Summary History of DeKalb County
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Note:  I am not a historian, but I have great interest in these areas where I sell homes.
The following information is culled from a variety of sources.
Although I can not guarantee accuracy within those sources,
I took care to write the following with as much accuracy as I could achieve.
 
DeKalb County
  
       The land that encompasses DeKalb County was opened for settlement following the Indian Springs Treaty in January 1821 which removed Creek and Cherokee Indians from the area.  The county was created on December 9, 1822, with land taken from Henry, Gwinnett, and Fayette Counties.  Earlier, in December 1821, the entire area of Henry and DeKalb (and even more land than that) had been established as just Henry County.  But that obviously quickly changed, with DeKalb being created as a separate entity just one year later, and small portions of Gwinnett and Fayette being added to it at that time.  This became the 54th county in Georgia (some records show it to be the 56th county).  Of additional note, the county sits on a natural ridge, the Continental Divide, between Atlanta and Athens.
  
       This original version of DeKalb County spanned across the entire area from Stone Mountain to the Chattahoochee River.  It included a county seat designated by the legislature in 1823 to be Decatur, named after Commodore Stephen Decatur, a War of 1812 naval hero.  Decatur is the second oldest chartered municipality in the metro Atlanta area.  Of interest, at its creation this county also included the very tiny settlement which would eventually become Atlanta.  It was during the creation of Fulton County in 1853 that the future city of Atlanta was lost to this county.  (More about Atlanta vs the community of Decatur a bit later in this summary of DeKalb County history.)
  
       This county is named in honor of Baron Johann DeKalb … well, sort of!  His given name was Hans Kalb.  But he assumed the name of an acquaintance of his in Paris France, Jean De Kalb, and then altered it to Johann DeKalb in order for the name to sound more Germanic.  He added the title of Baron to the front of his name, because in his efforts to become a French soldier of fortune he found that within French forces only noblemen could become officers.  But even with name changes, that does not alter the fact he was a hero in the Revolutionary War, dying after the Battle of Camden, South Carolina.  It is said that his last words were, “I die the death I always prayed for; the death of a soldier fighting for the rights of man.”  He fought next to his soldiers, was wounded eleven times in the battle, and was the only General on the American side to die on the battlefield.  (As a side note, at least six counties in the United States have been named after DeKalb, making this one of the most popular names for a county.)
  
       It is thought that Archaic Indians dwelt in this area as early as 6000 B.C.  And in the Southern part of DeKalb County is an archealogical site where a soft stone called soapstone was crafted into bowls and tools.  Around 1000 B.C. the Woodland Indians had various villages in what is now Dekalb County, especially in the area where Stone Mountain is located today.  Spanish military ventured into this region, but did not settle here.  The first person of English descent to enter and spend time here was Dr. Henry Woodward, from South Carolina.  He established a trading post south of the current county, and had ongoing contact with the Creek Indians (called Musceegee by some).  After this, English traders were frequently traveling through this area.
  
       Early settlers were of Irish and Scottish ancestry as well as English descent, and came from Virginia and the Carolinas.  They were mostly poor and uneducated, but very hard working.  Most were small farmers and did not own slaves.  DeKalb County did not have a plantation system, and very few households had house servants.  This no doubt helps explain why the DeKalb delegates to the convention on secession voted No to secession.  Mills and ginneries were important in this area’s early growth.  But it was very much a small-farmer agrarian society and economy.  There were no major roads through the area, and there was just one weekly stage that ran from Milledgeville (the state capitol at the time) to Stone Mountain and Decatur.  Delayed by the Panic of 1837 (an economic depression that was one of the most severe financial crises in the history of the U.S.), the Georgia Railroad was finally completed across the county in 1845.  This brought important financial help to the city of Decatur as well as the county as a whole.
  
       But the city of Decatur did make (at least in the eyes of many people) a huge mistake regarding railroads.  In the 1830’s Decatur was approached by the Western and Atlantic Railroad with an offer to make Decatur the major stop on the newly conceived line running from Chattanooga Tennessee.  The citizens of Decatur said they did not want the “noise, smoke, and confusion”* that would come from having this rail line come to them.  So the railroad decided to move this important end point about seven miles west, to a small spot called Terminus … which later had its name changed to Marthasville …. which two years later changed its name to Atlanta.
  
       In 1853 Fulton County was created entirely from the western portion of DeKalb County.  And small pieces of DeKalb were also given, between the years of 1828 to 1875, to counties such as Campbell, Gwinnett, Rockdale, and Milton (which itself was absorbed by Fulton County in the 1930’s).  So in the end DeKalb lost the railroad to Atlanta, and then lost the tax benefits of Atlanta to Fulton County (but no one ever said life is fair!).
  
       This county suffered mightily during the Civil War.  The first full battle fought on its soil was in the summer of 1864.  A lot of the Battle of Atlanta was fought in this county and involved the rail center of Atlanta, control of DeKalb County territory, and the Georgia Railroad with its important supply-line connection from Augusta.  General McPherson’s Union forces captured Roswell on July 17, 1864 and continued on an eastward arc around the northern side of Atlanta and then down into Dekalb County.  General Sherman ordered this move in order to circumvent the “river line” entrenchments of the Confederate General Johnston.  On July 18 McPherson’s army entered the areas around Decatur and Stone Mountain and severed rail lines.  This was the same day General Hood replaced Johnston, because Confederate President Jefferson Davis finally decided Johnston was not aggressive enough.  For months Sherman would move to outflank or overwhelm Johnston’s forces, and then Johnston would retreat to yet another defensive position.  Perhaps Johnston was right to use this strategy of continually retreating to defensive positions as the best way to try to survive; or, perhaps it was insuring eventual defeat.  But the move to replace him, even if that was correct, was too late.  The Battle of Atlanta began on July 22, and this facet of the Civil War lasted about six weeks until the Confederate surrender of the Atlanta on September 2.
  
       Engagements between Confederate and Union forces took place along what is today called DeKalb Avenue, in the area close to today’s street called Moreland Avenue (with fighting taking place near where the Carter Center is today as well as to the east and southeast of today’s Little Five Points area).  Confederate General Hardee commanded this swing to the east to outflank the Union forces of McPherson that had entered DeKalb County.  But Hardee was running late, and decided to turn north earlier than planned, which led to an eventual failure of the attack.  Some think that if he had arrived on time the outcome could have been different.  But Confederate forces were so outnumbered the eventual result would probably have been the same.  General McPherson was killed in this engagement.  But Union troops were successful, and occupied Stone Mountain, were encamped in the Decatur Square, covered much of the county, and supply wagons were parked in the Decatur cemetery.  After the Battle along DeKalb Avenue (then called Decatur Street), Union forces shelled the city of Atlanta for weeks.  A contingent of Union troops remained in DeKalb County at least until November of 1864, and Sherman’s forces destroyed Georgia Railroad track throughout the county as he was moving on in his march to the sea.
  
       The Democratic Party candidate for President had made great headway toward the election of 1864, promoting a peace platform of talking with the Confederacy to negotiate a truce and end the war as soon as possible.  But with Sherman’s successes related to the Battle of Atlanta, when news of these Union victories reached the voters in the north Lincoln subsequently won the election by a wide margin.
  
       After the Civil War several items took center stage in rebuilding the county’s economy.  Agriculture of course, including cotton, remained important.  Truck farms supplied vegetables and produce.  The milling of grain was a major post war activity in this county.  And the county was blessed with granite as a resource.  Rock quarries at Stone Mountain and Lithonia supplied building materials needed by Atlanta and other Georgia communities.  There was so much demand for these materials that a number of rock cutters and carvers immigrated from northern Europe during this time.
  
       Over the years DeKalb County has been the home of interesting and successful people, and enterprises.  Mary Ann Harris Gay authored the book “Life in Dixie During the War” describing her actual experiences living in Decatur during Union assaults and occupation.  Margaret Mitchell drew upon this book as part of her inspiration for “Gone With the Wind.”  Asa Griggs Candler may be the best known DeKalb County resident.  He purchased a recipe for sweet syrup that Dr. John Pemberton had developed in 1886, and which Dr. Pemberton made in his backyard for sale as a soda fountain drink in an Atlanta pharmacy.  Over the period of 1887 to 1891 Mr. Candler was able to secure purchase of the recipe from Dr. Pemberton and other investors for $2,300, and built the soft drink business called Coca Cola.  Candler also eventually became Mayor of Atlanta, gave money plus a land gift to move Emory University to DeKalb County, gave millions to what would become Emory Hospital, and the present site of Hartsfield-Jackson Airport was originally called Candler Field (but at its creation it was a race track for autos, not an airfield).  The county is also famous for institutions such as the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), Emory Hospital, Emory University, Emory Law School, and Agnes Scott College (which began in 1889 as the Decatur Female Seminary, with the name changed in 1890 to Agnes Scott Institute).  And even Hollywood focused on this county with the film Driving Miss Daisy.

     From The U.S. Census Bureau
 

ESTIMATED 2006 Population:
  
2000 Population:
  
Population change (April 1, 2000 to
July 1, 2006):
  
Median Household Income 2004:
  
Housing Units 2005:
  
Home Ownership Rate 2000:
  
Households 2000:
  
Persons per Household 2000:
  
2000 Land Area (sq miles):
  
2000 Persons per Sq Mile:
   		723,602
 
665,865
 
8.6%
 
 
44,965
 
295,252
 
58.5%
 
249,339
 
2.62
 
268.21
 
2,484.6

 
     Resources for constructing this summary included:
  
Wikipedia website, Panic of 1837 page:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1837

Wikipedia website, Battle of Atlanta page:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Atlanta

Wikipedia website, Asa Griggs Candler page:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asa_Candler

*Georgia.gov website, DeKalb County page:   http://dekalbcounty.georgia.gov/05/article/0,2680,8306723_7355477_11804331,00.html

The GAGenWeb Project website, DeKalb County, Ga History page:   http://bellsouthpwp.net/m/s/msaffold/dekalb%20history.htm

Roadside Georgia website, Archives of DeKalb County page:   http://roadsidegeorgia.com/county/dekalb.html

DeKalb County, Georgia website, DeKalb History page:   http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/history.htm

The DeKalb History Center, DeKalb History page:   http://www.dekalbhistory.org/02_history/02.html

The New Georgia Encyclopedia website, DeKalb County page:   http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/CitiesCounties/Counties&id=h-1403

Carl Vinson Institute of Government website, DeKalb County page:   http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/histcountymaps/dekalbhistmaps.htm

The GeorgiaWomen.org website, Mary Ann Harris Gay page:   http://www.georgiawomen.org/_honorees/gaym/index.htm

U.S. Census Bureau website, DeKalb County, Georgia page:   http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13089.html

  
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