After the Revolutionary War, American settlers migrated west. The westward movement placed the settlers in contact with the indigenous Native American populations inhabiting the trans-Appalachian region, which included Georgia. The early Buckhead settlers came in contact with the Creek Indians at the Standing Peachtree Village located in the vicinity of the present day Atlanta Waterworks Pumping Station. The village’s name, Standing Peachtree, was the antecedent for the numerous “Peachtree” streets found in Atlanta.
During the War of 1812, the state of Georgia built a a series of forts along its frontier to protect from British and Creek Indian attacks. In the Buckhead area, a fort just north of the Standing Peachtree Village was built and christened Fort Peachtree. The fort was to serve as a buffer between the Creeks and the white settlements of the area. After the war, the compound was one of the state’s defensive units during the Creek Indian War of 1813-1814. With the removal of Native American populations from Georgia during the 1820s, the fort’s utility waned and the site fell into disrepair. In 1976, the city of Atlanta constructed a replica of Fort Peachtree on the Waterwork’s property and opened the site to the public. Since 1996 Fort Peachtree has been accessible via appointment.
Fort Peachtree’s significance lies in its value as a pre-historic site, an historic site and a unit of military history. The Creek’s Standing Peachtree Village contributed to the naming of Atlanta’s various Peachtree roads. The fort that followed played a role in the Indian wars of the early nineteenth century, and the subsequent removal of Native American populations in the 1820s. The site serves as a link to Buckhead’s early history.
Additional Information:
For more information on Standing Peachree, read Wright Mitchell’s article, “Buckhead Indian settlement gave Atlanta its most famous street name.”
Sources:
Barnard, Susan. Images of America: Buckhead. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2009.
Garrett, Franklin. Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Volume I. Athens, G.A.: University of Georgia Press, 1967.
Mitchell, Wright. “Buckhead Indian Settlement Gave Atlanta Its Most Famous Street Name,” Buckhead Reporter, April 8, 2010.
By: Steve Bare
Published: August 4, 2010
