McRae–Helena is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, formed on January 1, 2015, by the merger of the two cities of McRae and Helena. McRae–Helena is the county seat of Telfair County. It is the largest city in Telfair County, with an estimated population of 8,380 in 2018. This includes the population held as inmates at McRae Correctional Institution.
History
On January 1, 2015, McRae and the adjacent town of Helena merged to form McRae–Helena. This merge was initiated because Helena could not manage the city's wastewater capacity. If McRae took on Helena's water services, Helena would have been left with less revenue, and it would have been left providing only two services. The cities were united under House Bill 967, sponsored by Representative Jimmy Pruett of the 149th district. It was signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal on April 10, 2014.
Geography
McRae–Helena is located in northern Telfair County at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of. The Little Ocmulgee River flows just northeast of the city limits, while Sugar Creek passes through the southwest border of the city.
Transportation
Several highways travel through McRae–Helena Area. U.S. Route 23, along with US 341/SR 27 travel through the city as a one-way pair using Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, heading northwest to Eastman and Oak Street heading southeast to Hazlehurst, while US 280/US 319/US 441/SR 30/SR 31 travel through as Third Avenue, crossing US 23/US 341/SR 27 in the center of the city. US 280/SR 30 heads northeast to Vidalia and west to Cordele, while US 319/US 441/SR 31 heads south to the small town of Jacksonville and north to Dublin. Major railroad lines include the former Macon and Brunswick Railroad, now the Brunswick Division of Norfolk Southern Railway which passes through both former cities, and a former Seaboard Air Line Railroad line now owned by the Heart of Georgia Railroad that passed only through Helena. A junction between these lines exists in the former Helena.
The Telfair 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 112 full-time teachers and over 1,648 students.
In 2015 it was estimated there were 8,754 people, including the population held as inmates at McRae Correctional Institution, residing in the city. McRae-Helena as Telfair County's largest city is the cultural and economic center of the County. The city of McRae-Helena has a Trading Area of 25,000 people.
