History and Information about Fulton County Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta-6, the principal city of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2000 census, the population was 816,006. The 2005 census estimate placed the population at 915,623. Fulton County is the most populous county in Georgia.
Established in 1853; name commonly attributed to honor Robert Fulton, inventor, experimented with a submarine boat in France, 1801; built the Clermont, a steamboat, which sailed up the Hudson River, 1807; recent research tends to indicate that the county was actually named for an early railroad official, Hamilton Fulton, who acted as surveyor for the Western and Atlantic Railroad. Milton County was created on December 18, 1857 from parts of Cherokee, Forsyth, and Cobb counties. It was named for John Milton, Georgia's first secretary of state. During the American Revolution, Milton traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, and New Bern, North Carolina before moving to Maryland with the official records of the state while Georgia was occupied by the English.
Campbell and Milton County merged with Fulton on January 1, 1932. At this time Roswell was ceded from Cobb County.
North of the Chattahoochee River what is now Fulton County is quite different than Atlanta and its environs. Although rapid growth is battling history in an oft repeated scenario, the quiet, aged roads of Milton County sing a song of a different era, when horseless carriages were preceded by horsedrawn ones and you would see your next door neighbor every other week. It was a time when grist mills were the center of a town's social structure.
Although relatively modern, these silos are less than a quarter mile from Crabapple and bring back fond memories to longtime residents
Thirty years before Stephen Long placed a stake at the 0 mile post of the Western and Atlantic Railway in the area that today is known as Underground, whites moved into north Fulton County in the area known as Crabapple. The small group of buildings is the oldest town in the area, predating Roswell by some 20 years and Alpharetta by quite a few more. Birmingham, another small town north of Crabapple was also founded about the same time. The two towns sat on a north-south trading path used by the Cherokee. The path followed present-day State Road 372, which runs on a ridgetop between the two villages.About 20 years after the first settlers moved into Crabapple, a man name Roswell King was traveling in the area and purchased a few large tracts of land. He knew that the abundant waterpower on Vickery Creek was the perfect place to build a cotton mill. This mill would survive various fires, war and weather to produce fabric until the 1970's. King, an overseer at the infamous Butler Plantation, moved west to search for gold during Georgia's Gold Rush.About the same time that King was exploring the area that would bear his first name, Stephen Long marked the terminus of the Western and Atlantic Railroad on property owned by Hardy Ivy. The area, then technically part of the town of Whitehall, would first become "Marthasville," then Atlanta in 1845
Creation of Milton County Milton County
In 1857 portions of Cherokee County Real Estate, Cobb County Real Estate and Gwinnett County Real Estate were merged to create Milton County. The tiny town of New Prospect was chosen as county seat because of its central location. Before the county was formed, the city was renamed to Alpharetta, which is a thriving city with lots of choices for purchasing a new or resale home in Georgia, and is a combination of the Greek words for first and city.
Fulton County was created from the western half of Dekalb County in 1853. This occurred when, during the 1840s, that county's seat of Decatur refused to allow a railroad terminal to be built due to noise concerns. A new point was selected a few miles west, and was later incorporated as Terminus. The town was renamed twice; first as Marthasville, and finally as Atlanta.
During William T. Sherman's March to the Sea during the American Civil War, Sherman spared Roswell because he had a cousin who lived there. As a result, Roswell has more pre-Civil War historical buildings up than anywhere else in North Georgia.
The name is often assumed to be in honor of inventor Robert Fulton, who (among many other inventions) built a steamboat in 1807. This assumption is likely because this steam engine was the predecessor to the steam locomotives which built Atlanta. However, some research now indicates that it may have been in honor of Hamilton Fulton, a surveyor for the Western and Atlantic Railroad.
As of the beginning of 1932, Milton County to the north and Campbell County to the southwest became part of Fulton County, to save money during the Great Depression. This gave the county its current awkward and long shape along 70 miles or 113 kilometers of the Chattahoochee River. Neighboring Cobb County ceded the city of Roswell to Fulton to make it contiguous with Milton, including everything east of Willeo Creek. Additionally, parts of Gwinnett County and Cherokee County were swept in.
North Fulton County housed a significant number of Union soldiers when General William Tecumseh Sherman arrived in here toward the end of the Atlanta Campaign. Men under the command of General Kenner Garrard destroyed Roswell Mill and sent the 400 women mill workers north to Indiana shortly after their arrival in July, 1864. The women and female children may have been assaulted by the Union soldiers near the mill on the morning of July 10, 1864, before their transport to Marietta later in the day. General Hugh Kirkpatrick, Sherman's "Merchant of Terror" set the entire town of Atlanta on fire shortly before leaving on "The March to the Sea" in November, 1864.
After the Civil War, Milton County depended on the rebuilt Roswell Mills as a major industry, and grew cotton. It was bypassed by the railroads because of the mountains further north. In Fulton County, Atlanta and Atlanta Real Estate grew to become the Gateway City of the South. In 1913 the nation's eyes were riveted on Atlanta during the murder of young Mary Phagan and the prosecution of the man whom allegedly killed her, Leo Frank. In the 1920's Fulton County was among the first in the nation to have an airport.During the Great Depression the counties of Milton and Campbell merged with Fulton, in part to save the expense of running a county government. Land from Cherokee, Cobb, and Gwinnett was incorporated into the deal to create a connected county.
In the late '40's a lake to supply the growing county with water was planned in the area of Roswell. For political reasons Lake Lanier was built further north. Prior to the construction of the Interstate Highway System, high volume roads were being built in Fulton County. Today's "Downtown Connector" is a remnant of this road-building program. In the mid-1960's major league sports came to the area and Fulton County growth continued. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter created the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area along the river that creates some of the county's borders.
Residents of the unincorporated parts of the county, in part still reacting to Atlanta annexing 118 square miles in 1952, have resisted being associated with Atlanta.[citation needed] This has caused a desire in unincorporated areas to incorporate to block the future annexation growth of Atlanta. Over time the arguments have become economic in nature.
In recent years residents of upscale, higher-income areas of northern Fulton County have become at odds with the less affluent areas of its central and south, over taxes and distribution of services. And as the southern areas of the county become more affluent, this issue may become even bigger. Many of the economic engines in Fulton County were established by the County prior to being annexed into cities. Once created, residents desired to keep the monies generated by these areas close to home, instead of distributed over the whole County as required by the legislature. North Fulton residents complained of unfair representation from the county, such as not receiving the county services they were paying for. In 2005 the legislature directed Fulton County, alone in all the counties in the state, to limit the expenditure of funds to the geographic region of the county where they were collected.
Municipalization
Since the 1970s, the longest-running battle has been allowing Sandy Springs to incorporate. With over 80,000 residents, it is already one of the largest cities in the state. It had not become a city until December 2005, however, due to the facts that the legislature had prohibited the creation of new cities within three miles of any existing city and the reallocation of funding which would take at least 20 million dollars away from the county every year, not be offset by the services the new city would take over. In 2005, the legislature finally allowed a referendum on the matter, and on June 21 Sandy Springs residents voted 94% in favor of incorporation. The new city was officially incorporated on December 1, 2005, though the county will continue to provide most services under contract through sometime in 2006.
Since 2004, municipalization of the entire county is also being considered, which would incorporate every area into a city. This would essentially eliminate the county's home rule powers (granted in the 1960s) to act as a municipality in unincorporated areas, and return it to being entirely a local extension of state government.
The state legislature approved a proposal to form a new city called South Fulton. Its proposed boundaries will include those areas still unincorporated on July 1, 2007. As a direct result, many of the existing cities are proposing annexations while some communities are drawing up incorporation plans.
Taxes
Fulton County has a 7% total sales tax, including 4% state, 1% SPLOST, 1% homestead exemption, and 1% MARTA. Sales taxes apply through the entire county and its cities, except for Atlanta's additional 1% sewer and storm drain overhaul tax (8% total).
Transportation
Almost every major highway (and every major Interstate highway) in metro Atlanta passes through Fulton County at some point, as it contains the bulk of Atlanta and all of its downtown. Outside Atlanta proper, Georgia 400 is the major highway through north Fulton, and Interstate 85 to the southwest.
MARTA serves most of the county, and along with Dekalb County pays a 1% sales tax to fund it. MARTA train service in Fulton is currently limited to the cities of Atlanta, Sandy Springs, East Point, and College Park, along with the airport. Bus service covers most of the remainder, except the rural areas far southwest.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport straddles the line with Clayton County to the south. The Fulton County Airport, often called Charlie Brown Field (after aviator Charles Brown) or informally West Atlanta airport, is located just west-southwest of Atlanta's city limit. It is run by the county as a municipal or general aviation airport, serving business jets and private aircraft.
As of the census² of 2000, there were 816,006 people, 321,242 households, and 185,677 families residing in the county. The population density was 596/km² (1,544/mi²). There were 348,632 housing units at an average density of 255/km² (660/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 48.11% White, 44.57% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 3.04% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.60% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. 5.89% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 321,242 households out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.30% were married couples living together, 16.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.20% were non-families. 32.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 35.50% from 25 to 44, 20.70% from 45 to 64, and 8.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $47,321, and the median income for a family was $58,143. Males had a median income of $43,495 versus $32,122 for females. The per capita income for the county was $30,003. About 12.40% of families and 15.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.60% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of that age 65 or over.