From its incorporation in 1848, the municipal boundaries Atlanta, Georgia were extended repeatedly from a small area around its railroad station to today's city covering 131.7 square miles (341 km2).
Prior to 1954, Atlanta was divided into political divisions called wards. The number of wards grew as the city grew.
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The 1848 charter only specified election of six city-wide councilmembers, but on January 9, 1854, an ordinance was adopted that divided the town into five wards and two councilmen from each ward would be elected to coincide with the completion of the first official city hall. The next election with the new rules on January 15, 1855, decided those first Ward bosses who would serve with the short-term mayor, Allison Nelson. The boundaries were as follows:
During a huge boom of post-war building, two new wards were added from parts of the First, Fourth and Fifth to reflect the changing look of the city. This would be the layout until the city limits were expanded in 1874.
A new city charter was approved by Governor Smith on February 28, 1874, which increased the radius of the city from one to one and a half miles, reduced the number of wards back to five and created a bi-cameral council of two councilmen from each ward and a second body of three at-large aldermen was established. Each year one of the aldermen would be up for election and during his last year in office would serve as president of the other body. They acted separately on finances but together for all other business.
The new ward layout was as follows:
On Nevember 5, 1883 a Sixth Ward (beige) was carved out of the Fourth and Fifth Wards. Its boundaries started at Butler and the GRR (today's Grady Hospital) north to North Ave at Myrtle St, then up Myrtle to the city limit at 3rd St. Follow the arc of the city limit to Williams, south to Cain (International) then James (Church) to Forsyth south to the tracks then east on the tracks to origin. This separated the wealthy Peachtree corridor from the other parts of north Atlanta. (Garrett Vol II, p. 53–54)
When West End was annexed into the city in 1894, it became a new Seventh Ward.
Australian ballot introduced into Atlanta elections.
Further expansion of the city limits was part of a long effort.
In October 1897 Frank P. Rice drove a failed proposal to annex Pittsburgh, Reynoldstown, Bellwood and and what was then called "north Atlanta".[1][2]
"North Atlanta" was defined at the time roughly as today's Midtown, Georgia Tech, and English Avenue:[3]
In 1902 a special committee made a new proposal to annex those areas as well as "Bonnie Brae", Copenhill and the "St. Charles Avenue" area (in today's Virginia Highland). By then, "north Atlanta" was being referred to as "Peachtree". [4]
In 1905, the Eighth Ward was added. An act of the Georgia General Assembly was enacted on August 3, 1904 which designated the area from then current city limits (at 6th St and West Peachtree), north to 15th St, then east to Piedmont Ave, then northeast to Southern Railway (basically follow Piedmont to the Ansley Park area). Then southwardly along the railway the limits. The act also took part of the Sixth Ward north of North Ave. into the new Eighth Ward.
On January 1, 1909, a Ninth Ward was formed out of just annexed Copenhill, part of Druid Hills, Edgewood, Reynoldstown, East Atlanta and Brownwood. Edgewood alone had had its own city government before the annexation.
Oakland City on the southwest side annexed as the 10th ward.
East Atlanta annexed as the 11th ward.
East Lake annexed as the 12th ward.
A Thirteenth Ward was created as the section of the Ninth Ward north of St. Charles and east of the Belt Line to the west side of Briarcliff and north the corporate limits.
On March 14, 1935, the legislature reduced the number of wards from 13 to 6 and the thirty-nine member city council is cut to eighteen members effective January 1, 1937. The wards were combined as such:
In 1951, after a failed 1947 referendum and two other failed attempts, the state legislature passed a "Plan of Improvement" by which Buckhead and Cascade Heights were annexed into Atlanta on Jan. 1, 1952. This was by far the largest expansion in Atlanta's history, tripling the size of the city to 118 square miles (310 km2) and adding 100,000 residents. This helped spread the burden of providing public services by adding to the base a large group of mostly more affluent residents. The annexation was viewed as a triumph of Mayor Hartsfield.[6]
Atlanta would in the 1970s again try, but without success, to repeat the process by state legislation to annex what is now Sandy Springs to Atlanta.[7]
Ward system is ended. No longer a bicameral body, only a board of six aldermen with a Vice-Mayor serving as president of the board. All positions were elected city-wide. (For post-ward setup, see Political structure of Atlanta).
Multiple small areas adjacent to southwestern Atlanta were annexed including Midwest Cascade, Cascade Glen and the Horseshoe Community.[8] Sandtown's 2007 petition for annexation was put on hold.[9]