DeKalb County GA

Several of my ancestors lived in the northern part of DeKalb County from 1830 to 1880, including the area that became part of Fulton County in 1853. The boundaries and place names changed many times, so the story is complicated. This page is not organized chronologically, but instead begins with a broad focus, and narrows to a closer examination of Cross Keys, Shallowford, Sandy Springs and Dunwoody.

1836 map of northern Georgia

Georgia was first settled by Europeans in the southeast, along the Atlantic coast, and established as a colony in 1733. After the American Revolution, settlers came from South Carolina, across the Savanah River, and by a sequence of land cessions with the Cherokee and Creek Indians, the settlements grew gradually westward.

1823 map of DeKalb County, formed in 1822.

1830 map of DeKalb County

DeKalb County was formed on 9 Dec 1822, after the 1821 Treaty of Indian Springs. The Georgia Land Lotteries distributed millions of acres, and the settlements grew quickly at first. In 1830 DeKalb had population 10,042.

"The early settlers of DeKalb were of English, Scotch and Irish descent coming from Virginia and the Carolinas. They were subsistence farmers who were not highly educated and usually lived in log cabins." DeKalb County History webpage.

In 1853 Fulton County was formed, from the western part of DeKalb. The Oak Grove District, in the northern tip of Fulton, included the town of Sandy Springs. There must have been a part, still called Shallowford, that remained with DeKalb, because the MARTINs lived there in 1860 and 1870.

The city of Atlanta, in Fulton County, now dominates the region, but in 1842 it was called Marthasville, with 6 buildings and 30 residents, and even in 1850 it had only 2,572 residents. It grew rapidly after that!

1839 map of DeKalb County

1855 map of DeKalb and Fulton Counties.

Shallowford, at the northern tip of DeKalb (now Fulton) County, was originally Shallow Ford, on the Chattahoochee River, where James BROOKS ran a ferry, starting in 1823.

Brooks Ferry at Shallow Ford

The Shallow Ford was an important crossing on the Chattahoochee River long before European contact. Located just under a mile downstream from the present Roswell Road bridge, the ford was a landmark on the Hightower Trail, one of the most important long-distance trails through the Georgia Piedmont. The treaty with the Creek in 1818 used the trail to define part of the state's new western boundary, and in 1821 it became and remains part of the boundary between DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties. That line touched the river due north of the Cherokee Country Club, locating the ford precisely. In 1824, Jacob R. Brooks (1787—1872) was licensed by the State to operate a ferry at the Shallow Ford, but It is unclear how long it remained in operation. After the founding of Roswell Mill in the 1830s, a bridge was built just upstream from the ford and the ferry business declined after that. Army maps of the area in 1864 do not show a ferry at the Shallow Ford. [Wikipedia]

1864 map of the area north of Atlanta, GA. Shallowford is marked near the top, across the Chattahoochee River from the Roswell Factory, a.k.a. Roswell Mill, which was destroyed in 1864 by Sherman's troops. Cross Keys and Shallowford don't appear on modern maps, but Roswell and Buckhead do.

Cropped from an 1864 map drawn by an Engineer in General Sherman's Army during the Atlanta Campaign. Annotated by an ADAMS researcher. Buckhead is lower left, Roswell is upper left, Cross Keys is on the right, and Old Cross Keys in lower center. There are several ADAMS, MARTIN and SPRUILL properties. For scale, the map covers about 16 miles by 9 miles.

The town of Cross Keys, on Nancy Creek, appeared on many early maps, just 2 or 3 miles southeast of Shallowford. Now the town of Dunwoody lies in the same general area. Perhaps 4 miles west of Dunwoody is the town of Sandy Springs. I have not found a map showing all these features in one picture, so I try to describe them.

Despite the horrific death and destruction, a few good things came from the American Civil War. Slavery was abolished, railroads were built across the country, and many excellent maps were made!

1942 map of Oak Grove District, northern Fulton County, GA. Sandy Springs, formerly in DeKalb County, in lower left. Dunwoody, still in DeKalb County, near center.

Another 1864 map of the northern parts of Fulton (left) and DeKalb (right) Counties. Cross Keys is in Section 303, DeKalb. Sandy Springs is in Section 71, Fulton. Dunwoody is in Sections 365 and 377, DeKalb.

Cropped from a map of Cherokee Territory [CT], about 1830, this shows "Martins Ferry" in the location of one of the properties that Stephen MARTIN owned in 1848.

1864 map showing Cross Keys and Shallowford. South is up. I think "Matlin" should be "Martin" and "Spinall" should be "Spruill" and "Nance's" should be "Nancy's" Creek. Cropped from [ACR].