Dublin (Irish: Baile Átha Cliath) is a city in Laurens County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,074. It is the county seat of Laurens County. History The original settlement was named after Dublin, Ireland. Dublin, according to a historical marker at the town's main Oconee River bridge, was one of the last encampments at which Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his family stayed before being captured by Union forces in May 1865. In the Dublin riot of July 1919 there were a series of violent racial riots between white and black members of the community. These were part of a larger series of racial violence during the 1919 Red Summer. On April 17, 1944, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his first public speech, "The Negro and the Constitution" at First African Baptist Church in Dublin. Geography Dublin is located in north-central Laurens County. The town, named such because the Middle Georgia Piedmont reminded Irish settlers of terrain in their native country, was founded on the Oconee River, which starts in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia before combining with the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha, a river which then proceeds to its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. The Oconee forms the eastern boundary of Dublin, separating it from the city of East Dublin. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.59%, are water. Location The city is located in the central part of the state along Interstate 16. Access to the city can be found from exits 49, 51, 54, and 58. Via I-16, Savannah is east, and Macon is northwest. US routes 80, 319, and 441 also run through the city. US 441 connects the city to Milledgeville, northwest, and McRae–Helena, south. Numerous state and local highways also run through the city. Historic districts Dublin has two historic districts designated by the National Register of Historic Places: the Dublin Commercial Historic District and the Stubbs Park–Stonewall Street Historic District. The Dublin Commercial Historic District consists of the original downtown commercial core, including the earliest extant building in the district: the Hicks Building, dating to 1893. The historic district contains 78 contributing properties, including the Dublin Carnegie Library First National Bank Building, and the former United States Post Office building. Structures