Where is Alma?

The City of Alma is located is the southeastern part of the State of Georgia. It is at the crossroads of Georgia Highway 32 and U.S. 1, which makes Alma an ideal place to be because of its transportation routes. It is approximately one hour from the ports of Brunswick at the Georgia coast and 45 minutes from I-95. Alma is located approximately four hours from Atlanta, the state capital of Georgia. A Seaboard Railroad spur also runs to Alma, which connects it to the Seaboard Coast Line main line seven miles due west. This supports freight interchange between Alma, Atlanta, Jacksonville, FL, and Montgomery AL. The centralized location of Alma and connection to a wide variety of modes of transportation make Alma an attractive place for economic development. 

An Early History of Alma

On December 30, 1903, a referendum was held by qualified Alma voters at the Alma Post Office. Thirty votes were cast in favor of of the incorporation of Alma and none were cast against. Unanimous approval allowed a petition to be filed to Superior Court Judge T.A. Parker of Appling County. On January 2, 1904, Alma bacame an incorporated Town of Alma. On August 21, 1906, Alma was incorporated by an Act of the Georgia State Legislature which superceded the Act of 1904. (Taken from The History of Alma and Bacon County, Georgia, Volume, 1)

Where does the name Alma come from?

There are four different versions as to where the name Alma originated. (Taken from The History of Alma and Bacon County, Georgia, Volume, 1)

Earliest Version: Mr. Columbus Deen sent an application to the Postmaster General in Washington D.C. in the late 1890's. On the application there was a space to name the new post office. Mr. Deen submitted Alma. There was also a space for the name of the village and Mr. Deen submitted Lola. There is no record as to why Mr. Deen chose the name Alma. Mr. Deen chose Lola because other villages along the railroad tracks were named female names and males on the train felt more comfortable waving to Lola when passing through the village. So, the earliest version states that Alma's original name was Lola.

1966 Version: The Love Family had a daughter named Alma. Mr. Love worked for Deen and McLaughlin, who were the directors of the old Alma Land and Improvement Company that originally founded Alma. It is also that that Mr. McLaughlin had a wife or daughter named Alma.

1969 Version: Mr. Edward Sheridan was a traveling salesman for the Dannenburg Company out of Macon who traveled all over south Georgia, including the village yet to be named at the time (now Alma). Some of the settlers asked Mr. Sheridan to suggest a name for the town because they wanted a Post Office to locate there. Mr. Sheridan suggested the name of his wife Alma Kennington Sheridan.

Four Capitals: There is also a story that Alma was named after the first four state capitals of Georgia: Augusta, Louisville, Milledgeville, Atlanta   

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