| Decatur, Georgia | |||
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| — City — | |||
| Old DeKalb County Courthouse in Decatur | |||
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| Location in DeKalb County and the state of Georgia | |||
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Decatur
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Georgia | ||
| County | DeKalb | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 4.2 sq mi (10.8 km2) | ||
| • Land | 4.2 sq mi (10.8 km2) | ||
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 1,043 ft (318 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 19,335 | ||
| • Density | 4,636.8/sq mi (1,790.3/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP codes | 30030-30037 | ||
| Area code(s) | 404 678 | ||
| FIPS code | 13-22052[1] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0331532[2] | ||
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census,[3] the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name. An intown suburb of Atlanta and part of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, Decatur's public transportation is served by three MARTA rail stations. Decatur's official motto is "A city of homes, schools and places of worship."[4] Prior to 2000, this motto was "A city of homes, schools, and churches."
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In 1822 Decatur was founded at the intersection of two Native American trails: the Sandtown which led east from the Chattahoochee River at Utoy Creek, and the Shallowford which follows today's Clairmont Road and eventually crossed near Roswell. The town was named for naval hero Stephen Decatur, and its early roads were named logically but soon after were renamed in a curious manner:
| “ | Shallowford Road, which led to the Shallow Ford, has been renamed Clairmont Avenue, probably because it does not go to, from or past any place called Clairmont. Covington Road is now Sycamore Street, probably because it leads to Covington and has no Sycamores on it. Nelson's Ferry Road, named after the local family which ran the ferry at the Chattahoochee end of the road, has been named Ponce de Leon after a family prominent, before Castro, in Havana, Cuba.— Mitchell, Stephens, "A Tentative Reconstruction of the Decatur Town Map of 1823", Atlanta Historical Bulletin, No.30, p.8, 1965. | ” |
In the 1830s, the Western and Atlantic Railroad wanted to make Decatur the southernmost stop on its line. The citizens of Decatur did not want the noise, pollution and growth that would come with such a major terminal, so they rejected the proposal. In response, the railroad founded a new city to the west-southwest of Decatur for the terminal. This town would later become known as Atlanta.
During the American Civil War, Decatur became a strategic site in Sherman's campaign against Atlanta. In July 1864 Union general James B. McPherson occupied Decatur to cut off the Confederates' supply line from Augusta, Georgia. During the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, Confederate cavalry under Major General Joseph Wheeler attacked McPherson's supply wagons and the Union troops left to defend the wagons. A marker at the Decatur courthouse marks the site of this skirmish.
In the last half of the twentieth century the metropolitan area of Atlanta expanded into unincorporated DeKalb County, eventually surrounding two sides of the incorporated town of Decatur. Concurrently many well-to-do and middle class white Americans fled the area to more distant suburbs. The 1960s and 1970s witnessed dramatic drops in property values. However, more recently the city has regained economic vigor, partially thanks to several long-term downtown development plans that have come to fruition, making Decatur a trendy small mixed-use district with easy transit to downtown Atlanta. Over the past twenty years, Decatur has gained a local and national reputation as a progressive city with a high level of citizen involvement that retains a small town feel despite its proximity to Atlanta.
Decatur is located at (33.771355, -84.297732).[5]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 km2), all of it land.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1870 | 401 |
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| 1880 | 639 | 59.4% | |
| 1890 | 1,013 | 58.5% | |
| 1900 | 1,418 | 40.0% | |
| 1910 | 2,466 | 73.9% | |
| 1920 | 6,150 | 149.4% | |
| 1930 | 13,276 | 115.9% | |
| 1940 | 16,561 | 24.7% | |
| 1950 | 21,635 | 30.6% | |
| 1960 | 22,026 | 1.8% | |
| 1970 | 21,943 | −0.4% | |
| 1980 | 18,404 | −16.1% | |
| 1990 | 17,304 | −6.0% | |
| 2000 | 18,147 | 4.9% | |
| 2010 | 19,335 | 6.5% | |
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 18,147 people, 8,051 households, and 3,856 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,343.2 people per square mile (1,676.2/km²). There were 8,497 housing units at an average density of 2,033.6 per square mile (784.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.6% White, 30.5% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.7% of the population.[6]
There were 8,051 households out of which 22.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.1% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 52.1% were non-families. 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 37.0% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 73.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.0 males. ZIP code 30030 (which includes Decatur) has one of the highest percentages of households with same sex couples in Georgia, 9.20% as of 2000.[7]
The median income for a household in the city was $47,395, and the median income for a family was $65,064. Males had a median income of $46,817 versus $38,381 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,363. About 7.0% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 13.6% of those age 65 or over.
Education levels for Decatur are above average for the Atlanta area, with 56% of residents having obtained a bachelor's degree or higher, and 27% having obtained a graduate degree or higher.
The Decatur City School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.[8]
List of Schools[9]:
The district has 224 full-time teachers and over 2,519 students.[10]
DeKalb County Public Library operates the Decatur Branch.[14]
Decatur has a Commission - Manager form of government. A five-member City Commission is elected for four-year terms on two year cycles. Two members are elected from the south side of the city, two from the north side and one is elected at-large. At their organizational meeting each January, the Commissioners elect a mayor and mayor-pro-tem from among their own membership for a one year term. The mayor is not a separate elected office. The current mayor is William F. Floyd. Previous mayors have included Leslie Jasper Steele (1915), Jack Hamilton, Walter Drake, Mike Mears, Ann A. Crichton, Elizabeth Wilson, and Scott Candler, Sr. (known as Mr. DeKalb).
The Commission appoints a professional City Manager to carry out the policies, directives and day-to-day business of the city. There are also several citizen volunteer boards and commissions appointed by the City Commission including the Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Historic Preservation Commission, and others.
The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice has its headquarters in Avondale Estates, near Decatur.[15][16]
The United States Postal Service operates the Decatur Post Office in Decatur.[17]
Decatur's downtown area and residential neighborhoods are filled with historic structures. This list primarily consists of structures on the National Register of Historic Places, but many remain privately-owned and may only be viewed from the exterior.
Decatur has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):[18]
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