Standing Peachtree

Standing Peachtree was a Creek Indian village and the closest Indian settlement to what is now the Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia. It was located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, in today's Paces neighborhood.[1] It was located in the borderlands of the Cherokee and Creek nations. It is referred to in several documents dating as far back as 1762.[2]

Etymology

Standing Peachtree's name is an accurate preservation of its native Creek Indian name, Pakanahuili.[3]

Some sources claim that "peachtree" is a corruption of "pitch tree", a supposed reference to pine trees from which pitch could be obtained. However, there is no evidence for the "pitch tree" name from before the 20th century, while "Standing Peachtree" can be traced back to the 18th century.[2]

Peachtree Street

Standing Peachtree was the end of the Creek Peachtree Trail, which ran from near Toccoa to just south of what is now Piedmont Hospital in Buckhead. (A marker now stands there at the corner of Peachtree St. and Palisades Rd.) At this junction the path split. One branch went to Standing Peachtree (Pace's Ferry and Moore's Mill roads were built along this path). The other branch ran southwards towards what is now Five Points in Downtown Atlanta.[1] Thus, much of Atlanta's main street, Peachtree Street follows the earlier Indian path.

Fort Peachtree

Fort Peachtree was built here in 1812.[1] Later known as Fort Gilmer, it was connected to Fort Daniel at Hog Mountain in what is now Gwinnett County, by a path which came to be known as Old Peachtree Road. [4] The Creek ceded the land that is now Metro Atlanta in 1821 as part of the systematic removal of Indians from Georgia. Standing Peachtree thus ceased its role as Indian trading post. It was established as the first post office in the newly established Dekalb County, preceding Decatur (the area would later become part of Fulton County). Montgomery's Ferry (later DeFoor's Ferry) across the river opened at Standing Peachtree in 1837 and the area soon became better known by that name. The post office closed in 1842.[2]

References
  1. "Fort Peachtree". www.Buckhead. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  2. Franklin M. Garrett, Atlanta and Environs, pp. 8ff.
  3. Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF). Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 211. ISBN 0-915430-00-2.
  4. James J. D'Angelo (October 30, 2018). "Fort Daniel". New Georgia Encyclopedia - University System of Georgia. Retrieved November 25, 2018.

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