This week we play a game of “connect the dots” as we trace the relationship of two famous Georgians who each played a role in Atlanta’s young but stellar past. We start with the birth of Crawford Long in 1815 and take a brief look at why we all owe him a major debt of […]
Tag: Atlanta Georgia
Posted inColumns, Media, Stories of Atlanta
Atlanta’s Hoo-Hoos
As the story goes, a journalist in the timber industry named Johnson was describing a most peculiar tuft of hair, greased and twisted to a point atop the otherwise bald head of a man named McCarer. Using a phrase of his own concoction to describe Mr. McCarer’s signature coiffure, Mr. Johnson pronounced it to be […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
The Unknown Origin of Fulton County
We know the last name but apparently no one bothered to write down the first name. It’s a cautionary tale about the value of taking notes on this week’s Stories of Atlanta.
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Was Atlanta the First?
In the mid-1880s, George Eastman invented a process for coating a photographic emulsion onto a flexible material…put more simply, he invented film. Not only was that a giant leap in the evolution of photography, but the new medium also opened the door for the development of motion pictures. A decade later, Thomas Edison unveiled the […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
It Took A Village
Build a better mousetrap and the world will be a path to your door. Given that the U.S. Patent Office says there have been over 4,400 patents issued for various types of mousetraps, many people must have taken that epigram to heart. And though, it is unlikely that you will find the mousetrap high-up on […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
The Thinking Machine
He was among the more well-known writers of his day, often compared to the creator of Sherlock Holmes. He traveled in a rarified circle of fame and success which was certainly a far cry from his days writing sports for the Atlanta Journal. A Georgia man who made it big discovers the end is near […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Very Hush-Hush
In 1891, Atlanta’s Mayor began spending the City’s money, secretly buying land on the outskirts of Atlanta. It wasn’t a case of embezzlement, just good-old business common sense. In attempting to solve one of the City’s ongoing issues, the mayor had made a decision, a decision that would not only affect every single Atlantan for […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Why So Wide?
It was rumored to have miraculous, healing properties and, if the first-person accounts were to be believed, drinking the water from this spring was good for what ails you. Miracle cure or not, what it most definitely turned out to be was a really good business opportunity. It is the tale of thirst and the […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Making A Statement
As students of Atlanta history, we have learned a lot through quotes about what people have to say about the city that we call home. Clearly, a lot of people have not been shy about expressing their thoughts on Atlanta and Atlantans. From glowingly poetic prose to less than flattering descriptions, those who have encountered […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Political Pull
Two men sit down for a conversation. As a result, one of the men, and influential industrialist and newspaper owner, commits his political support to the other man. This is enough to get the other man elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where, according to the plan they hatched during their conversation, the new […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Decatur & Peachtree
G.W. Collier was one of those Atlantans who got in on the ground floor of a good thing. When he first came to the region there was nothing but wilderness and Indians. When Marthasville was incorporated as Atlanta, he became the city’s 1st postmaster and to fulfil his duties, he purchased a small parcel of […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
The Second Career
One of the early residents of Atlanta was Dr. Joseph Thompson, who had been lured to the young city by an old friend. Dr. Thompson had a well-known and respected 20-year medical career in Decatur but issues with rheumatism put an end to his practice. He was running an inn when J. Edgar Thomson, a […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
An Appeal to Patriotism
During times of national crisis, we are all called upon to do our part. Such was the case during World War One when a plan was hatched for Atlantans to conserve oil and gasoline for the war effort. An interesting twist was, for those who violated the restrictions, there was no fine. Instead, the city […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
An Explosion of Growth
In the later part of the 20th century, Atlanta experienced a period of rapid growth thanks to events set in motion with the beginning of World War II. Due to its transportation history and the city’s foresight in developing its aviation capabilities, Atlanta came through “The Big One” in prime position to become the city […]
Posted inLatest News, Stories of Atlanta
He Didn’t Stay Long
It was not long after 3-railroad lines were connected to a central point in north Georgia that people began beating a path to Atlanta. Word had spread of the abundant opportunities and cheap land and those seeking better lives were arriving to the young city every day. There were, of course, those looking for work […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
A Forbidden Love
A young man from Carrollton, GA, comes to the big city hoping to pursue a career in medicine. He walks the streets of Atlanta, knocking on the door of every drug store in town. As the sun is setting, he is hired on the spot by one of the best-known druggists in Georgia and his […]
Posted inMedia, Stories of Atlanta
You Be The Judge
When the Hyatt Regency on Peachtree Street opened as the Regency Hyatt House in 1967, it immediately became one of Atlanta’s biggest tourist attractions. It was, in fact, completely unique in the history of modern hotels and people came from near and far to experience architect John Portman’s newest creation. Part of that experience involved […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
The Show Did Go On
The founding of the City of Atlanta may have been an unforeseen result of Atlanta’s railroads, but the rapid growth of the city by the train tracks did not happen by accident. Nor did the city’s recovery from the devastation of the Civil War. Throughout Atlanta’s history there have always been those who paved the […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
A Proper Depot
Continuing our march through the history of the City of Atlanta, the population triples in 5-years, there is a recognition of the need for a proper rail connecting point, and the little town by the railroad tracks continues to change. It’s an ongoing story of Iron and Ambition on this week’s Stories of Atlanta.
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Three-Dimensional Thinking
When the State of Georgia greenlit the Western and Atlantic railroad line and marked its terminus point just south of the Chattahoochee River, most observers recognized the impact that the new technology would have on Georgia’s commercial trade. It seems quaint by today’s standards, but almost no one at the time recognized that a world […]
