The city ofAshburn is the county seat of Turner County, Georgia, United States. As of 2010, the city had a population of 4,152. Ashburn's government is classified as a council/manager form of municipal government. The City Manager of Ashburn is Ben Taylor. Ashburn is noted for its peanuts and a fire ant festival. Ashburn boasts a large peanut monument and is home to the Golden Peanut Company.
History
The town of Marion was founded in 1888, and changed its name to Ashburn when it was incorporated in 1890. Ashburn was designated seat of Turner County when it was established in 1905. The community was named after W. W. Ashburn, a pioneer citizen. The legal organ for the City of Ashburn is The Wiregrass Farmer.
Geography
Ashburn is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,419 people, 1,624 households, and 1,117 families residing in the city. The population density was 978.6 people per square mile. There were 1,846 housing units at an average density of 408.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 65.22% African American, 32.59% White, 0.09% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 1.65% from other races, and 0.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.67% of the population. There were 1,624 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were married couples living together, 27.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.28. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 30.7% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $18,702, and the median income for a family was $21,481. Males had a median income of $22,328 versus $16,269 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,786. About 29.6% of families and 38.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 53.6% of those under age 18 and 29.3% of those age 65 or over.
Every fourth weekend in March, Ashburn holds the Fire Ant Festival. This offers an art show, carnival rides, a car show, strawberry cook off, BBQ competition, health show, and fireworks. Some events are tailored to the festival itself, such as the Fire Ant Call, Find the Fire Ant, Fire Ant 5k, and Miss Fire Ant Pageant.
