Pembroke was founded in 1892 as a railroad town and turpentine shipping center. It was named after early resident Pembroke Whitfield Williams. It was incorporated in 1905. The Bryan County seat was voted to be moved from Clyde to Pembroke in 1935, with the first County Commissioners session in Pembroke taking place on February 15, 1937. On June 16, 1962, Police Chief Waldo E. Jones was killed in an auto accident while attempting to apprehend three alleged intoxicated subjects travelling on Highway 67. A major tornado damaged the town on April 9, 1998. Pembroke was the birthplace of jazz musician Jabbo Smith.
Geography
Pembroke is located in northern Bryan County at. U.S. Route 280 passes through the center of the city, leading east to Interstate 16 and to Savannah. Claxton is to the west. According to the United States Census Bureau, Pembroke has a total area of, of which is land and, or 1.17%, is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,379 people, 819 households, and 630 families residing in the city. The population density was 312.5 people per square mile. There were 909 housing units at an average density of 119.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 59.56% White, 38.04% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.34% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.64% of the population. There were 819 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couplesliving together, 21.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.0% were non-families. 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.24. In the city, the population was spread out with 31.1% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,456, and the median income for a family was $33,281. Males had a median income of $28,879 versus $19,632 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,795. About 22.4% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.9% of those under age 18 and 15.9% of those age 65 or over.
The Bryan County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of five elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. The district has 328 full-time teachers and over 5,552 students.
