Douglas is a city in Coffee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,722. Douglas is the county seat of Coffee County and the core city of the Douglas, Georgia Micropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 50,731 as of the 2010 census. History Douglas was founded in 1855 as the seat of the newly formed Coffee County. It was named for Senator Stephen A. Douglas from Illinois, a renowned stump speaker who was the challenger to Abraham Lincoln in the presidential election of 1860. Douglas was chartered as a town in 1895 and as a city in 1897. In 1895, the railroad came to Douglas and the community began to boom. In 1909, the Georgia and Florida Railway located its offices in Douglas. The Eleventh District Agricultural & Mechanical School was established in Douglas in 1906. In 1927, South Georgia College was founded as Georgia's first state-supported junior college. During the 1920s and 1930s, Douglas was one of the major tobacco markets in the state. Much of this history is depicted in the Heritage Station Museum, located in the former Georgia and Florida Railway train station on Ward Street in downtown Douglas. Douglas has two areas listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the downtown and Gaskin Avenue historic districts. They were added to the list in 1989. Geography Douglas is located near the center of Coffee County at (31.507413, −82.850799). It is driving distance northeast of Valdosta, Georgia, driving distance northwest of Jacksonville, Florida, and driving distance southeast of Atlanta. According to the United States Census Bureau, Douglas has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.08%, is water. Major water bodies include Twenty Mile Creek, the Seventeen Mile River (a tributary of the Satilla River), and Hilliard's Pond, which was once the ski show park "Holiday Beach". Climate Demographics 2020 census As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 11,722 people, 4,339 households, and 2,610 families residing in the city. 2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 10,639 people, 3,977 households, and 2,656 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,692 housing units at an average density of . According to the most recent ACS, the racial composition of Douglas was: 50.78% Black or African American, 42.95% White, 0.27% Native American, 1.09% Asian,