Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Atlanta

ATLANTA, a city of Georgia, the county-seat of Fulton co., and the capital of Georgia. It is on the Atlantic, Birmingham and Atlantic, the Georgia, the Louisville and Nashville, the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis, the Seaboard Air Line, the Southern, and other railroads. Atlanta is the most important industrial and commercial center of the Southeast and is also the financial center and the central distributing point for the Southeast. It lies in the heart of one of the richest regions of the world, as yet largely undeveloped. It had in 1920 over 600 factories manufacturing over 1,000 different articles, with a product of about $80,000,000 per year. These factories give employment to over 30,000 operators. There are also 500 branch offices of manufacturing plants located outside the city. The most important products are cotton goods, fertilizers, cart wheels, machinery, lumber, terra cotta, bricks, wagons, furniture, cottonseed oil, etc. It is an important educational center, having 52 institutions of learning in addition to 64 public schools and commercial colleges. Among the leading institutions of higher education are the Georgia School of Technology, Emory University, Oglethorpe University, and Lanier University. There are also several colleges for women, including the Agnes Scott College, Scott College and Conservatory, and Elizabeth Mather College, and five colleges for negroes. There are 18 public parks and playgrounds, a fine public library, a State library, the State capitol, city hall, custom house, Carnegie library, and other important public buildings. There is an auditorium with a seating capacity of 8,000 in which performances are given annually by the Metropolitan Grand Opera Co. There are 20 banks and trust companies. The bank clearings in 1919 amounted to $3,219,186,317. The assessed value of real estate in 1919 was $145,670,012, and of personal property $58,237,329. There were in 1920 405 miles of water mains and a sewerage disposal plant which was erected at a cost of nearly $4,000,000. The Federal Reserve Bank of the Sixth District is located in the city. Atlanta is an important city for the publication of newspapers and periodicals.

The city was founded in 1837 as Marthasville. It was later known as Terminus, and was finally named Atlanta. It was almost entirely destroyed by Sherman after the Battle of Atlanta in 1864. The increase in population following the Civil War was rapid. Pop. (1890) 65,533; (1900) 89,872; (1910) 154,839; (1920) 200,616.

Source: Collier's New Encyclopedia 1. (1921) New York: P.F. Collier & Son Company. 328-329.