Decatur, Georgia

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The city is served by three MARTA rail stations (Decatur, East Lake, and Avondale). The city is located approximately Script error: No such module "convert". northeast of Downtown Atlanta and shares its western border with both the city of Atlanta (the Kirkwood and Lake Claire neighborhoods) and unincorporated DeKalb County. The Druid Hills neighborhood is to the northwest of Decatur.

History

Early history

Prior to European settlement, the Decatur area was largely forested (a remnant of old-growth forest near Decatur is preserved as Fernbank Forest). Decatur was established at the intersection of two Native American trails: the Sandtown, which led east from the Chattahoochee River at Utoy Creek, and the Shallowford, which follows today's Clairmont Road, and eventually crossed near Roswell. A site for the DeKalb County courthouse was designated in 1822 in what would become downtown Decatur; the city of Decatur was incorporated on December 10, 1823. It was named for United States Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur.

The first settler in the area were farmers or skilled tradesmen of English, Scottish and Irish descent.[3]

American Civil War

During the American Civil War, Decatur became a strategic site in Sherman's Atlanta campaign. In July 1864, Major-General James McPherson occupied the town to cut off the Confederates' supply line from Augusta. On July 22, during the Battle of Atlanta, Confederate cavalry under Major-General Joseph Wheeler attacked McPherson's supply wagons and the Union troops left to defend the wagons. A historical marker at the old courthouse marks the site of this skirmish.

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We attacked Decatur on the 22d and took the town driving out a Brigade of Infantry and a good deal of Dismounted Cavalry. Our Brigade really took the town, tho' it was supported on both flanks by a Brigade of Cavalry dismounted. The fight lasted about two hours and was very hot for a while. The Yankees had the hills and houses on us and fought very well for a time. Our dash was made to distract attention while Hardee made the real attack on the enemy's flank. We captured over a hundred prisoners and killed and wounded about one hundred and fifty. Our loss about seventy killed and wounded.

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20th century

In the second half of the twentieth century the metropolitan area of Atlanta expanded into unincorporated DeKalb County, eventually surrounding two sides of the town of Decatur. Concurrently, the area experienced white flight, as many residents fled to more distant suburbs. The 1960s and 1970s witnessed dramatic drops in property values. However, more recently the city has regained economic vigor, partially thanks to several long-term downtown development plans that have come to fruition, making Decatur a trendy small mixed-use district with easy transit to downtown Atlanta. Over the past twenty years, it has gained a local and national reputation as a progressive city with a high level of citizen involvement.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Script error: No such module "convert"., all land. Decatur is bordered by Avondale Estates to the southeast and Atlanta to the southwest, and unincorporated DeKalb County elsewhere.

The Eastern Continental Divide bisects the city along the CSX (formerly Georgia Railroad) trackage right of way.

Neighborhoods and historic districts

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Demographics

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Historical population
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U.S. Decennial Census[5]
2010–2020[2]

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Decatur racial composition as of 2020[6]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 16,796 67.38%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 3,839 15.4%
Native American 36 0.14%
Asian 1,317 5.28%
Pacific Islander 12 0.05%
Other/Mixed 1,634 6.55%
Hispanic or Latino 1,294 5.19%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 24,928 people, 8,841 households, and 5,597 families residing in the city.

In recent decades, the city of Decatur has become markedly less diverse in racial terms. In 1990, the city's population was nearly 40 percent African American. By 2010, it had dropped to 20 percent African American, and by 2020 it dropped further to just barely 15 percent African American. Between 1990 and 2020, the proportion of the town's population that was white rose from 60 to 67 percent. One exception to this trend is the fact that Decatur's Latino and Asian populations were minuscule in 1990, and though they each only represented just 5 percent of the town's population in 2020, their increases in proportional terms over the thirty-year period were significant.[7]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

File:DecaturHSfromFlickr.jpg
Decatur High School

City Schools of Decatur, which serves only students within the city limits, holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of a pre-K early childhood learning center, five lower elementary schools, two upper elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.[8] Decatur High School is the district's sole high school. The Decatur City district has 224 full-time teachers[9] and over 5,700 students from pre-K through grade 12.[10]

The DeKalb County School District serves unincorporated DeKalb County.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta operates Saint Thomas More Catholic School in Decatur; it opened on September 1, 1950. At first it only had elementary grades and its initial enrollment was 150. A dedicated elementary building opened in 1955, and an addition for kindergarten classes with two rooms was placed in 1994.[11] St. Peter Claver Regional School has a Decatur mailing address but is in nearby Candler-McAfee CDP.[12][13]

Colleges and universities

Public libraries

The DeKalb County Public Library system operates the Decatur Branch and is also the Dekalb County Library Headquarters.[19]

Government

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Presidential election results
Presidential election results in Decatur[20]
Year Democratic Republican Others
style="text-align:center;" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"|2020 style="text-align:center;" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"|88.6% 14,095 style="text-align:center;" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|10.3% 1,633 1.2% 184
style="text-align:center;" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"|2016 style="text-align:center;" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"|85.0% 11,036 style="text-align:center;" style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/shading"|11.4% 1,476 3.7% 474

Decatur has operated under a Commission-Manager form of government since 1920. The Charter of the City of Decatur establishes the City Commission as the governing and legislative authority of the City government. A five-member City Commission is elected for four-year terms on two-year cycles. Two members are elected from the south side of the city, two from the north side and one is elected at-large. At their organizational meeting each January, the Commissioners elect a mayor and mayor-pro-tem from among their own membership for a one-year term. The mayor is not a separate elected office. The current mayor is Patti Garrett.[21] Previous mayors have included Leslie Jasper Steele (1915).

The Commission appoints a professional City Manager to carry out the policies, directives and day-to-day business of the city. The current city manager is Andrea Arnold.[22] There are also several citizen volunteer boards and commissions appointed by the City Commission, including the Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Historic Preservation Commission.

State representation

The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice has its headquarters in Avondale Estates, near Decatur.[23][24] The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has its headquarters near Decatur, in an unincorporated area.[25]

Federal representation

The United States Postal Service operates the Decatur Post Office.[26]

Culture

Festivals, special events and arts

Decatur has a thriving art and festival scene. The Decatur Arts Alliance hosts the Decatur Arts Festival each May, in addition to installing public art around the city, providing gallery space for local artists, producing YEA!, which is an event for young emerging artists, and supporting arts and arts education throughout the city.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Decatur holds the annual AJC Decatur Book Festival, which claims to be one of the largest independent book festivals in the United States. It has featured thousands of famous authors, book signings, speeches, and attracted upwards of 85,000 people in 2019.[27]

Decatur is home to Eddie's Attic, which is a live music venue hosting shows almost every night.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Decatur is known for its frequent festivals, which include the annual Decatur Arts Festival, Summer In The city, Decatur BBQ, Blues & Bluegrass Festival, the Decatur Book Festival, the Decatur Maker's Faire, The Decatur Craft Beer Festival and the Decatur Wine Festival. Other events throughout the year include parades, Concerts on the Square, wine crawls, art walks, runs, and races.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Public art in Decatur includes Celebration (artist Gary Price), Valentine (artist George Lundeen), Commodore Stephen Decatur (artist unknown), Roy A. Blount Plaza, and Living Walls Murals (various artists).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Dining, breweries and distilleries

Decatur is known for its food scene and was named one of the South's "Tastiest Towns" in 2012. In 2016, the New York Times called it "Atlanta's gastronomic equivalent of Berkeley or Brooklyn".[28]

Points of interest

File:Decatur GA Gazebo.JPG
The Decatur Square gazebo from the old courthouse steps, prior to the removal of the Confederate monument

Decatur's downtown area and residential neighborhoods are filled with historic structures and sites of interest. This list primarily consists of structures on the National Register of Historic Places, but many remain privately owned and may only be viewed from the exterior.

  • South Candler Street-Agnes Scott College Historic District, 141 East College Avenue. This district is on the National Register of Historic Places. It includes both the college campus and surrounding historic homes, and is book-ended by the Winnona Park Historic District to the east and the MAK Historic District to the west.
  • Clairemont Historic District, north of Decatur Square
  • Columbia Theological Seminary, 701 Columbia Drive. This tree-lined, brick and limestone campus lies within Decatur's Winnona Park neighborhood.
  • Decatur Cemetery, 229 Bell Street. This historic cemetery was founded in the early 19th century and is located northeast of Decatur Square.
  • Glenwood Elementary, the oldest school in the city
  • Historic DeKalb County Courthouse, located in the original Decatur Square.
  • Historic Oakhurst, in southwest Decatur. An early 20th century town annexed by Decatur, Oakhurst still has its own business district surrounded by bungalows.
  • MAK Historic District, McDonough, Adams and Kings Highway. Decatur's first local historic district is full of early 20th century American Craftsman-style homes and has been used by Hollywood for films.
  • Methodist Chapel, Commerce Avenue and Sycamore Street. A granite chapel on historic Sycamore Street owned by Decatur First United Methodist Church.
  • Old Scottish Rite Hospital, 321 West Hill Street (Oakhurst neighborhood). The historic Shriners' hospital has had an adaptive reuse and now houses restaurants and an art gallery.
  • Ponce de Leon Court Historic District. A single street of bungalows and palm trees east of Decatur Square (off Ponce de Leon Avenue).
  • Winnona Park Historic District, in southeast Decatur. This district is on the National Register of Historic Places for its residences and is also the home of Columbia Theological Seminary.
  • Woodlands Garden, 932 Scott Boulevard. Seven acres, mostly wooded with a focus on native plants, and open to the public.

Transportation

Major roads and expressways

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Decatur is 'inside the perimeter' (I-285) and north of I-20.

Mass transit

Pedestrians and cycling

PATH Foundation trails

  • Stone Mountain Trail
  • Decatur PATH
  • East Decatur Greenway

Notable people

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Sister cities

Decatur has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):[30][31]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Georgia Board of EducationScript error: No such module "Unsubst"., Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  9. ↑ School Stats Template:Webarchive, Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". - Despite the Decatur address it is not in the city limits. Compare with the Candler-McAfee CDP limits map.
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". - Compare with the Claver address.
  14. ↑ Agnes Scott College, Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  15. ↑ Columbia Theological Seminary, Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  16. ↑ Georgia Perimeter College, Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Title missing
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ "Library Locations & HoursScript error: No such module "Unsubst".." DeKalb County Public Library. Retrieved on April 11, 2016.
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ "Contact." Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
  24. ↑ "Official Zoning MapScript error: No such module "Unsubst".." City of Avondale Estates. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Directions." Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved on March 4, 2014. "The GBI Headquarters is located at: 3121 Panthersville Road Decatur GA, 30034"
  26. ↑ "Post Office Location - DECATUR Template:Webarchive." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on August 8, 2010.
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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References

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  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Clarke, Caroline McKinney. The story of Decatur, 1823–1899. Dekalb Historical Society (1996).
  • Gay, Mary. Life in Dixie During the War, Mercer University Press (2001).
  • Kaufman, David R. Peachtree Creek: A Natural and Unnatural History of Atlanta's Watershed, University of Georgia Press (2007).
  • Mason, Herman Jr. African-American Life in DeKalb County, GA, 1823–1970 (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing (1998).
  • Owens, Sue Ellen. DeKalb County In Vintage Postcards. DeKalb Historical Society/Arcadia Publishing (2001).
  • Price, Vivian. Historic DeKalb County: An Illustrated History (Georgia Heritage Series). Historical Publishing Network (2007).
  • Willard, Levi. Early History of Decatur.

Further reading

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External links

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Government
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General information

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