Pine Lake is the smallest city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 752 at the 2020 census.

Pine Lake, Georgia
Pine Lake (2016)
Pine Lake (2016)
Location in DeKalb County and the state of Georgia
Location in DeKalb County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 33°47′29″N 84°12′23″W / 33.79139°N 84.20639°W / 33.79139; -84.20639
CountryUnited States
StateGeorgia
CountyDeKalb
Settled1929
Incorporated (city)December 1937
Government
 • TypeMayor-Council
 • MayorBrandy Hall
Area
 • Total
0.25 sq mi (0.66 km2)
 • Land0.24 sq mi (0.61 km2)
 • Water0.02 sq mi (0.04 km2)
Elevation
948 ft (289 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
752
 • Density3,173.00/sq mi (1,223.94/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
30072
Area code404
FIPS code13-61040[2]
GNIS feature ID0332672[3]
Websitepinelakega.net

History

edit

Pine Lake was established as a city in December 1937,[4] after a short life as a summer retreat run by the Pine Woods Corporation. The corporation sold lots around a small fishing lake to Atlantans who lived in (then) faraway areas like Buckhead for use as a weekend retreat. The 20' x 100' lots sold for $69, and the advertisement for lots directed people "from Decatur down the [unpaved] Rockbridge Road East." Many homeowners continued to use their property as a weekend getaway long after the city incorporated. Prior to development, Pine Lake was a portion of a farm. The lake was formerly a widened region of Snapfinger Creek, and the valley that encompasses much of the town was where corn was grown. The lake was dammed by the Army Corps of Engineers as erosion and flood control, prior to the official FDR lake projects.

Geography

edit

Pine Lake is located at 33°47′29″N 84°12′23″W / 33.79139°N 84.20639°W / 33.79139; -84.20639 (33.791505, -84.206428).[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2), of which 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) is land and 5.00% is water.

Demographics

edit
Historical population
CensusPop.Note
19402
195056628,200.0%
196073830.4%
197086617.3%
19809014.0%
1990810−10.1%
2000621−23.3%
201073017.6%
20207523.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
Pine Lake racial composition as of 2020[7]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 480 63.83%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 141 18.75%
Native American 5 0.66%
Asian 8 1.06%
Other/Mixed 55 7.31%
Hispanic or Latino 63 8.38%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 752 people, 386 households, and 199 families residing in the city.

Education

edit

Residents are zoned to schools in the DeKalb County School District.

All of the schools are located outside of the Pine Lake city limits in unincorporated sections of DeKalb County.

In Media

edit

Welcome to Pine Lake, is a documentary feature film released in 2020 by ViacomCBS. The largely observational film looks at the all-women leadership in the predominantly white city of Pine Lake. The documentary claims that the primary funding source of the City’s police force is from traffic tickets issued predominately to people of color from the surrounding communities. According to National Public Radio member station KCRW, the filmmaker “found that this progressive town was participating in an unfair and ultimately racist criminal justice system.”[8] In February, 2022, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote, " 'Welcome to Pine Lake' is a scathing indictment of the privilege of obliviousness when it comes to class and race."[9]

References

edit
  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  4. ^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 176. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
  5. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  6. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  7. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  8. ^ "Progressive women run this Georgia town. Life isn't as equitable as you might expect". KCRW. January 5, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  9. ^ Feaster, Felicia. "Atlanta filmmakers team up with CBS News to tackle America's wastewater crisis". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
edit