Adel () is a city in and the county seat of Cook County, Georgia, United States, about north of Valdosta and southeast of Albany. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 5,571.

History The original name of the city was Puddleville.Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names. Winship Press, The city's first postmaster, Joel "Uncle Jack" Parrish, wanted to change the name of the city. It is believed that he saw the name "Philadelphia" on a croaker sack and struck out the first and last four letters to create the present name of Adel.

The Georgia Southern and Florida Railway arrived in Adel in the 1880s. Adel was incorporated as a town in 1889.

The South Georgia Motorsports Park opened in 2004 with a quarter-mile dragstrip and a half-mile paved oval. It is set to host the NHRA Southern Nationals in 2026.

Tornadoes On January 22, 2017, a low-end EF3 tornado struck the extreme southern portion of Adel. Sunshine Acres, a local mobile home park, experienced severe damage, with over 20 homes destroyed and others damaged; seven residents were killed and an indeterminate number were injured or displaced. The tornado ultimately killed 14 people. An EF1 tornado also moved through the city on April 23, 2020 On January 22, 2023, a low-end EF2 tornado caused major damage on the north side of town.

Geography Adel is located just south of the center of Cook County at (31.138466, -83.425944). It is bordered to the north by Sparks. U.S. Route 41 passes through the center of town as Hutchinson Avenue, and Interstate 75 passes through the western side of the city, with access from Exit 39.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Adel has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.21%, is water.

The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Adel has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Adel city, Georgia – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010Pop 2020% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)2,4502,3952,38546.17%44.90%42.81%Black or African American alone (NH)2,5812,4072,48548.63%45.13%44.61%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4990.08%0.17%0.16%Asian alone (NH)4056610.75%1.05%1.09%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)5020.09%0.00%0.04%Other race alone (NH)00150.00%0.00%0.27%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)26481660.49%0.90%2.98%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2014194483.79%7.86%8.04%Total5,3075,3345,571 100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, Adel had a population of 5,571. The median age was 37.2 years. 25.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.4 males age 18 and over.

93.2% of residents lived in urban areas, while 6.8% lived in rural areas.

There were 2,107 households in Adel, of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 36.6% were married-couple households, 20.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 36.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 1,108 families residing in the city.

There were 2,418 housing units, of which 12.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 2,492 44.7% Black or African American 2,499 44.9% American Indian and Alaska Native 24 0.4% Asian 61 1.1% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 5 0.1% Some other race 233 4.2% Two or more races 257 4.6%

Education Cook County School District The Cook County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 188 full-time teachers and over 3,215 students.School Stats , Retrieved June 5, 2010. Cook Primary School Cook Elementary School Cook Middle School Cook High School

Library Adel is served by the Cook County Public Library.

Notable people Ray McKinnon – actor and producer Kaleb Cowart – baseball player (LA Angels 2015–2019) Eugene Patterson Donald S. Bryan- WW2 Fighter Pilot Ace Kenny Tippins- NFL player Robert Lester Folsom- Musician

References

External links City of Adel official website Adel Lime Sink historical marker