What Are Some Interesting Facts About Atlanta?

Here are some interesting facts about Atlanta's history:

An Indian village whose name translates as “Standing Peachtree” was located where Atlanta is now.
The land was taken from the Cherokee and Creek Indians in 1822 and the first settlement after that was Decatur.
In 1835, some of the members of the Cherokee Nation agreed to the Treaty of New Echota, which led to the Trail of Tears.
This was a forced relocation of Indians including Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole, and Creek. During the journey, around 4000 Indians died from exposure, starvation, and disease.
In 1836, plans were made for the Western and Atlantic Railroad to be a route to the Midwest. The endpoints were in what is now Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tennessee. This was instrumental in the development of Atlanta.
As Atlanta grew, it was named Marthasville after the daughter of Georgia’s governor.
A few years later, someone suggested it be called Atlantica-Pacifica, because it was the terminus of the railroad.
It was shortened to Atlanta and was incorporated in 1847.

Atlanta During the Civil War

Because of the railroads, Atlanta was a vital city during the Civil War.

On September 1, 1864, Confederate General Hood decided the city should be evacuated and that all public buildings and anything else that would be an asset to the North be destroyed.
The next day the city was surrendered and Union General Sherman ordered an evacuation and that all the buildings, except churches and hospitals, be burned.
The burning of Atlanta began on November 11, 1864.

Atlanta and Civil Rights

Atlanta was also a major city in the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s to the 1970s.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee both had headquarters in Atlanta.
Maynard Jackson, Atlanta’s first Black mayor, was elected in 1973.

Atlanta Today

Here are a few interesting facts about Atlanta that deal with recent events.

Atlanta hosted the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.
It has the first carbon-neutral zone in the United States, Virginia-Highland. American Style Magazine ranked Atlanta as the 9th best city in the United States for the arts.

Atlanta Climate and Geography

There are also some interesting Atlanta facts related to its weather and geography.

The city sits on a ridge that is south of the Chattahoochee River.
It is a little over 1000 feet above sea level and the Eastern Continental Divide runs through it.
The divide splits rainwater and it runs either to the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico.
The climate of Atlanta is classified humid-subtropical.
This means the summers are hot and humid and the winters are mild.
Temperatures are rarely above 100 degrees F, and sometimes reach the teens in the winter.
Average rainfall is 50 inches a year and snowfall averages 2.5 inches.

Miscellaneous Facts About Atlanta

Offerings and centers of the arts in Atlanta include: Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Opera, Atlanta Ballet, New Trinity Baroque, Atlanta Boy choir, Georgia Boy Choir, Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and the Fox Theatre.

Atlanta is home to the Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps, Alliance Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Corps Vets Drum and Bugle Corps.

Art museums include the High Museum of Art, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Art Institute of Atlanta, and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia.

Major theatre groups include Alliance Theatre, Center for Puppetry Arts, Seven Stages Theatre, and the Horizon Theatre Company.

Major sports teams in Atlanta are: Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Dream, Atlanta Thrashers, Atlanta Beat, and the Atlanta Silverbacks.

Things to do in Atlanta include: the Georgia Aquarium (largest indoor aquarium in the world), World of Coca-Cola, Underground Atlanta (shopping and entertainment under the downtown streets), Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, and the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum.