The Peachtree Question
Visitors to Atlanta often remark on a certain local curiosity: Even though just about every other street, plaza, or business establishment is dubbed “Peachtree,” there doesn’t seem to be a single peach tree in the entire city. The reason for this absence, simply enough, is that peach trees are not indigenous to the area. But the phenomenon of the peachtree naming mania stems from a confusion that dates back 200 years.

In 1782, military scouts moving west through Georgia discovered a small Cherokee village on the banks of the Chattahoochee River named, as the explorers understood it, Standing Peachtree. Historians, however, speculate that since it was unlikely that the natives had named their village after a variety of vegetation they had almost certainly never seen, the settlement’s name came from the pitch tree, a type of evergreen found throughout the region. Nevertheless, by 1812, the new American military had established “Fort Peachtree” on the site of the Cherokee village, establishing a tradition of misnomerism that would continue for hundreds of years.

Of New Rails and Bitter Trails
The small outpost in northwest Georgia saw limited action in the War of 1812, but by the early 1820s, a growing influx of white settlers gave rise to conflict with the indigenous population. The peace was largely kept by the willingness of the Cherokee and Creek tribes to agree to a long series of ever more disagreeable treaties, which granted more and more land to the white settlers. The final blow was struck in 1837, when federal forces rounded up over 17,000 Cherokee and Creek Indians, and began a forced westward march that was to stretch over some 800 miles into what is now Oklahoma. More than 4,000 souls perished along the way, which later came to be known as the “Trail of Tears.”

With the Indian situation no longer a concern, construction of the new Western & Atlantic Railroad proceeded full bore. Late in 1837, a town was founded near the site of Fort Peachtree that would serve as the Southern terminus of this new railway. The town was, rather poetically, named Terminus.

The Start of Something Big
The small burg grew rapidly, as rail workers, pioneers, and traders established homes and businesses in the town, which, in 1843, was renamed Marthasville. In 1845, the city was renamed Atlanta, and in 1848, Atlanta elected Moses W. Formwalt as its first mayor. As more track was laid throughout the South, Atlanta become connected to almost every major port and trade center, making it a vital link between the resources of Dixie and the markets of the North.

War Comes to Town
If the boomtown had been important to the South’s economic well-being before, it became absolutely critical when war broke out. During the summer of 1864, 100,000 federal troops under General William Tecumseh Sherman pushed back Confederate defenders through north Georgia, culminating in the Battle of Atlanta on July 22nd. Sherman’s forces shelled the city for over a month, until Atlanta surrendered on September 2nd. Before doing so, however, the rebel forces set flame to whatever they felt would be useful to the enemy, effectively burning down two-thirds of Atlanta. Of the 4,000 homes, businesses, and civic buildings that stood in Atlanta before the summer of 1864, only 400 remained.

Capital of the New South
Reconstruction was a difficult period for the entire South, but it succeeded in Atlanta with better success than elsewhere. The valuable rail system was rebuilt within two years, and Atlanta became more urbanized and civilized, erecting theatres, schools, even two opera houses. By 1870, the city boasted over 250 stores, a horse-drawn streetcar system, and Atlanta University, which today stands as the world’s largest predominantly-black college. In 1877, with a population nearing 37,000, Atlanta was named the new capital of Georgia.

In 1886, local druggist John Pemberton introduced something he called a “brain tonic.” Meant to relieve headaches, the tonic proved such a hit with his patrons, that Pemberton was able to sell the recipe to another local businessman a year later for a whopping $2,300. Oops. Ten years later, recipe-buyer Asa Candler had made Coca-Cola a household name.

Growing Pains
The trials of the early 20th Century played out in Atlanta as they did elsewhere in urban America, with great city advancements frequently marred by civic strife. By 1900, the city’s population and workforce was almost evenly divided between white and black, but the laws of segregation dramatically divided these two populations. In 1960, Atlanta native and civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. established his Southern Christian Leadership Conference in his Auburn Avenue neighborhood. His Center for Nonviolent Social Change now stands near his boyhood home on Auburn Avenue within the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Site. Atlanta was also the first major Southern city to elect a black mayor, voting in 35-year-old Maynard Jackson in 1974.

Growth Growth Growth
Through the latter part of the 20th Century, Atlanta has continued to expand as a vibrant, vital international city. In 1966, the city became the first in history to be awarded a professional baseball and football franchise in the same year. Eight years later, this would be the site of baseball history, when the Atlanta Braves’ Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. In 1968, the Atlanta Hawks brought professional basketball to Atlanta. In 1976, the Georgia World Congress Center opened as the largest single-floor exhibit space on the planet, and, in 1979, Atlanta unveiled MARTA, a stateof-the-art public transit system.

A City on the Rise
Today, Atlanta stands as a premier American city and the capital of one of the nation’s most rapidly-developing economic regions. Expansion and development continue as new ventures are born and new residents flock from around the country. The influx has been so great that it is sometimes said that the hardest thing to find in Atlanta (besides a peach tree) is someone who was born in Atlanta.

With its penchant for convention-hosting and a growing tourist trade, Atlanta stocks more than its share of lodging opportunities. Accommodations range from world class high-rise hotels to cozy bed and breakfasts to an abundance of standard chains. Because Atlanta has become such a Mecca for conventions, even the largest hotels often book solid weeks in advance, so make reservations early.