Biohazard Cleanup Near North Adel Adel, GA

Adel is a city in south-central Georgia and the county seat of Cook County, about 26 miles north of Valdosta and 52 miles southeast of Albany.

Adel was originally known as Puddleville, and its first postmaster, Joel 'Uncle Jack' Parrish, championed the name change; the name Adel is traditionally said to have been lifted from the middle letters of the word 'Philadelphia.'

The Georgia Southern and Florida Railway arrived in Adel in the 1880s, spurring the settlement's growth as a local trade and shipping point, and Adel was incorporated as a town in 1889.

Adel had 5,571 residents at the 2020 census, up from 5,334 in 2010.

Cook County was created in 1918 out of Berrien County and named for Philip Cook, a Confederate general and later Georgia politician; the county had 17,229 residents in 6,217 households at the 2020 census.

The historic Cook County Courthouse, built in 1939 in Adel, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Adel adopted a council-manager form of government in 1970, and in 2020 it received the Visionary City Award from the Georgia Municipal Association.

Local students attend Cook County School District schools, and Cook High School — home of the Hornets, whose campus on Highway 37 east of town opened in 2009 — includes the 580-seat Carolyn Harris Performing Arts Center.

Just outside Adel lies Reed Bingham State Park, a 1,613-acre park built around a 375-acre lake, known for camping, boating and trails where visitors can spot gopher tortoises.

Adel serves a farming region long centered on crops such as cotton, peanuts and tobacco, and it is the largest city in Cook County.