 County
Profile
Incorporated: December 9, 1822
Population: 665,865
Total Area: 268.3 Square miles
Cities and Towns
• Decatur (County Seat)
• Avondale Estates
• Chamblee
• Clarkston
• Doraville• Lithonia
• Pine Lake
• Stone Mountain
DeKalb County was formed in 1822 from parts of Henry,
Gwinnett, and Fayette counties. It was the 56th county created
in the state and was named after Baron Johann DeKalb who
accompanied LaFayette to America and served as a major general
in the Continental Army.
Decatur was incorporated December 10,1823, and named after
Stephen Decatur, a U.S. Naval hero. It is said that early
residents rejected a proposal by the Western and Atlantic
Railroad to make Decatur a major stop on its new line in the
1830s. These citizens did not want the noise, smoke and
confusion, and turned the railroad down. The railroad thus moved
seven miles west to a small settlement called Terminus. In 1843,
that settlement was renamed Marthasville, and two years later
became Atlanta.
Mills and ginneries were vital to the county's early growth.
This heritage lives on in the names of various DeKalb roads that
once led to these mills, such as Browns Mill, Evans Mill and
Henderson Mill.
The county's previous courthouse was built in 1917 at a cost of
$10,000. DeKalb's present courthouse was built in 1965 at a cost
of $3.5 million, while the old facility has been renovated and
serves as the headquarters for the DeKalb Historical Society. |
