The City of Winterville is an incorporated municipality located within the unified government of Athens-Clarke County. The town about six miles from Athens and the University of Georgia and has a population of approximately 1,100. The community began as a railroad town -- a "wood and water station" -- for the Georgia Railroad which used to pass through town. The City of Winterville was incorporated in 1904 and in 1906 the Oglethorpe County portion of town was transferred to Clarke County.