The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Wrightsville in 1866. The community was named after John B. Wright, a town promoter.
Geography
Wrightsville is located west of the center of Johnson County at . U.S. Route 319 passes through the city center on Elm Street; it leads northeast to Bartow and southwest to Dublin. State Routes 15 and 57 also pass through the center of Wrightsville. SR-15 leads north to Sandersville and southeast to Adrian, while SR-57 leads west to Irwinton and southeast to Swainsboro. According to the United States Census Bureau, Wrightsville has a total area of, of which are land and, or 2.20%, are water. The city is drained by tributaries of the Ohoopee River.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,223 people, 867 households, and 564 families residing in the city. The population density was 648.1 people per square mile. There were 978 housing units at an average density of 285.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 45.88% White, 53.49% African American, 0.22% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population. There were 867 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.4% were married couplesliving together, 26.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.10. In the city, the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $17,750, and the median income for a family was $21,429. Males had a median income of $24,808 versus $19,167 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,070. About 33.7% of families and 35.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 52.6% of those under age 18 and 26.4% of those age 65 or over.
The Johnson County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school. The district has 86 full-time teachers and over 1,384 students.
The Old FashionedFourth of July Festival has been held in the small town of Wrightsville since 1976. It starts on the eve of July 4 with a fireworks show. This is followed by a street dance on the courthouse square. The festivities continue the next morning with a parade of various floats created by churches and businesses in the community. There is a contest for the winning float design. Following the parade, there are various booths and vendors set up downtown.
