Atlanta Council 660 History

In the Early days of the 1900s, at the turn of the 20th Century, there were not any Knights of Columbus Councils in Georgia. However, there were a small number of Catholic men in the larger cities in Georgia who were Knights, who had taken their degrees in other states. One such person was Colonel Michael J. O'Leary, a native Savannahian, who was appointed Territorial Deputy by Supreme Knight Edward Hearn. It was his responsibility to identify areas in the territory of Georgia which had a reasonably large number of Catholic men, eighteen years of age and older, who possibly could be candidates for membership in the Knights of Columbus. He identified three such areas - Savannah, Atlanta and Augusta. In these cities, he organized committees to seek out eligible Catholic men, to explain to them the principles of the order and recruit them for membership. In the year 1902, his efforts in all three areas were successful and the three original councils were organized.

Savannah Council #631 was chartered March 23, 1902
Atlanta Council #660 was chartered May 25, 1902
Patrick Walsh Council #677 in Augusta was chartered June 8, 1902

When the territory of Georgia had met the Constitutional requirement of forming 3 councils, Colonel O'Leary, the territorial Deputy, began the task of forming a State Council. His efforts were successful and at the first State Convention, Col. O'Leary was elected the first State Deputy and he served from 1902 to 1904. Official recognition of the Georgia State Council was evidenced by an official charter from Supreme Council dated May 31, 1903.