BAINBRIDGE

city, seat (1823) of Decatur county, southwestern Georgia, U.S. It lies along the Flint River, near the Florida border. The city was founded in 1823 near Fort Hughes, an earthwork defended by the troops of Andrew Jackson during the Indian wars of 181721. The site was named for Captain William Bainbridge, commander of the frigate Constitution, and developed as a lumbering town and river port. Downriver, the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam (1957) impounds Lake Seminole, provides hydropower, and controls navigation channels from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. This navigational system made Bainbridge Georgia's first inland barge port, handling bulk cargoes such as industrial chemicals and minerals. Bainbridge Junior College was established in 1970. Inc. 1829. Pop. (1990) 10,712.