Douglasville Georgia History
Prior to the arrival of European colonists, the region that is now northern Georgia was inhabited by Woodland, Mississippian, Creek and Cherokee Indians. For about 200 years the Europeans and Native American Indians co-existed peacefully in Georgia but during the early 1800’s after a war began between the Creeks and the Cherokees, the U.S. federal government intervened and created an arbitrary boundary to separate them. In July of 1829, gold was discovered on the Cherokee’s land and more violence erupted when the Cherokees attempted to prevent a huge influx of squatters from stealing their resources. President Andrew Jackson reacted by appropriating all Indian lands east of the Mississippi River in the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Eight years later, more than 13,000 Cherokee Indians were forcibly marched out of the region by federal government troops during the winter of 1838-1839. More than 4,000 Native American Indians died on the infamous Trail of Tears.
Douglasville was originally named Skint Chestnut
Douglasville is located on an elevated portion of the landscape. Because there was a large tree on the hill that the Indians had stripped of its bark in order to create a visible landmark, somebody named the place Skint Chestnut. In 1870, the Georgia State Legislature created Douglas County out of portions of Cobb, Campbell, and Carroll counties. Four years later, Skint Chestnut was designated as the Douglas County seat. On February 25, 1875, the Town of Douglasville was established by the Georgia General Assembly and town officials were elected in March of 1875. All this occurred during the period of Reconstruction after the Civil War when some political leaders were inspired to name the town Douglasville after Fredrick Douglass, the famous African-American abolitionist. However, fierce controversy ensued over that particular choice of inspiration and the concept was later modified to honor Stephen A. Douglas, the Illinois Senator who had opposed Abraham Lincoln in the presidential election.
After the major east-west railroad lines were constructed through Atlanta and Interstate 20 was completed, Douglasville grew along with the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. Between 1980 and 2000 Douglas County’s population grew by almost 70% and by 1990, the county offices occupied seven different buildings in downtown Douglasville. In 1997, construction of a new county government complex on a 50 acre site was completed at 8700 Hospital Drive in Douglasville. Most county offices are located in the complex except for the Douglas County Board of Education, which is located outside of Douglasville next to Hunter Park, and the Douglas County Chamber of Commerce in Downtown Douglasville.