About Decatur, GA
- About Decatur, GA
- Population (year 2000): 18,147.
- Estimated population in July 2006: 19,053 (+5.0% change)
Decatur, Georgia was founded at the intersection of two
Native American trails in 1923 by its name sake and naval hero, Stephen Decatur.
In the 1830s, the Western and Atlantic Railroad wanted to make Decatur the
southernmost stop on its railroad. The citizens of Decatur did not want the
noise, pollution and growth that would come with such a major terminal, so they
rejected the proposal. In response, the railroad founded a new city to the
west-southwest of Decatur for the terminal. This town would later become known
as Atlanta, Georgia.
In the last half of the twentieth century the metropolitan
area of Atlanta expanded into unincorporated DeKalb County, eventually
surrounding on all sides the incorporated town of Decatur. The 1960s and 1970s
witnessed dramatic drops in property values. However more recently the city has
regained economic vigor 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.
Decatur contains three historic districts, the MAK Historic District, the Clairemont Historic District, and the most recently established historic district, the Ponce de Leon Court Historic District.
