beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
are also common ingredients. A twenty-five-gallon (95 L) iron pot outside the city bears a plaque declaring the stew was first cooked there in 1898. The Brunswick Rockin' Stewbilee, held annually in October, features a stew tasting contest where visitors sample over 50 teams' stews. The Stewbilee became notorious when the city invited Brunswick County
Brunswick County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,419 people, 6,277 households, and 4,312 families residing in the county. The population density was 32 people per square mile . There were 7,541 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to the festival for a stew cookoff in the 1980s, which led the Brunswick "Stew Wars" to be featured in Southern Living
Southern Living
Southern Living is a widely read lifestyle magazine aimed at readers in the Southern United States featuring recipes, house plans, and information about Southern culture and travel...
.
Brunswick is the center of Georgia's shrimping
Shrimp fishery
A shrimp fishery is a fishery directed toward harvesting either shrimp or prawns. .-Commercial shrimping:...
industry. The city was once called The Shrimp Capital of the World, but in recent times, production has been far below average. Nevertheless, nearby Jekyll Island hosts the Wild Georgia Shrimp & Grits Festival in September. Apart from shrimping, the area is also the center of Georgia's crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
and oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
industries.
Transportation
- Port of BrunswickPort of BrunswickThe Port of Brunswick is an Atlantic seaport located in Brunswick, Georgia in the southeast corner of the state. It is one of four ports operated by the Georgia Ports Authority....
Brunswick Golden Isles Airport
Brunswick Golden Isles Airport
Brunswick Golden Isles Airport , previously known as Glynco Jetport, is a county-owned public-use airport located five nautical miles north of the central business district of Brunswick, a city in Glynn County, Georgia, United States...
(BQK, KBQK) is served by Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
with several daily round trips to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
. The city was formerly served by DayJet
DayJet
DayJet was an American commercial aviation operation that provided on-demand jet travel using Eclipse 500 Very Light Jets. The company began operations in Florida in October 2007 and suspended operations on September 19, 2008....
, with service to cities in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Florida, and Georgia; the company suspended its operations in September 2008. Two railway lines run through the city: CSX and Norfolk Southern
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
. The Golden Isles Terminal Railroad
Golden Isles Terminal Railroad
The Golden Isles Terminal Railroad is a terminal railroad that began operations in 1998, taking over from the Colonel's Island Railroad. It operates 33 miles of track in and around the port at Brunswick, GA. Starting in 1998, GITM is owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc....
is a short line operating 12.6 miles (20.3 km) of mainline trackage between Anguilla Junction and the Colonel's Island and Marine Port terminals of the Port of Brunswick
Port of Brunswick
The Port of Brunswick is an Atlantic seaport located in Brunswick, Georgia in the southeast corner of the state. It is one of four ports operated by the Georgia Ports Authority....
. This line connects with a line that originates in Old Town Brunswick at Anguilla Junction. Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
passenger service is available in Jesup
Jesup, Georgia
Jesup is a city in Wayne County, Georgia, United States. The population was 9,279 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Wayne County.-Geography:Jesup is located at ....
, 40 miles (64 km) northwest of the city.
The original Sidney Lanier Bridge
Sidney Lanier Bridge
The Sidney Lanier Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Brunswick River in Brunswick, Georgia, carrying four lanes of U.S. Route 17. The current bridge was built as a replacement to the original lift bridge which was twice struck by ships. It is currently the longest spanning bridge in...
was a vertical lift bridge
Lift bridge
A vertical-lift bridge or lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck....
on U.S. 17
U.S. Route 17
U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 is a north–south United States highway. The highway spans the southeastern United States and is close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length. The highway's southern terminus is at Punta Gorda, Florida, at an intersection with U.S. Route 41...
crossing over the Brunswick River and was opened on June 22, 1956. On November 7, 1972, the ship African Neptune struck the bridge, causing parts of the bridge to collapse, taking cars with it. The accident resulted in ten deaths. On May 3, 1987 the bridge was again struck by a ship, the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
freighter Ziemia Bialostocka (ziemia Białostocka). A new cable-stayed bridge
Cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....
with the same name opened in 2003 to allow larger ships to enter the port and to eliminate the need for the drawbridge on U.S. 17. It is the longest-spanning bridge in Georgia. The elevation at the top of the support towers is 480 feet (146 m).
Three federal highways pass through Brunswick: U.S. Route 17, U.S. Route 341
U.S. Route 341
U.S. Route 341 is a spur of U.S. Route 41. It currently runs southeasterly for 226 miles from Barnesville, Georgia at U.S. Route 41 to Brunswick, Georgia where it ends at its junction with U.S. Route 17 near the Sidney Lanier Bridge. Its run is entirely within the state of Georgia....
, and U.S. Route 25
U.S. Route 25
U.S. Route 25 is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Brunswick, Georgia to the Ohio state line in Covington, Kentucky.-Georgia:...
. U.S. 17 runs north to south through the eastern part of town and is a four lane highway. U.S. 341 is multiplexed with U.S. 25 for almost the entire route and originates in Brunswick off of U.S. 17. Interstate 95
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 is the main highway on the East Coast of the United States, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to Florida and serving some of the most populated urban areas in the country, including Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore,...
runs west and northwest of the city and U.S. Route 82
U.S. Route 82
U.S. Route 82 is an east–west United States highway in the southern United States. What started as a 1932 addition to the system across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas eventually became a 1,609 mile route extending from the White Sands of New Mexico to Georgia's Atlantic coast.The...
originates at the junction of U.S. 17 and State Route 303
Georgia State Route 303
Georgia State Route 303 begins at U.S. 17/SR 25/SR 520 west of Brunswick, USA, which is also the eastern terminus of U.S. 82. The route travels north across the Turtle River, then arcs to the east, intersecting U.S. 25/U.S. 341/SR 27 in Arco. The route continues east, reaching its northern terminus...
.
In 2006, Glynn County applied for approximately $930,000 for first-year funding for a transit
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
service. The county and city match was for over $100,000 combined. The first year project would fund the purchase of up to four buses, two vans, signage, equipment, and facility improvements. The first-year application is still pending with the Georgia DOT
Georgia Department of Transportation
The Georgia Department of Transportation is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Georgia. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in developing public transportation and general aviation programs...
and the Federal Transit Administration
Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...
.
Health care
With over 1,320 employees and over 200 physicians, Southeast Georgia Health System is the main provider of health care in Brunswick and the surrounding area and is also the largest private employer in Brunswick. Southeast Georgia Health System's medical campus in the city offers a 316-bed full service hospital. Southeast Georgia Health System Brunswick campus also has an alliance with the International Seafarer’s Center that provides first-class medical attention to seamen who come into the Brunswick port; the medical needs of approximately 15,000 international merchant seafarers are met each year.Southeast Georgia Health System recently opened the Outpatient Care Center on the Brunswick campus. This six-story, 195000 square feet (18,116.1 m²) building includes outpatient surgery
Outpatient surgery
Outpatient surgery, also known as ambulatory surgery, same-day surgery or day surgery, is surgery that does not require an overnight hospital stay. The term “outpatient” arises from the fact that surgery patients may go home and do not need an overnight hospital bed...
and imaging services
Medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
, the Cancer Care Center, a retail area, the Dick Mitchell Health Information Center, as well as physician offices and suites.
In 2004, the Brunswick campus was named Best Large Hospital in the State of Georgia by the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals.
Media
The Brunswick News
The Brunswick News, based in Brunswick, Georgia, United States, is a major daily newspaper in southeast Georgia. It was founded by the brothers C.H. Leavy and L.J. Leavy and began publication in 1902...
is one of two major daily newspapers serving Brunswick; the other is The Georgia Times-Union, a subsidiary of the Jacksonville-based Florida Times-Union
The Florida Times-Union
The Florida Times-Union is a major daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the Florida Union in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when the Florida Union merged with another Jacksonville paper, the...
. Brunswick has one free weekly newspaper delivered to most homes in Glynn County, The Harbor Sound (a free publication). The Islander is a weekly paper, member of the Georgia Press Association, and available at newsstands or by subscription.
The major AM radio stations in Brunswick are WSFN
WSFN
WSFN is a sports-talk radio station in Brunswick, Georgia. WSFN programming is simulcast on WFNS 1350 AM. WSFN is owned by MarMac Communications, who also owns WSEG of Savannah, WFNS of Blackshear, and WAYX of Waycross, Georgia....
790, an ESPN
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
affiliate and primarily a sports station; WCGA
WCGA
WCGA is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Woodbine, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Brunswick, GA/Fernandina Beach, FL area. The station is currently owned by Cox Broadcast Group, Inc. and features programing from Fox News Radio and Salem...
1100; WGIG 1440; and WMOG
WMOG
WMOG is a radio station broadcasting a Sports format. Licensed to Brunswick, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Brunswick area. The station is currently owned by Qantum of Brunswick License Company, LLC and features programing from Fox Sports ....
1490, which are all news and talk stations. The city's FM stations include NPR affiliate WWIO-FM 88.9, public radio
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
WWEZ at 94.7 (St. Simons Island) and 97.5 (Brunswick), and commercial stations WAYR-FM 90.7, WBGA
WBGA
WBGA is a radio station broadcasting a Urban Contemporary format. Licensed to St. Simons Island, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Brunswick area. The station is currently owned by Qantum of Brunswick License Company, LLC.-History:...
92.7, WMUV
WMUV
WMUV is a commercial radio station located in Brunswick, Georgia, broadcasting to the Jacksonville, Florida area on 100.7 FM. The station airs a Classic Country music format branded as "Country Legends 100.7".-History:...
100.7, WSOL
WSOL-FM
WSOL-FM is a commercial Urban Adult Contemporary radio station in Jacksonville, Florida broadcasting on 101.5 MHz. The station is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications....
101.5, WYNR
WYNR
WYNR is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Waycross, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Brunswick/Jacksonville area. The station is currently owned by Qantum Communications and the broadcast license is held by Qantum Communications of Brunswick,...
102.5, WWSN
WWSN
WQGA is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary hit radio music format. Licensed to Waycross, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Jacksonville area. The station is currently owned by Qantum of Brunswick License Company, LLC and features programing from ABC Radio .-History:The station was...
103.3, WRJY
WRJY
WRJY is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Brunswick, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Brunswick area. The station is currently owned by Golden Isles Broadcasting, LLC and features programming from Motor Racing Network.-History:The station went on the air as WAAE...
104.1, WXMK
WXMK
WXMK is a radio station broadcasting a Hot Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Dock Junction, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Brunswick area...
105.9, and WHFX
WHFX
WHFX is a radio station broadcasting an album oriented rock format. Licensed to Darien, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Brunswick area. The station is currently owned by Qantum of Brunswick License Company, LLC.-History:...
107.7.
WPXC-TV
WPXC-TV
WPXC-TV is the Ion Television television station in the Jacksonville, Florida, market, but licenced to serve Brunswick, Georgia. Owned by Ion Media Networks, the station broadcasts on digital channel 24. In addition, the station has a low power repeater in Jacksonville, WPXJ-LP, on channel...
, channel 21, an Ion affiliate, is the only broadcast television
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
station in Brunswick. The station became an ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliate in 1996, but in 2001, Allbritton Communications
Allbritton Communications Company
The Allbritton Communications Company is an owner of television stations and other media, based in Arlington, Virginia. All of its stations are affiliated with ABC after signing an affiliation agreement in 1997.-Currently owned:...
sold the station and, therefore, the station lost its affiliation. All major U.S. television networks are represented in Brunswick from Jacksonville- and Savannah-based television stations.
Brunswick has been featured in scenes from the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s The View from Pompey's Head
The View from Pompey's Head
The View from Pompey's Head is a novel by Hamilton Basso which spent 40 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List after it was published by Doubleday in 1954....
(1955), Conrack
Conrack (1974 film)
Conrack is a 1974 film based on the 1972 autobiographical book The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy, directed by Martin Ritt and starring Jon Voight in the title role, alongside Paul Winfield, Madge Sinclair, Hume Cronyn and Antonio Fargas...
(1974), The Longest Yard (1974), and the documentary Criminalizing Dissent (2006).
The city is also the setting for the novel "Ravens" by the author George Dawes Green
George Dawes Green
George Dawes Green is an American novelist and the founder of the storytelling organization The Moth. Green published his first novel, The Caveman's Valentine, in 1994, and it was adapted into a film starring Samuel L. Jackson. He quickly followed that success with The Juror, also adapted into a...
.
External links
- City of Brunswick website
- Golden Isles CVB
- Downtown Development District
- Historical markers in Glynn County
- Brunswick, Glynn County, and Coastal Georgia Information
- Liberty ship marker and model
- Master list of Liberty ships
- History of Brunswick
- St. Francis Xavier Catholic Parish, Brunswick, GA
- "Welcome Ships for Victory" Photograph collection at the Brunswick-Glynn County Library that depict World War II cargo ship building activities from 1943 to 1945.