An Atlanta teenager featured in the award-winning Netflix documentary “Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World” will participate in the upcoming Autism Awareness Summit at the Atlanta City Hall Atrium on April 16. Makayla Cain, who has a rare form of autism and is nonverbal, communicates using voice technology and her own unique forms of […]
Tag: Stories of Atlanta
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 inColumns
Roswell OKs $15M deal for parking deck to keep Canton Steet a destination
Roswell has signed a construction team to build its long-anticipated parking deck, which is part of an effort to keep pace with neighboring cities in attracting dining and entertainment. The north Fulton City awarded a nearly $15 million contract to Winter Construction to build the Green Street Parking Deck. The triangular site is located at […]
Posted inColumns
Celebrated chef retires to pursue first love: painting, drawing
Gerry Klaskala has been one of Atlanta’s most celebrated chefs for decades. He’s been the creative force behind such restaurants as Canoe and Buckhead’s Aria. Now, after 25 years at Aria’s helm, he’s trading his chef’s whites for a paintbrush. “It’s time,” the chef and restaurateur said. “It’s been a great, great ride. I’m satisfied.” […]
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Goodwill North Georgia highlights successes for women in careers programs
In recognition of Women’s History Month, Goodwill of North Georgia is highlighting its efforts to expand economic opportunity for women through workforce development programs. According to the nonprofit, more than 10,000 women secured employment in Fiscal Year 2024 with support from its career services and training programs. In total, over 25,000 women received assistance through […]
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
The Nickname
You might be familiar with the term “Y’allywood.” It is a nickname that many have recently applied to Atlanta. For those not into, as The Dude would say, the whole brevity thing, perhaps you’re familiar with “Hollywood of the South.” Either way, both of those names will just have to be added to the lengthy […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
A Founding Father Arrives
It was competition from the State of South Carolina that finally prompted the Georgia legislature to act on the recommendation that former governor Wilson Lumpkin had made to the state in 1826. Lumpkin and his partner Hamilton Fulton on behalf of the State of Georgia had surveyed the American Indian territories of north Georgia seeking […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Moving the Mile Marker
In its earliest days, folks referred to the area around the Zero Mile Post as Thrasherville. John Thrasher had come to the region in 1839 to build an embankment for the Monroe Railroad and, to accommodate his workers, he had constructed a community of small cabins. It seems natural that Thrasher’s name would come into […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Ground Zero
With the Zero Mile Post fixed in its final location, the foundation for the growth of Atlanta was in place. The city would grow up around the junction point of 3-railroad-lines. Those rail lines would influence the location and the orientation of many of the young community’s new buildings. Well-traveled trails would be expanded and […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
The Mile Marker Move
A chief engineer identifies the terminus point; a stake is driven into the ground, and, around that marker, the City of Atlanta grows. It’s a pretty neat story. . . except that isn’t exactly how it happened. Nothing, it seems, is ever safe from political intrigue and that would include the founding of the City […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
A Rocky Start
They came seeking a new life in a new town. As a newlywed couple, they left a comfortable home in Marietta and moved to Terminus to make their fortune. Little did they know that just by doing what every newlywed couple does, they would make history. Willis and Sarah. Carlisle had followed the advice of […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Atlanta’s First Community
He was everybody’s cousin. Nobody’s fool. And the richest 21-year-old in town. John Thrasher had been awarded a $25,000 contract to build a railroad embankment. Over the coming months, he would create a clearing in the forest, build several one-room, dirt-floor cabins for labor that he would soon hire and open up a general store […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Early Adopters
They walked into the woods and made lives for themselves. That’s a concept 21st-century Atlantans understandably might have trouble wrapping their heads around. But, for the 19th century settlers whose names would become a part of our city’s history, it was business as usual. While the immediate area chosen for the termination point of the […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
Why Atlanta?
During the early days of America’s founding, having access to water was one of the primary prerequisites in choosing a location for a community. It’s not a difficult concept to understand. In addition to the obvious health benefits, having access to water provided a source of power for industry and, for many, water equaled mobility, […]
Posted inStories of Atlanta
An Atlanta Alamo Connection
It is a safe bet to say that there were no Atlantans who fought at the Battle of the Alamo. Safe because the battle was over and done with a year before the terminus stake was ever driven into the ground. And yet…there is a connection between Atlanta and the Alamo. Not surprisingly, the connection […]
Posted inColumns, Media, Stories of Atlanta
The Tall Wagging Tale
Sounds good…you be the judge. That’s the deal we’re offering this week, as we tell the tale of a well-known Atlantan who decided to try his hand at event promotion. It’s a tale that has all the makings of a “top notch” Story. Sky-high, death-defying action, a high stakes bet, a puppy dog in danger, […]
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Connecting the Dots
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 […]
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.
