"Atlanta" Atlanta by seagoingJLW

Where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River stood a peachtree. Its name was given to the creek, the Indian trail and the current street. In 1814 the Americans built Fort Peachtree during the War of 1812.

In 1838 the forced march known as the Trail of Tears began here when General Winfield Scott removed 15,000 Cherokee Indians to Arkansas. Over 4,000 did not survive.

Beginning in 1842 the settlement was known as Marthasville. The name was changed to Atlanta in 1845, and it was incorporated in 1847. By 1856 the population was about 8,000.

In 1861 Georgia became the fourth state to leave the union. By 1862, Atlanta was the war supplier of the south. In early May of 1864, General William T. Sherman began moving his troops out of Chattanooga along the railroad route to Atlanta. Sherman's troops crossed over the Chattahoochee and won a victory for the north at the Battle of Peachtree Creek. Shells came into the city from the north and the armies of the north and south met in the Battle of Atlanta. Sherman ordered civilians out of the city and burned it leaving only 400 structures standing. Then Sherman began his infamous "march to the sea."

On May 16, 1865, the American flag was raised over Atlanta. by then the population was 10,940 whites and 9,288 blacks. On June 16, 1868, Atlanta announced the first edition of the state constitution. In 1869 the Legislature voted against ratifying the 15th Amendment., but they finally did ratify it in 1870.

In 1877 Reconstruction ended with the election of President Rutherford B. Hayes. He was the first sitting President to visit Atlanta.

By 1890 the population was 65,533. In 1900 the Atlanta Coca Cola Bottling Company was licensed.

In 1936, Gone With the Wind" was published, gaining a Pulitzer Prize for author Margaret Mitchell in 1937. In 1938 the nation's first air traffic control tower opened in Atlanta. In 1939, the movie, "Gone With the Wind" had its world premiere at Loew's Grand Theater on Peachtree.

In 1940, the population was 302,288. In 1941 Delta Airlines moved its headquarters toAtlanta.

In 1975 the house where Martin Luther King was born was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

By 1981, metropolitan Atlanta's population topped 2 million.

• Pros:There is a lot of history here. And the Underground is fun.
• Cons:There are a lot of Peachtree Streets. Getting them all straight is difficult
• In a nutshell:Come on down and have a great time.