The history of Fulton County is rich and intriguing as it is one of fifteen cities making up what is known as Metro-Atlanta. The earliest groups of inhabitants of Fulton County were the Cherokee Indians and the Creek Indians. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, it was during 1822 that it became home to white men and women, and on December 20, 1853, it was created from the western half of Dekalb County, by a state legislator. The city was Georgia’s 144 to be created out of Georgia’s 159 cities and it encompasses fifteen cities today.

During the earlier days, the railroad was a very important commodity and played an important part during the Civil War, because it was where most of the arsenal was being kept and stored. And the railroad was also used to transport men and supplies to where they were needed. Because of its importance, it was attacked, destroyed, and burned by Sherman on his march to the sea. That didn’t keep the people down for long. When the war was over, the people banded together to rebuild Atlanta, and it became the capital of Georgia.
In addition, Fulton County is known for being home to AT&T, Coca-Cola, Georgia-Pacific, United Parcel Service, and many others. It was in 1980, the first around-the- clock news service was born, by Ted Turner, when he bought CNN, a news broadcasting service.

Also, it was during the summer of 1996 that Fulton County hosted the Olympics. Unfortunately, it was also during that time period, when a domestic terrorist pipe bomb was set off in Centinnal Park, killing 2 and wounding 11 others. The perpetrator was caught and sentenced.

It also was home to Civil Rights Leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., authors Margaret Mitchell (Gone With The Wind) and Anne Rivers Siddons, golfer Bobby Jones and Helen Douglas Mankin, who was the first US congresswoman from Georgia.

In addition to notable people, Fulton County is home to several colleges and universities, including the Georgia Institute of Technology (more commonly known as GA Tech with a yellow jacket mascot), Georgia State University, and Atlanta University Center.

Fulton County was originally thought to be named after Robert Fulton, but that information was incorrect. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, Fulton County was named after Hamilton Fulton, the chief engineer of Georgia, and who was a land surveyor. He also convinced the state officials that it would be more important to build a railroad, and not a canal, to link several locations together. In fact, it was the railroad that played an important part during the Civil War.