Air force base brings people to the small town of Ray City
Only about 1,000 people live in Ray City, but nearly 5,000 military members and civilians work at Moody Air Force Base to the south. The base draws homebuyers to this South Georgia community, with roughly half of the families in Ray City’s subdivisions connected to the military, says City Clerk Denise Ray. The small community consists of a town center built around a highway intersection, surrounded by churches and farms. However, there are larger towns of a few thousand people in each direction. That includes Valdosta, the region’s biggest city.
Subdivisions near the city limits, with more land to the west
Ranch homes and bungalows line the compact grid of streets that make up the center of Ray City. Small subdivisions just outside the city limits feature new traditional homes, some of which have been built since 2020. To the west, single-family homes and manufactured houses among pastures and pine barrens typically come with at least 2 acres of land, and some lots sprawl over more than 20 acres. Manufactured home prices range from $120,000 to $200,000, while other houses cost between $105,000 and $295,000.
Ray City’s CAP Index Crime Score is 1 out of 10, lower than the national average of 4.
Children zoned to Berrien County Schools
All the county’s public schools are about 10 miles north in Nashville, the county seat. Every student follows the same education pipeline, starting with Berrien Primary School. Graded a B by Niche, Berrien Primary teaches kindergarten through second grade. Kids can then go to Berrien Elementary School for third through fifth grade before progressing to Berrien Middle School. Both schools receive B-plus grades. High schoolers can attend B-rated Berrien High School or apply to Berrien Academy, a charter school that gets a D-minus.
Recreation ranges from playground at Ray City Park to mudding at Possum Creek
Ray City Park has a pair of baseball fields and a playground designed to accommodate children with autism. The park and the adjoining Ray City Senior Citizens Center host the annual Fourth of July celebration, when the community gathers for a watermelon-eating contest, live music and fireworks. There’s no local Little League organization, but First Baptist Church of Ray City partners with Upward Sports Ministries to organize youth basketball and soccer leagues. Possum Creek Off-Road Park opens two weekends per month, welcoming people who want to drive trucks, four-wheelers and even lawn mowers through 450 acres of mud and hills. South of Ray City, anglers fish for bass and bream from the pier at Banks Lake Wildlife Refuge. Canoers sometimes set out on the lake, where they paddle among Spanish moss-clad cypress trees while keeping an eye out for alligators.
Seafood, locally grown pecans and more in Ray City
Ray City’s few businesses concentrate around an intersection in the middle of the city. Convenience stores, Dollar General and Family Dollar surround the intersection, while nearby Combo House serves hamburgers. People from around the region venture to the eastern edge of the community for dinner at Ray’s Millpond Cafe. The restaurant’s name comes from the swampy pond it borders; after the restaurant opened in 1963, it became renowned for its catfish. “They would catch them out of the pond,” Ray says. Today, the cafe serves a variety of fish and seafood. Outside of town, Little Duck Farms operates a market where it sells pecans, beef and homemade cookies. Surrounding towns have grocery stores, and the closest is Piggly Wiggly, 8 miles east in Lakeland. Valdosta is home to nationally known retailers such as Publix, Walmart and The Home Depot.
Highway connects to Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta
Several highways converge in Ray City, with Georgia state Route 125 leading 7 miles south from downtown to Moody Air Force Base and then about 10 miles farther to Valdosta. People can merge onto Interstate 75 roughly 8 miles west of the community; the highway runs north to south across Georgia, stretching more than 200 miles north to Atlanta. Locals typically get around by car, but they can schedule a shuttle ride through the Southern Georgia Regional Commission.
Written By
Alex Soderstrom
