Molena is a city in Pike County, Georgia, in the state's west-central Piedmont, about a 45-minute drive south of Atlanta. The community was settled as Snidersville and later renamed Molena after the arrival of a local rail line, and it was officially incorporated in 1888. Molena counted 392 residents in the 2020 census. The city's history is rooted in the early settlement of Pike County, with families arriving from neighboring Monroe County and elsewhere in middle Georgia to farm the rolling land. A 1921 history compiled by Molena High School students traces those early families and the town's growth through the turn of the century, reflecting a community identity built around agriculture, churches, and local schools. Molena remains a largely rural, agricultural city. The county seat of Zebulon lies nearby, and the surrounding countryside is a patchwork of farmland, pasture, and timber. Its small scale and unhurried pace distinguish it from the fast-growing suburbs nearer Atlanta, even as its proximity to the metro area keeps larger employment, shopping, and services within reach. Public school students attend the Pike County School District, whose campuses include Pike County High School. The towns of Griffin and Thomaston lie within easy reach for regional services, while Atlanta's airport and attractions are a short drive up the highway. Recreation is largely tied to the outdoors—hunting, fishing, and open countryside—along with community events and the state parks and lakes of middle Georgia. Molena suits those drawn to quiet, small-town life in the Georgia Piedmont without sacrificing access to the region's larger centers, and it represents the kind of rural rail-and-farm community that has long defined this part of the state.