MONROE COUNTY, Ga. — The arrival of the railroad, cotton business, and Tift college all helped drive growth in Forsyth more than a century ago. Years later the county is booming again, according to the U.S. Census.
"I have seen this place go from the podunk little town that everybody wants to leave and now everybody's coming back," Katie Rowland said.
Forsyth is now bustling with new shops and restaurants.
Born and raised in Monroe County, Katie Rowland runs the family business Old Market Mill. She says 10 years ago things looked a lot differently but she doesn't see the growth stopping any time soon.
"I definitely see the growth continuing. I think the important thing we have to remember in Monroe County is we need to control the growth, not stifle it but make sure we’re growing in the right ways and attracting the right things," she said.
In two years, Monroe County has seen an almost 5.5% increase in population-- bringing in more than 1400 people.
Cody Ellis, the city's economic development director, says there's value in being just off the interstate and in growing they continue to work on balance.
"It's looking at the city and being able to plan for this growth and plan for the development so that you're able to get these things in and able to get them in the right area so you're not negatively affecting parts of your town that you want to maintain," Ellis said.
As the city continues to work on regulating and supporting growth, Ellis says for one reason, or another people are finding it to feel like home.
"It's showing us that people want to move here, people want to come to Forsyth. There's something here that they see and a lot of that is the small town atmosphere, you know, people trying to get away from the big cities for one reason or another," he said.
Just as counties are growing some are also declining like Baldwin, Hancock, and Washington counties.