Folkston is a city in Charlton County, Georgia, and serves as the county seat of the state's southernmost county, set in the pine flatwoods and swamp country near the Florida border. Its 2020 population was 4,464, within a county of about 12,518 residents. The city is best known as the gateway to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the vast blackwater swamp that defines much of the surrounding landscape and draws visitors to its eastern entrance near Folkston. Railroad history is equally central to the town's identity. The first train, of the Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad, passed through Folkston in June 1881, and the rail line that followed made the town a shipping and transportation hub. Today that heritage has made Folkston a pilgrimage site for railfans: the Folkston Funnel, where the mainline narrows through town, carries dozens of trains each day, including freight and Amtrak service, and the city maintains a covered, elevated viewing platform just feet from the tracks, alongside a railroad museum in the restored downtown Depot. Folkston's economy rests on tourism, agriculture, timber, and small businesses, with the Okefenokee and the railroad providing its two signature attractions. The Charlton County School District, based in the city, operates four campuses serving the county's students. Life in Folkston is quiet and community-centered, with a walkable downtown and a pace set by small-town rhythms rather than metropolitan growth. U.S. Routes 1 and 301 run through the city, and Interstate 95 lies a short drive to the east near Kingsland, putting Jacksonville, Florida, and the Georgia coast within convenient reach. The town suits those drawn to swamp-country outdoors, rail heritage, and the affordability of rural southeastern Georgia.