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Ocilla, Georgia

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Ocilla census division. It lies in ZIP code area 31774. The Survey maps it on the Ocilla West quadrangle. 3,498 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 348 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Ocilla within Irwin County

On record in Ocilla

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Ocilla grew from 3,414 to 3,498 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20103,414
20203,498+84 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 8 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Photographs

8 of 14 photographs shown, 1936 to 1977

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Dr. Herman Dismude, Ocilla, Georgia, leaving Grady Watson home after treating a child. Dr. Dismude, by special arrangement, takes care of all residents of Irwinville Farms resettlement project at reduced rates
Dr. Herman Dismude, Ocilla, Georgia, leaving Grady Watson home after treating a child. Dr. Dismude, by special arrangement, takes care of all residents of Irwinville Farms resettlement project at reduced rates
Mydans, Carl, photographer, 1936. Library of Congress
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, in her kitchen with gathered wild plants
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, in her kitchen with gathered wild plants
Robinson, Beverly J, 1977. Library of Congress
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, foodways at home
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, foodways at home
Robinson, Beverly J. (Collector), 1977. Library of Congress
House with pyramid-form roof on Five Bridge Road between Tifton and Ocilla, Georgia
House with pyramid-form roof on Five Bridge Road between Tifton and Ocilla, Georgia
Marshall, Howard W. (Collector), 1977. Library of Congress
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, quilts
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, quilts
Robinson, Beverly J. (Collector), 1977. Library of Congress
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, quilts; Children perform hambone and hand clapping games, Tifton, Georgia
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, quilts; Children perform hambone and hand clapping games, Tifton, Georgia
Robinson, Beverly J. (Collector), 1977. Library of Congress
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, house interior, grandchildren
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, house interior, grandchildren
Robinson, Beverly J. (Collector), 1977. Library of Congress
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, gathering wild plants
Etta Anderson, Ocilla, Georgia, gathering wild plants
Robinson, Beverly J. (Collector), 1977. Library of Congress

Every photograph of Irwin County

Fires near this place

274 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 274 fires within 5 miles of Ocilla between 1992 and 2020, burning about 774 acres in total. 12 started naturally. 14 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning186
Equipment and vehicle use25
Missing data/not specified/undetermined23
Arson/incendiarism14
Natural12
Misuse of fire by a minor7
Smoking4
Recreation and ceremony3

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 1997Debris and open burningunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
9 September 1997Debris and open burningunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
9 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 1997Debris and open burning1.1 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 1993Debris and open burning2.0 acresGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
28 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreGeorgia Forestry CommissionFY2020IRWIN009
25 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 1998Smokingunder an acreGeorgia Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Irwin County

Storms near this place

55 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ocilla in 55 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 40 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 4 tornado, 2 flood. The reports record 1 death and 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2011Thunderstorm WindOcilla1 killed, 1 hurt, $50,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the county. One man was killed and his wife hospitalised when a tree crashed through their roof. Irwin county schools were closed for the day as a result of trees making roads impassable. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate.
February 2008Thunderstorm WindOcilla$250,000Straight line winds tossed cargo trailers around at the Forest River Plant near Ocilla.
December 2002Tornado (F1)Ocilla$250,000A small tornado briefly touched town which destroyed a mobile home, damaged several barns and uprooted trees. The tornado also hit a mobile home industrial park, where a dozen homes were severely damaged. Reported by the Irwin County Sheriff.
September 2000Tornado (F1)Ocilla$200,000An F1 tornado touched down severely damaging a home near U.S. Highway 319, then raced northeast across Highway 32 destroying a home on Tomberlin Lane between Ocilla and Mystic. The tornado damaged several peanut and cotton farms before dissipating. Numerous large trees were uprooted and power lines were toppled. Reported by the Irwin County EMA.
April 2014Tornado (EF1)Ocilla$70,000A tornado briefly touched down in Irwin county south of Ocilla and produced mainly EF0 damage along its path, largely in the form of uprooted trees with some smaller trees snapped. The tornado was at its strongest near the end of its damage path where EF1 damage was noted. A mobile home was knocked several feet off its foundation, but remained upright. Most of the roof was torn off. A large hardwood tree was snapped in half and many others were uprooted. Several out buildings were destroyed and shingles were stripped from the roof of one home. Peak winds were estimated around 105 mph. Monetary damage was estimated.
December 2005Tornado (F0)Ocilla$50,000A tornado touched down on Old Whitley Road. The steel beam support from a farm building was blown into a nearby house. The roof of another farm building was ripped off. Numerous trees and power lines were down. Reported by the Irwin County EMA.
December 2006Thunderstorm WindOcilla$15,000Several downed trees and power lines reported in Ocilla. Several windows were blown out on Satilla Road.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindOcilla$10,000Trees and power lines were blown down in Ocilla. In addition, a house fire resulted from a downed power line. Damage was estimated.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindOcilla$10,000Thunderstorm winds knocked down a large tree onto a general store.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindOcilla$5,000Three power poles were blown down in Ocilla.
August 1994Thunderstorm WindOcilla$5,000A roof was blown off of a drugstore onto powerlines in Ocilla which knocked out electrical service to most of the county including a large portion Ocilla.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindOcilla$4,000Several trees and power lines were blown down across the county.
March 2012Thunderstorm WindOcilla$3,000A few trees were blown down along Spruce Road. Monetary damage was estimated.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindOcilla$3,000Several trees were blown down along Highway 319 and along 5 Bridge Road near Ocilla. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindOcilla$2,000Several power outages from gusty winds occurred across Irwin county.
February 2014Thunderstorm WindOcilla$2,000Magnolia road was closed due to a tree down with power lines hanging in the tree.
April 2007Thunderstorm WindOcilla$2,000Several downed trees and power lines were reported.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindOcilla$1,000A tree was blown down onto a power line resulting in a power outage on the southwest side of Ocilla.
February 2014Thunderstorm WindOcilla$1,000Trees were blown down on Palm Road.
February 2014Thunderstorm WindOcilla$1,000Tree tops were in the road in the area of Daisy Road and Highway 90.
April 2014Thunderstorm WindOcilla$1,000Trees were blown down on Old Valley Grove Church Road.
April 2014Thunderstorm WindOcilla$1,000A large tree was blown down on Poppy Road.
April 2014Thunderstorm WindOcilla$1,000Trees were blown down on Bushy Creek Road.
April 2014Thunderstorm WindOcilla$1,000A tree was blown down on the dirt portion of Azalea Road and blocked the road.
April 2014Thunderstorm WindOcilla$1,000Trees were blown down on Dogwood Road.
April 2014Thunderstorm WindOcilla$1,000Trees were blown down on 5 Bridge Road.
May 2006Thunderstorm WindOcilla$500The Irwin County Sheriff reported a few trees down.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindOcilla-Trees were blown down in Ocilla.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindOcilla-A tree was blown down across Hickory Road near Tucker Road.
January 2023Thunderstorm WindOcilla-Several trees were blown down.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindOcilla-Several trees were blown down across Irwin county.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindOcilla-A tree was blown down on Althea Road between Begonia and Plum.
April 2021Thunderstorm WindOcilla-A tree was blown down in Ocilla.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindOcilla-A tree was blown down on Oak Circle.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindOcilla-A tree was blown down on Hickory Road.
March 2020FloodOcilla-Water was reported over Hemlock Road.
March 2020FloodOcilla-Thrasher Lane was flooded and closed.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindOcilla-A tree was blown down across Althea Road.
March 2019HailOcilla-Ping pong ball size hail was estimated via photo from near Ocilla.
March 2019HailOcilla-Quarter size hail was reported in Ocilla via the Irwin county 911 facebook page.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindOcilla-Numerous trees were blown down across Irwin county, mainly between Ocilla and Douglas. A storm survey revealed straight line winds up to 80 mph.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindOcilla-Power lines were blown down in Ocilla.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindOcilla-A pecan tree was snapped just north of Ocilla.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindOcilla-Trees were blown down along a 10 mile stretch of Highway 32 from Ocilla eastward to the Irwin county line.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindOcilla-Trees were blown down on Votech Drive.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindOcilla-Power lines were blown down on the south side of Ocilla.
August 2012Heavy RainOcilla-The public reported 7 inches of rain during the overnight hours. This was measured on two farms about 3 miles northeast of Ocilla.
August 2012Flash FloodOcilla-Very high water was reported washing over Highway 129 in southern Irwin county. Rainfall amounts up to 11 inches occurred during the overnight hours.
January 2009Thunderstorm WindOcilla-A few trees were blown down in Ocilla.
April 2005HailOcilla-Golfball size hail reported by the public.
April 1998HailOcilla-Nickel sized hail reported by the Irwin County Sheriff.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindOcilla-Thunderstorm winds knocked several large trees down across powerlines. Pea-size hail was also reported.
July 2018HailOcilla-no account filed
May 2016HailOcilla-no account filed
June 1997HailOcilla-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Irwin County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Mystic4.9 miles8
Holt5.3 miles7
Pinetta5.7 miles8
Riverbend7.2 miles9
Irwinville7.9 miles8
Osierfield8.7 miles8
Wray10.5 miles7
Lax10.8 miles9

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on OcillaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1023481The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 332555. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.