was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on February 13, 1854. It was formed from portions of Muscogee and Marion counties and named for the river that forms its western boundary. The act appointed five commissioners to choose a site for the county seat, which they named Cusseta to commemorate the Creek Indian town that used to exist nearby. The original courthouse is preserved at the tourist attraction of Westville in Columbus, Georgia. Cusseta was incorporated as a city on December 22, 1855. It is still the only incorporated city in Chattahoochee County. Cusseta briefly prided itself on having the world's tallest man-made structure, the WTVM/WRBL-TV & WVRK-FM Tower, a guyed transmission tower built in 1962 about one mile from the city. However, it was surpassed only one year later by the KVLY-TV mast in Fargo, North Dakota. In 2003, the city and county formed a consolidated Cusseta-Chattahoochee County government.
Geography
Cusseta is located at . The city is located southeast of Columbus, Georgia along U.S. Route 280, Georgia State Route 520, and U.S. Route 27. The three highways run northwest 18 miles to Columbus. U.S. Route 280 and Georgia 520 separate from U.S. Route 27 in the city, with U.S. 280 and Georgia 520 running south and east 43 miles to Americus and 69 miles to Albany. Other highways such as Georgia State Route 26, Georgia State Route 137, and Georgia State Route 355 pass through or begin in the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and 0.66% is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,196 people, 436 households, and 316 families residing in the city. The population density was 787.8 people per square mile. There were 543 housing units at an average density of 357.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 60.54% White, 36.45% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.33% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.67% of the population. There were 436 households, out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 20.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.19. In the city, the population was spread out, with 32.2% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,625, and the median income for a family was $26,736. Males had a median income of $25,380 versus $19,205 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,115. About 25.8% of families and 28.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.0% of those under age 18 and 27.3% of those age 65 or over.
The Chattahoochee County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 34 full-time teachers and over 451 students.
