Join Atlanta City Councilmember Yolanda Adrean on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. for the opening of Fort Peachtree, a replica of part of the first non-Indian settlement in Atlanta, built by City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management near the Atlanta Waterworks pumping station as part of the bicentennial celebration.
The fort is located at 2630 Ridgewood Road. Admission is free.
This low bluff overlooking the Chattahoochee River at its confluence with Peachtree Creek takes the imagination far back into Atlanta’s history.
At this location a crude fort, erected by First Lt. George Rockingham Gilmer (who later was governor or Georgia 1829-31 and 1837-39), was raised in 1814. It was described as “two large hew’d logg block houses, six dwelling houses, one fram’d store house, one bridge . . . and five boats” which cost the government “not less than five thousand dollars.”
It’s also the site from which Peachtree Street/Road takes its name, though some believe instead of a peach tree a commanding pine, or “pitch” tree, stood at the site and was the origin of the name.
Councilmember Adrean sponsored legislation in October 2013 to re-open the Fort Peachtree facility to the public. This year marks the fort’s 200th birthday.
The historic 15-acre green space along the Chattahoochee River and Peachtree also gives northwest Atlanta residents some much-needed public land to enjoy.
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