Standing Peachtree
Standing Peachtree was a Creek Indian village and the closest Indian settlement to what is now Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. It was located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, in today's Paces neighborhood.[1] It was located on the border of the Cherokee and Creek nations and an entry point for traders entering the Cherokee nation. It is reference in several documents as far back as 1762.[2]
Some sources claim that "peachtree" is a corruption of "pitch tree", which would refer to the pine trees in the area from which pitch could be obtained. However there are no sources for the "pitch tree" name from before the 20th century, while "Standing Peachtree" is attested since the 18th century.[2]
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 was built here in 1812.[3] The Creek ceded the land that is now Metro Atlanta in 1821 as part of the systematic removal of Indians from Northwest Georgia. Standing Peachtree thus ceased its role as Indian trading post. It was established as the first post office in the newly established De Kalb 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]
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