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History
Fulton County was created in 1853. It was named in honor of Hamilton Fulton, a railroad official who acted as surveyor for the Western and Atlantic Railroad and also as chief engineer of the state. After surveying the area that is now Fulton County, Fulton convinced state officials that a railroad, rather than a canal, should be constructed to connect Milledgeville, then the state capital, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Building the railroad was a precursor of Fulton County's prominence as a major transportation center. Fulton County grew rapidly after the American Civil War as Atlanta was rebuilt, becoming a center of railroad shipping, industry and business. Ninety percent of the city of Atlanta lies in Fulton County.
After the war, there was considerable violence against freedmen in the county. During the post-Reconstruction period, violence and the number of lynchings of blacks increased in the late 19th century. Whites lynched 35 blacks here from 1877 to 1950; According to the Georgia Lynching Project, 24 were killed in 1906. This was the highest total in the state. With a total of 589, Georgia was second to Mississippi in its total number of lynchings in this period.
In addition to individual lynchings, during the Atlanta Race Riot of 1906, whites killed at least 25 blacks; the number may have been considerably higher. Two white people died during the riot. The violence affected black residential and business development in the city afterward. The Georgia legislature effectively completed disenfranchisement of blacks in 1908 constitutional amendments that raised barriers to voter registration and voting, excluding them from the political system.
In the second half of the 20th century, Atlanta and Fulton county became the location of numerous national and international headquarters for leading companies, attracting highly skilled employees from around the country. This led to the city and county becoming more cosmopolitan and diverse.
Adjacent Counties
- Cherokee County
- Forsyth County
- Gwinnett County
- DeKalb County
- Clayton County
- Fayette County
- Coweta County
- Carroll County
- Douglas County
- Cobb County
Cities & Communities
- Alpharetta
- Atlanta (part)
- Birmingham
- Campbellton
- Chattahoochee Hills
- College Park
- East Point
- Fairburn
- Hapeville
- Johns Creek
- Milton
- Mountain Park
- Ocee
- Palmetto
- Red Oak
- Rico
- Roswell
- Sandtown
- Sandy Springs
- Serenbe
- Shakerag
- South Fulton
- Union City
Links
Civil War Maps of Fulton County
National Register of Historic Places
