Warner Robins, Georgia, United States

🇺🇸 Warner Robins is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in Houston and Peach counties in the central part of the state. It is currently Georgia's tenth-largest incorporated city. The city is the main component of the Warner Robins Metropolitan Statistical Area, including the entirety of Houston, Peach, and Pulaski counties, it, in turn, is a component of a larger trade area, the Macon–Warner Robins–Fort Valley Combined Statistical Area.

Robins Air Force Base, a major U.S. Air Force maintenance and logistics complex that was founded as the Warner Robins Air Depot in 1942, is located just east of the city limits; the base's expansion and the suburbanisation of nearby Macon have led to the city's rapid growth in the post-World War II era.

History Warner Robins was founded in 1942 when the small farming community of Wellston was renamed for General Augustine Warner Robins (1882-1940) of the United States Army Air Corps, which later became the United States Air Force. It was incorporated as a town in 1943 and as a city in 1956.

The 1940 census shows that the community of Wellston was sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by farmers and their families. Its most notable landmark was a stop on the railroad line. Wellston also had a small sawmill and a grocery store. Peach orchards covered parts of the surrounding land.

This changed during World War II. The War Department made plans to build an air depot in the Southeast. With the assistance of influential U.S. Representative Carl Vinson, Wellston community leader Charles Bostic "Boss" Watson worked with officials in Macon to make a bid to locate this air depot in Houston County. In June 1941, the U.S. government accepted this offer, which included 3,108 acres (12.58 km²) of land.

This air force base was initially called Wellston Army Air Depot when it opened in 1942. The first commander was Colonel Charles E. Thomas. He wanted to name this depot in honor of his mentor Augustine Warner Robins, who was called by his middle name, Warner. Regulations prevented him from doing this, which required the base to be named after the nearest town. Not deterred by this, Colonel Thomas persuaded Boss Watson and the other community leaders to rename the town of Wellston. So on September 1, 1942, the town was given the new name of Warner Robins. Soon thereafter, on October 14, 1942, the base was renamed to become Warner Robins Army Air Depot. The city has a unique name, shared with no other town in the United States.

Robins Air Force Base is not within the city limits of the town but is across U.S. Highway 129 (Georgia State Highway 247), which serves as a boundary between the base and the city.

In 2018, First Solar announced a project for a 200-megawatt, 2,000-acre (8.1 km²) solar panel facility in Twiggs County east of Warner Robins. The facility would be the largest solar facility in the southeast.

Tornadoes Tornadoes have continually plagued the city since its inception with the 1950s seeing at least four catastrophic tornadoes strike the area. The first one occurred on April 30, 1953, when an F4 tornado with winds of over 200 mph hit the city and portions of Robins Air Force Base, killing 18 people and injuring 300 more. That same day, a second tornado that was rated F2 damaged the north-west side of town. Just ten months later on March 13, 1954, a long-tracked F1 tornado struck the town, killing one and injuring five. Three years later, on April 5, 1957, a long-tracked F2 tornado family hit the north-west side of the city, causing considerable damage. To date, at least nine tornadoes have hit the town and the surrounding area.

Geography Warner Robins is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) south of Macon and 100 miles (160 km) south of Atlanta.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.4 square miles (92 km²), of which 35.1 square miles (91 km²) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) (0.82%) is water.

Government Warner Robins is governed by a mayor and a six-member city council, four of whom are elected by district and two of whom are elected at-large.

Since 2013, most of the city is within the 147th district of the Georgia House of Representatives.

Museum of Aviation Warner Robins is home to the Museum of Aviation, which honors the history of military aviation. Located next to the Air Force base, the museum contains exhibits on military memorabilia, airplanes and ground vehicles, the Tuskegee Airmen, and Operation Desert Storm. It is the second largest museum sponsored by the United States Air Force and the fourth-most visited museum in the Department of Defense. It is also the largest tourist attraction outside Atlanta in the state of Georgia.

Baseball and softball According to Warner Robins residents in 1958 Claude Lewis, director of the Warner Robins Recreation Department, invented the game of tee-ball. The first game was played in March of that year with 20 children participating. Lewis wrote rules for the new game and sent rule books out to recreation departments all over the country. In 2006, a field was dedicated and named for Lewis, "the father of tee-ball", at the Warner Robins American Little League complex.

Warner Robins Little League won the 2007 Little League World Series 3–2 against Tokyo Kitasuna Little League of Tokyo, Japan.

On December 9, 2008, the Little League International Board of Directors unanimously voted for Warner Robins to become the new Southeast Region Headquarters of Little League Baseball and Softball. Games began to be played in Warner Robins in 2010.

The Warner Robins American Little League girls' softball team won the 2009 Little League Softball World Series by defeating Crawford, Texas, making Warner Robins the only Little League to have won both a baseball and a softball title.

The Warner Robins American Little League girls' softball team defended their 2009 championship by defeating Burbank, California in the 2010 Little League Softball World Series. By doing so, Warner Robins became only the fourth Little League program to produce back-to-back championship teams, and the first since Waco, Texas, which had won in 2003–2004.

Economy Robins Air Force Base is one of the largest employers in the state of Georgia and directly contributes over 25,000 military, civil service, and contractor jobs to the local economy. It has provided economic stability for Warner Robins that has benefited the entire Middle Georgia community.

The city of Warner Robins is working on redeveloping and renewing areas that have suffered from urban decay and/or abandonment through neglect and city growth. The city's plans include development of a centralized downtown centre "for pedestrian-oriented businesses, culture and community gathering" to be re-established at Commercial Circle in order to "connect commerce and culture back to Downtown".

In May 2009 Warner Robins was listed by the Adversity Index as one of four Georgia metro areas that have had less than nine months of recession over the past fifteen years and have only recently been affected by the Global Financial Crisis of 2008–2009.

In June 2011, Warner Robins was listed in Wired magazine as one of 12 small cities that are driving the "Knowledge Economy". Georgia was the only Southeastern state listed, and Warner Robins was one of two Georgia cities ranked (the other one being Hinesville-Ft. Stewart). The rankings featured small cities that are luring knowledge workers and entrepreneurs and which have both a relatively high median family income and a relatively high percentage of creative workers who drive the economy.

Houston Medical Center Houston County Hospital was dedicated on July 2, 1960, with 50 beds. The hospital was renamed Houston Medical Center in 1986 after renovations. The patient rooms were converted at this time from semi-private to private, with 186 beds available. The addition of a new five-story north-west tower was completed in 2009, making a total of 237 beds. Houston Medical Center is part of the Houston Healthcare system, which serves over 300,000 people annually.

Education: Universities • Central Georgia Technical College • Fort Valley State University • Georgia College & State University • Georgia Military College • Mercer University • Middle Georgia State University.

Libraries The library is the Nola Brantley Memorial Library.

Media: Press • The Telegraph, daily • The Sun, a section of the Telegraph printed weekly devoted to news in Houston and Peach Counties • Houston Home Journal, twice weekly, the legal organ for Houston County

Television stations Warner Robins is part of the Macon DMA, which is the nation's 120th largest television market.

show • vte

Broadcast television in Central Georgia, including Macon, Perry and Warner Robins

Media: Radio Warner Robins is part of the Macon Arbitron Metro, which is the nation's 130th largest radio market with a person 12+ population of 372,400.

Sport: Football High school football has long been a storied and celebrated pastime in Warner Robins, with the city laying claim to state championships, national championships, college stars, and NFL players.

The annual Northside vs. Warner Robins game draws an estimated 21,000 fans and was named the #3 rivalry in the country by USA Today in 2006.

Warner Robins High School won two National Championships, in 1976 and 1981. It won six State Championships, in 1976, 1981, 1988, 2004, 2020 and 2021.

Northside High School was crowned State Champion in 2006, 2007 and 2014.

Warner Robins Little Theatre The Warner Robins Little Theatre was established in 1962 as a non-profit community theatre. This organization now owns their theatre playhouse debt-free. The theatre continues to thrive. Five main shows are produced every year. Occasionally workshops and other special events are held for the Middle Georgia community.

Major roads Warner Robins is generally located between U.S. Highway 129/Georgia State Route 247 and Interstate 75 about 6 miles (10 km) to the west; Georgia State Route 96 passes through the southern edge of the city. U.S. Highway 129 leads north 19 mi (31 km) to downtown Macon and south 28 mi (45 km) to Hawkinsville. GA-247 follows U.S. Highway 129 throughout the city, and leads north to Macon and south to Hawkinsville. GA-96 leads east-northeast 27 mi (43 km) to Jeffersonville and west 20 mi (32 km) to Fort Valley.

Pedestrians and cycling • The Walk at Sandy Run • Walker's Pond Trail • Wellston Trail.