# McDonough, Georgia

McDonough is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its population was 29,051 in 2020. The city is the county seat of Henry County. The unincorporated communities of Blacksville, Flippen, Kelleytown, and Ola are located near McDonough, and addresses in those communities have McDonough ZIP codes.

## History

The town was named for naval officer Commodore Thomas Macdonough and founded in 1823 around a traditional town square design. The buildings surrounding the square are intact, although there are some vacancies. The county courthouse and historic jail building are on the north side near the Welcome Center in a historically maintained Standard Oil service station, built in 1920. The station also houses the Main Street Program Office.
One block east of the square, the town's original cotton warehouse has been replaced with the Henry County Judicial Center. In the same area the Henry County Courthouse Annex has an original oil on canvas "Cotton Gin" (4+1⁄2 by 11 feet) by artist Jean Charlot. He painted this oil in 1942 for the town post office. His works can be found all over the world in everything from children's books to large murals.
The town was a relay station on the New York City to New Orleans stagecoach line and was connected by other stage lines with Fayetteville and Decatur, and with Macon by way of Jackson.

## Geography

McDonough is in central Henry County, 28 miles (45 km) southeast of downtown Atlanta. U.S. Route 23 passes through the center of the city, leading northwest 9 miles (14 km) to Stockbridge and south 7 miles (11 km) to Locust Grove. Interstate 75 passes through the southwestern arm of the city, with access from Exits 216, 218, and 221. I-75 leads northwest to Atlanta and southeast 56 miles (90 km) to Macon.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.9 square miles (33.4 km$^2$), of which 12.7 square miles (32.9 km$^2$) are land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km$^2$), or 1.50%, are water.

## Demographics

McDonough racial composition as of 2020 :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 4,998 | 17.2% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 20,092 | 69.16% |
| Native American | 55 | 0.19% |
| Asian | 610 | 2.1% |
| Pacific Islander | 30 | 0.1% |
| Other/Mixed | 1,306 | 4.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,960 | 6.75% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 29,051 people, 8,543 households, and 5,778 families residing in the city.

## Economy

Snapper Inc. manufacturing residential and professional lawn care and snow removal equipment, was based in McDonough. The company began in 1894 as Southern Saw Works, and claims to have invented the first self-propelled rotary lawn mower. The company was sold to Briggs and Stratton, which operated the plant until its closure in 2015.
Goya Foods has its Atlanta offices in an unincorporated area near McDonough.

## Arts and culture

Several individual buildings and two historic districts in the city are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the downtown McDonough Historic District.

### Events

The city hosts a Geranium Festival each springtime on the third Saturday in May, celebrating the locally grown flowers and community. The one-day festival serves as a showcase of local artistry and talent through the open-air craft markets and live musical performances. The festival is sponsored by the McDonough Lions Club, and held on the McDonough Square and surrounding areas.

## Sports

The city's semi-professional soccer team Georgia Revolution FC plays in the National Premier Soccer League at the Warhawk Stadium.
WWE developmental territory Deep South Wrestling was based in McDonough.

## Education
### Henry County School District

The Henry County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve. The district has twenty eight elementary schools, nine middle schools, and ten high schools. The district has 1,543 full-time teachers and over 40,000 students.

#### Henry County Public Schools
### Elementary schools

* Cotton Indian Elementary School
* Dutchtown Elementary School
* East Lake Elementary School
* Flippen Elementary School
* Hickory Flat Elementary School
* McDonough Elementary School
* New Hope Elementary School
* Oakland Elementary School
* Ola Elementary School
* Pleasant Grove Elementary School
* Rock Spring Elementary School
* Timber Ridge Elementary School
* Tussahaw Elementary School
* Unity Grove Elementary School
* Walnut Creek Elementary School
* Wesley Lakes Elementary School

#### Middle schools

* Eagle's Landing Middle School
* Dutchtown Middle School
* McDonough Middle School
* Ola Middle School
* Woodland Middle School
* Union Grove Middle School

#### High schools

* Academy for Advanced Studies
* Dutchtown High School
* Eagle's Landing High School
* Henry County Evening Academy
* McDonough High School
* Ola High School
* Union Grove High School
* Luella High School

### Private schools

* Eagle's Landing Christian Academy
* New Creation Christian Academy
* Creekside Christian Academy
* Living Word Christian
* McDonough Christian Academy
* Sunbrook Academy at Luella
* The Sharon School
* Peoples Baptist Academy

### Higher education

* Gordon State College has a satellite center in McDonough.
* Mercer University opened a campus in McDonough in 2003, and offers teacher education, criminal justice, and general studies.
* Grace Biblical Seminary opened in 2004, and offers theological and ministries degrees.{18}
* Atlanta Bible College is located in McDonough.

## Media

WKKP is the local radio station, broadcasting on 100.9 FM and 1410 AM; it has a classic country format.
The Henry Herald is the local county news print media.

### Film

* The film A Madea Christmas was filmed in the town square and around McDonough.
* The television show Resurrection was filmed in the town square and around McDonough.
* Scenes for the 1989 Civil War film, Glory, were filmed in the city.
* A pilot episode for Roswell was filmed on the city square at the old Phillips 66 service station.
* The 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit was filmed primarily in Georgia in the cities of McDonough, Jonesboro and Lithonia.

## Infrastructure
### Transportation

Xpress GA provides local bus service.
McDonough is served by the following highways:
* Interstate 75
* U.S. Highway 23
* Georgia State Route 20
* Georgia State Route 42
* Georgia State Route 81
* Georgia State Route 155
* Georgia State Route 351
* Georgia State Route 401
* Georgia State Route 920 (unsigned designation for Jonesboro Rd)
Until the mid-1960s the Southern Railway operated the Cincinnati to Miami Ponce de Leon, which made stops in McDonough.

## Notable people

* Jordan Akins, Current NFL Tight End for the Houston Texans who was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2018 NFL draft; was born, and presumably raised in McDonough, Georgia
* Darrell Armstrong, former NBA player; lives in McDonough
* Erasmus W. Beck, United States congressman; born in McDonough in 1833
* Travis Bergen, MLB pitcher; born in McDonough in 1993
* Herman Cain, businessman and candidate for 2012 Republican presidential nomination; lived in McDonough
* Daz Cameron, top baseball outfield prospect in the Detroit Tigers organization
* Antonio Gibson, American football player; attended high school in McDonough
* Jason Heyward, former Atlanta Braves All-Star outfielder and first-round selection in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft; starting outfielder for 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs; attended high school in McDonough
* James T. Holtzclaw, Confederate general in the American Civil War; born in McDonough in 1833
* John Lunsford, politician and businessman
* Tre McBride, former NFL & XFL wide receiver; born in McDonough
* Matt Murton, Hanshin Tigers outfielder 2010–15; former MLB player with the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Colorado Rockies; went to high school in McDonough
* Shaquille O'Neal, NBA Hall Of Fame center; lives in McDonough
* J. R. Pinnock, George Washington Colonials guard; went to high school in McDonough
* Renford Reese, professor, author
* Chris Rodriguez Jr., American football player
* Andrew Sloan, United States congressman; born in McDonough in 1845
* Dalvin Tomlinson, defensive end for the New York Giants; born in McDonough in 1994
* D. J. White, football cornerback for Indianapolis Colts
* James W. Wise, United States congressman; born in McDonough in 1868
* Austin Theory, wrestler, was born in McDonough, Georgia in 1997
* Collective Soul, Band members used to live in McDonough in the early 2000s.
* McKenna Hellam, fashion model who grew up on a farm in McDonough

## In popular culture

"The McDonough Road" is mentioned by Rhett Butler in the 1939 film, Gone with the Wind.