Smiths Station

Smiths Station is located in southeast Lee County, in the east-central part of the state. Novelist Caroline Lawson Ivey was a lifelong resident of Smiths Station.

History

Lowther House Complex Smiths Station was first settled in 1866 with the establishment of a post office and a railroad station on a line of the Central of Georgia Railroad. The railroad established the station as a halfway point between Columbus, Georgia, and Opelika, Lee County, and named it Smith’s Station, after local resident Broadus Smith, who donated the land. The apostrophe later was dropped from the name.

When U.S. Highway 280 was expanded to four lanes between Opelika and Phenix City, Russell County, in the early 1980s, Smiths Station grew rapidly as a bedroom community of both cities. Smiths Station was incorporated in 2001.

Demographics

According to 2020 Census estimates, Smith’s Station recorded a population of 5,821. Of that number, 65.1 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 32.3 percent as African American, , 1.8 percent as American Indian, 1.1 percent as Hispanic, and 0.7 percent as two or more races. The town’s median household income was $49,470, and the per capita income was $33,137.

Employment

According to 2020 Census estimates, the workforce in Smith’s Station was divided among the following industrial categories:

  • Educational services and health care and social assistance (24.7 percent)
  • Manufacturing (16.2 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (12.1 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (11.5 percent)
  • Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (8.7 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (7.2 percent)
  • Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (6.9 percent)
  • Construction (6.7 percent)
  • Retail trade (2.6 percent)
  • Public administration (2.2 percent)
  • Wholesale trade (0.7 percent)
  • Information (0.6 percent)

Education

Schools in Smiths Station are part of the Lee County School District; the town has three elementary schools, one junior high school, and one high school.

Transportation

County Road 430 is located just south of Smiths Station and runs northwest-southeast, and U.S. Highway 280/431 is located north of the city and also runs northwest-southeast.

Events and Places of Interest

The Lowther House Complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

External Links

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