Richland City Hall, 200 Broad St. Richland, GA 31825 229-887-3323 richlandevents@att.net

A Short History of Richland

Richland is a friendly small town with a proud history and an exciting future. Rich farmland, coupled with hard-working families, fostered a prosperous agrarian economy that has endured for nearly two centuries. As the harvests grew, so did the need for transportation. As a result, the railroad came to town in 1885, and Richland began to grow. By 1890, the town had a population of 1,500. Until the late 1960s, Richland was a crossroads for a vast rail network that serviced all types of freight. Long trains often blocked one side of town from the other, causing local residents to rush to crossings before they were cut off from accomplishing their daily tasks. Richland’s first railroad was the APL (Americus, Preston, and Lumpkin). It later became a part of a larger network known as the SAM (Savannah, Americus, Montgomery). At one time Richland was a stopping point for 12 passenger trains each day. Richland was established as a community in 1827 by Henry Audulf, and called Chisholm. On September 28, 1889, Richland was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly. It grew rapidly and boasted many businesses, which served the region’s farmers and townspeople. Today, Richland’s lifestyle is a blend of Southern charm and grace coupled with the dynamic energy being reintroduced into the region by the state parkway, Corridor Z. Richland is home to the only hospital between Columbus and Albany on this major four-lane highway that connects I-185 with I-75 in Tifton, Ga. The hospital serves a large portion of a three-county area. Our largest employers are Farmers State Bank, Stewart Webster Hospital, Four County Healthcare and Stewart-Webster Rural Health Clinic. It’s still a great place to live. Come on down!

Broad Street in Richland c.1860.