Decatur, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Decatur Square | |
 Logo | |
| Motto: "A City of Homes, Schools and Places of Worship" | |
 Show Decatur Show DeKalb County Show Georgia Show the United States | |
| Coordinates:33°46′17″N84°17′52″W / 33.77139°N 84.29778°W /33.77139; -84.29778[1] | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| County | DeKalb |
| Incorporated | December 10, 1823; 201 years ago (1823-12-10) |
| Named after | CommodoreStephen Decatur |
| Government | |
| • Type | Commission–Manager |
| • Commission | Decatur City Commission |
| • Mayor | Patti Garrett |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.60 sq mi (11.92 km2) |
| • Land | 4.60 sq mi (11.91 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0039 sq mi (0.01 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,043 ft (318 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 24,928 |
| • Density | 5,422.8/sq mi (2,093.77/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code(s) | 30030, 30032, 30033 |
| Area codes | 404,678 and 470 |
| FIPS code | 13-22052 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0331532[3] |
| Major airport | ATL |
| Website | decaturga.com |
Decatur (/dəˈkeɪtər/) is a city in and thecounty seat ofDeKalb County,Georgia, United States, part of theAtlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the2020 census,[4] the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear Decatur as the address.
The city is served by threeMARTA rail stations (Decatur,East Lake, andAvondale). The city is located approximately five miles (eight kilometers) northeast ofDowntown Atlanta and shares its western border with both the city of Atlanta (the Kirkwood and Lake Claire neighborhoods) and unincorporated DeKalb County. TheDruid Hills neighborhood is to the northwest of Decatur.
Prior to European settlement, the Decatur area was largely forested (a remnant ofold-growth forest near Decatur is preserved asFernbank Forest). Decatur was established at the intersection of two Native American trails: the Sandtown, which led east from theChattahoochee River at Utoy Creek, and the Shallowford, which follows today's Clairmont Road, and eventually crossed nearRoswell. A site for the DeKalb County courthouse was designated in 1822 in what would become downtown Decatur; the city of Decatur was incorporated on December 10, 1823. It was named forUnited States NavyCommodoreStephen Decatur.
The first settler in the area were farmers or skilled tradesmen of English, Scottish and Irish descent.[5]
During theAmerican Civil War, Decatur became a strategic site inSherman'sAtlanta campaign. In July 1864,Major-GeneralJames McPherson occupied the town to cut off theConfederates' supply line fromAugusta. On July 22, during theBattle of Atlanta, Confederatecavalry underMajor-GeneralJoseph Wheeler attacked McPherson's supply wagons and the Union troops left to defend the wagons. A historical marker at the old courthouse marks the site of this skirmish.
We attacked Decatur on the 22d and took the town driving out a Brigade of Infantry and a good deal of Dismounted Cavalry. Our Brigade really took the town, tho' it was supported on both flanks by a Brigade of Cavalry dismounted. The fight lasted about two hours and was very hot for a while. The Yankees had the hills and houses on us and fought very well for a time. Our dash was made to distract attention while Hardee made the real attack on the enemy's flank. We captured over a hundred prisoners and killed and wounded about one hundred and fifty. Our loss about seventy killed and wounded.
In the second half of the twentieth century the metropolitan area of Atlanta expanded into unincorporatedDeKalb County, eventually surrounding two sides of the town of Decatur. Concurrently, the area experiencedwhite flight, as many residents fled 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 smallmixed-use district with easy transit to downtown Atlanta. Over the past twenty years, it has gained a local and national reputation as a progressive city with a high level of citizen involvement.[citation needed]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 square kilometers), all land. Decatur is bordered byAvondale Estates to the southeast andAtlanta to the southwest, and unincorporated DeKalb County elsewhere.
TheEastern Continental Divide bisects the city along theCSX (formerlyGeorgia Railroad) trackage right of way.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | 530 | — | |
| 1850 | 744 | 40.4% | |
| 1870 | 401 | — | |
| 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% | |
| 2020 | 24,928 | 28.9% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[7] 2010–2020[4] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 16,796 | 67.38% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 3,839 | 15.4% |
| Native American | 36 | 0.14% |
| Asian | 1,317 | 5.28% |
| Pacific Islander | 12 | 0.05% |
| Other/Mixed | 1,634 | 6.55% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 1,294 | 5.19% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 24,928 people, 8,841 households, and 5,597 families residing in the city.
In recent decades, the city of Decatur has become markedly less diverse in racial terms. In 1990, the city's population was nearly 40 percent African American. By 2010, it had dropped to 20 percent African American, and by 2020 it dropped further to just barely 15 percent African American. Between 1990 and 2020, the proportion of the town's population that was white rose from 60 to 67 percent. One exception to this trend is the fact that Decatur's Latino and Asian populations were minuscule in 1990, and though they each only represented just 5 percent of the town's population in 2020, their increases in proportional terms over the thirty-year period were significant.[9]
City Schools of Decatur, which serves only students within the city limits, holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of a pre-K early childhood learning center, five lower elementary schools, two upper elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.[10]Decatur High School is the district's sole high school. The Decatur City district has 224 full-time teachers[11] and over 4,400 students from pre-K through grade 12.[12]
TheDeKalb County School District serves unincorporated DeKalb County.
TheRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta operates Saint Thomas More Catholic School in Decatur; it opened on September 1, 1950. At first it only had elementary grades and its initial enrollment was 150. A dedicated elementary building opened in 1955, and an addition for kindergarten classes with two rooms was placed in 1994.[13] St. Peter Claver Regional School has a Decatur mailing address but is in nearbyCandler-McAfee CDP.[14][15]
TheDeKalb County Public Library system operates the Decatur Branch and is also the Dekalb County Library Headquarters.[21]
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 88.6%14,095 | 10.3%1,633 | 1.2%184 |
| 2016 | 85.0%11,036 | 11.4%1,476 | 3.7%474 |
Decatur has operated under a Commission-Manager form of government since 1920. The Charter of the City of Decatur establishes the City Commission as the governing and legislative authority of the City 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 Patti Garrett.[23] Previous mayors have includedLeslie Jasper Steele (1915).
The Commission appoints a professional City Manager to carry out the policies, directives and day-to-day business of the city. The current city manager is Andrea Arnold.[24] There are also several citizen volunteer boards and commissions appointed by the City Commission, including the Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Historic Preservation Commission.
TheGeorgia Department of Juvenile Justice has its headquarters inAvondale Estates, near Decatur.[25][26] TheGeorgia Bureau of Investigation has its headquarters near Decatur, in an unincorporated area.[27]
TheUnited States Postal Service operates the Decatur Post Office.[28]
Decatur has a thriving art and festival scene. The Decatur Arts Alliance hosts the Decatur Arts Festival each May, in addition to installing public art around the city, providing gallery space for local artists, producing YEA!, which is an event for young emerging artists, and supporting arts and arts education throughout the city.[citation needed]
Decatur holds the annual AJC Decatur Book Festival, which claims to be one of the largest independent book festivals in the United States. It has featured thousands of famous authors, book signings, speeches, and attracted upwards of 85,000 people in 2019.[29]
Decatur is home toEddie's Attic, which is a live music venue hosting shows almost every night.[citation needed]
Decatur is known for its frequent festivals, which include the annual Decatur Arts Festival, Summer In The city, Decatur BBQ, Blues & Bluegrass Festival, the Decatur Book Festival, the Decatur Maker's Faire, The Decatur Craft Beer Festival and the Decatur Wine Festival. Other events throughout the year include parades, Concerts on the Square, wine crawls, art walks, runs, and races.[citation needed]
Public art in Decatur includes Celebration (artist Gary Price), Valentine (artistGeorge Lundeen), Commodore Stephen Decatur (artist unknown), Roy A. Blount Plaza, and Living Walls Murals (various artists).[citation needed]
Decatur is known for its food scene and was named one of the South's "Tastiest Towns" in 2012. In 2016, the New York Times called it "Atlanta's gastronomic equivalent of Berkeley or Brooklyn".[30]
Decatur's downtown area and residential neighborhoods are filled with historic structures and sites of interest. This list primarily consists of structures on theNational Register of Historic Places, but many remain privately owned and may only be viewed from the exterior.
Decatur is 'inside the perimeter' (I-285) and north ofI-20.
PATH Foundation trails
Decatur has threesister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):[32][33]
2560 Tilson Road Decatur, GA 30032- Despite the Decatur address it is not in the city limits. Compare with the Candler-McAfee CDP limits map.
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
Travel information from Wikivoyage
Geographic data related toDecatur, Georgia atOpenStreetMapLinks to related articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
