Town file
Santa Claus, Georgia
Santa Claus, Georgia (Tooms County, Georgia) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 29, "A Grinch Of A Killer" (2 August 2017). Santa Claus, Georgia, is a tiny town of 166 people in Tooms County, in the south-eastern part of the state.
- Town
- Santa Claus
- County
- Tooms County
- State
- Georgia
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 29
- Approximate location
- 32.171, -82.330
Episode 29 / 2 August 2017 / 84 min / full
A Grinch Of A Killer
"James says they are heading to Santa Claus, Georgia, a tiny town buried in the south-eastern part of the state, right in the middle of Tooms county." about 0:07:44
The case: Murder of the Daniels family (December 3-4, 1997). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2017
- Population
- 166
- Median age
- 44.3
- Median home value
- about $78,000
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $645
- Cost of living
- 8
- Religious
- 68.6%
- Property crime
- ▲ a decent amount higher than normal
- Violent crime
- ▲ almost twice the national average
History, in brief
- A farmer named Green set up a roadside stand on US Route 1 in the 1930s, selling pecans, fresh fruit and souvenirs to passing travellers. about 0:08:44
- Green, described as a jolly fellow with a red complexion, began calling the community Santa Claus to promote his business. about 0:09:46
- In 1941 Green led a movement to have the community incorporated, and it was called Santa Claus. about 0:09:50
- William Salem, a state legislative representative and real estate developer from the next town, built most of the little red brick houses. about 0:09:59
- The town let people move into new homes before they had money, with payment to follow later. about 0:10:14
- Every street is named after Christmas things; Spruce Street was renamed after William Salem and is the only non-Christmas street name in town. about 0:10:38
- The town hoped travellers heading to Florida would stop, but interstates 75 and 95 took the traffic in the 1950s and the town died. about 0:10:57
- A 1986 LA Times article quoted the mayor, an insurance salesman who lives on Dancer Street, saying the interstate killed the town. about 0:11:34
- A tiny cinder block building next to City Hall was remodelled as a turn-of-the-century post office with a Santa Claus postmark to boost Christmas card mailings. about 0:11:48
- The town tried to attract a candy factory or a toy manufacturing plant that would employ a man dressed as Santa Claus. about 0:12:01
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Riceboro, Georgia60 miles
- Milledgeville, Georgia83 miles
- Brunswick, Georgia88 miles
- Grovetown, Georgia89 miles
- Eatonton, Georgia101 miles
- Modoc, South Carolina107 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.