Хахира қаласының тарихы мен дамуы

Hahira (/h//eɪ/'/h//aɪ//r//ə/) is a city in northwest Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,384 at the 2020 census, up from 1,626 at the 2000 census. Hahira has a mayor council form of elected government. As of 2023, the city is led by Mayor Bruce Cain and the four members of the City Council, who are elected from single member districts. The city is mentioned in several songs by the American singer and comedian Ray Stevens, most notably in the song "Shriner's Convention."

According to legend, the town of Hahira was named after a local cotton plantation. The planter was said to have named his estate after a West African village, Hairaairee, which was described to him by an English traveler. The name may be derived from Pi HaHiroth, a place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. According to a local legend, the name originated with a locomotive engineer called Hira, who was hailed by friends with, "Hey, Hira." The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Hahira in 1891, with Henry Briggs Lawson serving as the first mayor until 1907. By the time of its incorporation, several stores had already been established due to an influx of residents in the mid 1880s. In 1904, a bank was opened, followed by a newspaper in 1906. Prior to 1904, there was one practicing doctor in the town during the 1890s. As a predominantly agricultural area, Hahira residents largely relied on their own vegetable gardens, raised hogs for meat, and owned milk cows. The primary cash crop was cotton, which remained so until the early 1920s when a Boll weevil infestation devastated the crop. Subsequently, tobacco became the main source of income for farmers despite traditionally only been grown in Virginia and North Carolina. In the late 1920s, a group of tobacco businessmen in Hahira established a cigarette manufacturing facility instead of shipping their products to the northern U. S. Their cigarette packs featured a Native American man on the front and a wigwam on the back. However, during the Great Depression, the cigarette manufacturers sold their shares in the company to the Julep Cigarette Company. Hahira then became the manufacturing site for nationally distributed "Happy Days" cigarettes for several years. The cigarette factory was situated alongside the Norfolk Southern Railroad on Coleman Road and remained in operation until 1998. In 2002, the building was demolished, and many of its old bricks, as well as heart pine lumber from its foundation beams and flooring, were salvaged for reuse. Additionally, timber and its by products played a significant role in the local economy, with woodlands abundant in large yellow pine or heart pine trees. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Hahira also gained prominence in the boxing scene through local fight promotions. This period also marked the growth of the beekeeping industry in the area. When settlers first arrived in South Georgia, there were no honeybees to pollinate their crops. Beekeeping was introduced by W. L. Morgan in Troupville. The black bee was brought from Germany or Holland, while the yellow bee originated from Italy. J. E. Williams established an apiary in the region that is now Cook County, near Sparks, Georgia, and became the first recorded commercial beekeeper in Lowndes County. The Puett Co. and Garnett Puett Sr. are recognized as pioneers in the Hahira beekeeping industry. Hahira has largely remained an agricultural community, with tobacco cultivation continuing as one of its main crops, though production has fallen significantly since its peak in the 20th century.

Hahira is located at (30.990537, 83.371433). U. S. Route 41 passes through the center of town as Church Street, leading north 4 mile (6 km) to Cecil and south 14 mile (23 km) to Valdosta, the county seat. Interstate 75 passes through the west side of Hahira, with access from Exit 29 (Georgia State Route 122). I 75 leads north 33 mile (53 km) to Tifton and south past Valdosta 74 mile (119 km) to Lake City, Florida. State Route 122 is Hahira's Main Street and leads east 18 mile (29 km) to Lakeland and west 22 mile (35 km) to Pavo. According to the United States Census Bureau, Hahira has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.00%, are water. Franks Creek runs through the westernmost part of the city and is part of the Little River–Withlachoochee River–Suwannee River watershed, flowing to the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2000, there were 1,626 people, 643 households, and 448 families residing in the city. In 2010, the library received a renovation, completed by Cauthan Construction Company, of the outside and inside worth $80,000.

Citing public safety concerns, in March 2008, the Hahira City Council, with a vote by the mayor, passed a clothing ordinance that bans residents from wearing pants that have a top falling below the waist in fit and reveal skin or undergarments (see sagging). The council was split 2–2, and their tie was broken by the mayor in favor of the ordinance.

The Hahira Honeybee Festival is an annual event held in the city during the first week of October. Established in 1981 by Mamie Sorrell and Adeline Landrum, its aim was to revitalize Hahira through an event including arts, crafts, food, entertainment, a beauty pageant, and a parade. Since its inception, the festival has grown from a single weekend into a week long event. It has become one of the largest festivals of its kind in South Georgia. Attendance estimates for the parade and the festival's street activities include as many as 36,000 visitors, making it a significant attraction for the town. Often, the festival has an annual theme. For example, in 2022, the theme was "Living a Life Without Limits: Honoring Those With Special Abilities in Our Community," and the theme for 2023 is set to revolve around and honor lineworkers. In October 2022, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp became the first governor to serve as grand marshal in the festival's parade.

From the early 1980s to the mid 1990s, Wilby and Gloria Coleman of Valdosta, together with family and friends, sponsored an annual bluegrass festival in Hahira. The Pick In featured a weekend of bluegrass bands on the mountain stage as well as pickers and grinners in camp sites throughout the city. Citing falling revenues, organizers ended the Pick Ins in the mid 1990s. In the Fall of 2009, Harvey's Supermarket sponsored a "Great Hahira Pick In," before building a store on the traditional site of the festival.