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East Point Main Street Association, Inc. – PO Box 91274, East Point, GA 30344
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Mission
To preserve and enhance the downtown area as the heart of
East Point, communicating a sense of place, community pride and heritage, while providing for a successful business and
residential environment.

Downtown Flashback Feature

Each month, EPMSA will dig through the East Point Historical Society's archives to provide you with that month's "Flashback Feature". Each feature will highlight a photo and/or article from East Point's vibrant history. The photos/articles will give you a brief look at East Point back then . . . more information about East Point's history is available at the East Point Historical Society located at 1685 Norman Berry Drive, East Point, GA 30344. You can contact them at (404) 767-4656 or visit www.eastpoinths.org. All "Flashback Features" will be archived on the website and can be accessed at any time.

East Point: 125 Years Ago, Part Three

East Point PhotosT
Top: Main Street Businesses by the rail lines
Top Middle: Central School, where City Hall currently sits
Bottom Middle: His-toric Industrial District
Bottom: First Baptist Church on East Point St.

This is the third in a series of highlights from East Point’s history leading up to its incorporation in 1887.

Much of the land near the railroads and emerging businesses in East Point was still in cultivation or timberland up until the late 1800s. Farms only three miles from its center encircled East Point and relied on its businesses and services. Familiar place names include Perkerson, Connally and Stone. Much of that farmland is now absorbed by the Atlanta airport, Fort McPherson, Greenbriar Mall and subur-ban development.

Yet, during the 1880s, industry and housing expanded in East Point. Main Street was constructed all the way along the railroad line. Commuter trains ran in and out of Atlanta….$.35 one-way fare. Popula-tion increased…. in 1880, 195 residents; by 1890, 738. Real estate development burgeoned.

On August 31, 1886, East Point citizens met to make plans to incorporate. The meeting was interrupted by the Charleston earthquake, one of the most severe in the Southeast. Major damage occurred as far away as Tybee Island, structural damage as far as Ohio and tremors were felt as far as Boston. Undeterred, East Pointers met again a few days later to prepare the petition for incorporation.

Georgia’s General Assembly granted the charter on August 3, 1887. Governor John B. Gordon signed the charter on August 10, 1887.
The charter set the city limits: the central point was where the Atlanta and West Point Railroad and the Central of Georgia Railroad split (just north of Cleveland Avenue); 1 mile east to west and 1 and 3/8 miles north to south. Today, those city limits are generally on the north near St. Joseph Avenue, east near Bayard Street, south near Morris Avenue and west near Semmes Street.

Seven alderman were named: L.M. Hill, J. F. Allison, S.L. Holcomb, S.N. Thompson, J.W. Burk, J.B. Moore, and S.A. Taylor. Hill was later elected Chair and Thompson, City Clerk.

East Point was on its way!

-Carole Griffith
(Sources are from the collections of the East Point Historical Society).

 

 

East Point Historical Society
Be sure to visit the East Point Historical Society at 1685 Norman Berry Drive to learn more about our city’s history. Museum & Archives - Free Admission
- Thursdays 1 - 4 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Phone: 404-767-4656