Clarkesville

• Official Name — Clarkesville, Georgia • Settlement Type — City • Mapsize — 250px • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — United States • Subdivision Type1 — State • Subdivision Name1 — Georgia • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Habersham • Unit Pref — Imperial • Area Total Km2 — 6.44 • Area Land Km2 — 6.37 • Area Water Km2 — 0.07 • Area Total Sq Mi — 2.49 • Area Land Sq Mi — 2.46 • Area Water Sq Mi — 0.03 • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Total — 1911 • Population Density Km2 — 300.18 • Population Density Sq Mi — 777.46 • Timezone — Eastern (EST) • Utc Offset — -5 • Timezone Dst — EDT • Utc Offset Dst — -4 • Elevation Ft — 1404 • Postal Code Type — ZIP code • Postal Code — 30523-4712 • Area Code — 706 • Blank Name — FIPS code • Blank Info — 13-16460 • Blank1 Name — GNIS feature ID • Blank1 Info — 2404056 • Website — clarkesvillega.com • Named For — John C. Clark

Originally the city was Native American, and was called Sak-yi. Later, the name was used for the Soque River, originally called “So-Kee”. The city was established along the route of the Unicoi Turnpike, a 1,000-year-old Native American trail. In the early 18th century, deerskins and furs were transported along the route from Tennessee to Savannah and Charleston for shipping to Europe. Clarkesville was founded in 1821 as the seat of Habersham County. The community was named after John Clark, who was then the state's governor.

Clarkesville is located in central Habersham County on the south side of the Soquee River, a southwest-flowing tributary of the Chattahoochee River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.45 km2, of which 6.37 sqkm are land and 0.08 sqkm, or 1.20%, are water.

• Illustration — Aerial photograph of Clarkesville in 1953

As of the 2020 census, Clarkesville had a population of 1,911. The median age was 38.4 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 79.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 77.5 males age 18 and over. Clarkesville Racial Composition • Race — Num. — Perc. • White — 1,544 — 80.8% • Black or African American — 103 — 5.39% • Native American — 2 — 0.1% • Asian — 31 — 1.62% • Pacific Islander — 1 — 0.05% • Other/Mixed — 100 — 5.23% • Hispanic or Latino — 130 — 6.8% 96.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.3% lived in rural areas. There were 792 households in Clarkesville, including 402 family households. Of all households, 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 38.1% were married-couple households, 14.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 42.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 866 housing units, of which 8.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%.

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,248 people, 580 households, and 335 families residing in the city. The population density was 670.6 PD/sqmi. There were 639 housing units at an average density of 343.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 90.06% White, 7.77% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population. There were 580 households, out of which 20.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.1% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.72. In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.1% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 27.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,880, and the median income for a family was $39,148. Males had a median income of $26,316 versus $23,977 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,265. About 9.9% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.8% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.

The current mayor is Barrie Aycock, the second female mayor in Clarkesville's history. In 2016 she replaced previous mayor, Terry Greene.

The Habersham County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of eight elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools. The district has 367 full-time teachers and over 5,955 students. North Georgia Technical College is located in Clarkesville.

• Linda Anderson, according to NPR considered "one of the foremost living memory painters". • Red Barron, football and baseball player • Harold Ketron, college football player • McKenzie Coan, 2016 Paralympic gold medalist • Oliver Clyde Fuller, banker, financier, and golfer • April Masini, advice columnist, relationship expert and entertainment industry executive • Benjamin Purcell, U.S. Army officer and state legislator