The city of Adel is the county seat of Cook County, Georgia, United States, located 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. 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. 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. Valdosta is to the south, and Tifton is to the north. According to the United States Census Bureau, Adel has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.21%, is water. Demographics 2020 census As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,571 people, 2,111 households, and 1,108 families residing in the city. 2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 5,307 people, 1,958 households, and 1,335 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,164 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 48.92% African American, 47.97% White, 0.08% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.79% of the population. There were 1,958 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were married couples living together, 20.8% had a