It was 1844, and the newly chartered town of Marthasville, Georgia, per its official charter, had appointed five commissioners to handle the town’s business. Their first act was to levy a tax on the community for the purpose of building new streets. Clearly, the citizenry of Marthasville had not embraced the concept of a commission-led […]
Tag: Richard Peters
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Replacing the Monroe
By the end of 1845, people in the region had begun to believe that there just might be something to the young town of Atlanta. Any who remained skeptical of the hype found it harder to do so with the arrival of the first Macon and Western train. You’ll remember that Cousin John Thrasher had […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
It Was About Paperwork
The origin of the name “Atlanta” has been questioned for as long as there has been an Atlanta. When all is said and done, however, the name of the city is “Atlanta,” and it’s a safe bet that’s not going to change anytime soon. We haven’t read much about how the people of Marthasville felt […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
The Chief Engineer
There is an interesting side benefit to reading about history and it has to do with being able to predict the future. Well, not so much “the” future as “a” future. At various stages along the path of historical research, one becomes familiar with the players in a particular story. When a new character is […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Waiting for a Train
The terminus for the Western & Atlantic railroad line had, in 1842, been moved from land lot #78 onto 5 acres of land donated to the state by Samuel Mitchell, the owner of land lot #77. Former Governor Wilson Lumpkin, who negotiated the land deal with Mr. Mitchell, along with W&A engineer F.C. Arms and […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
He chose Atlanta
He was on his way from Covington to Newnan via a 2-horse coach when Richard Peters first laid eyes on the young city of Marthasville. It was 1844 and Peters, an engineer for the Georgia Railroad, was part of the team building a rail line that would connect Augusta to Marthasville. As he passed through […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Not everyone agrees
At one point in Atlanta’s history, there was an organization that called itself, “The Atlanta Pioneer and Historical Society.” The group gathered together for the first, and only, time on a spring evening in 1871 for the purpose of preserving the history of Atlanta. What made this event so special, particularly for future historians of […]
