Winder, Georgia

2 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 Winder, Ready for growth Geor W inder, Georgia is a small town on the precipice of big change. For years it was an isolated small town in a small county, but as the surrounding cities of Atlanta and Athens have grown and expanded, Winder has become a presence of its own. David Maynard, Mayor of Winder, recalls, “I grew up three blocks from where I’m standing. I’m 62 now and when I was growing up here, the majority of folks had grown up in Winder. Their families had been here forever and they still lived here. But now, Atlanta is almost grown out to us and into the next county, and the other side of us is Athens and the University of Georgia. We are kind of getting squeezed.” Today, the City of Winder is officially part of the Atlanta Metropolitan area and has seen astronomical growth. Between 2010 and 2020, the population jumped from 14,000 to 18,000 residents. “From census to census I think we grew 30 percent,” Maynard says. “It’s challenging. It’s a good thing, but it’s AT A GLANCE WINDER, GA WHAT: A rapidly growing city of 18,000 WHERE: Part of the Metropolitan Atlanta area WEBSITE: www.cityofwinder.com