John Thrasher (February 24, 1818–November 13, 1899) was the founder of the city of
Norcross, Georgia
Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 9,116, while in 2020 the population was 17,209. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan statistical area.
History
...
, an original pioneer of
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, and a well-travelled
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
throughout the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
Southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
.
Founding of Atlanta
In 1839, Thrasher was hired to do work on the terminus of the
Western and Atlantic Railroad
The Western & Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia (W&A) is a railroad owned by the State of Georgia and currently leased by CSX, which CSX operates in the Southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
It was fo ...
. His work crew lived in the area of what is now
downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, s ...
. During the construction Thrasher built homes for his workers and a
general store. Nicknamed "Thrasherville" instead of its official name "Terminus" (given by the railroad), it was the first
land development
Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways such as:
* Changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing
* Subdividing real estate into lots, typically for the purpose ...
of the area. A
historical marker
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...
of this now stands on
Marietta
Marietta may refer to:
Places in the United States
*Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida
*Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta
*Marietta, Illinois
*Marietta, Indiana
*Marietta, Kansas
*Marietta, Minnesota
*Marietta, Mississippi
*Mar ...
Street, in front of the
State Bar of Georgia
The State Bar of Georgia is the governing body of the legal profession in the State of Georgia, operating under the supervision of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Membership is a condition of admission to practice law in Georgia.
The State Bar w ...
, just down from where the
Philips Arena
State Farm Arena (formerly Philips Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Atlanta Hawks. It also served as home to the National Hockey Leag ...
stands in present times.
Thrasher himself purchased a large amount of land in Whitehall which is now the site of West End, a neighborhood of Atlanta just southwest of the city center. This area was originally supposed to have been the
zero-mile marker of the railroad and Thrasher expected enough traffic generated to bring business to the grocery store he built and to spur development on his land. In 1842,
Lemuel P. Grant
Lemuel Pratt Grant (1817–1893) was an American engineer and businessman. He was Atlanta's quintessential railroad man as well as a major landowner and civic leader. In railroads he served as a laborer, chief engineer, speculator and executi ...
, a railroad employee, donated land just northeast of Whitehall to the railroad and the terminus was moved. Thrasher was so disgusted by this that he sold his land at a significant loss and moved to
Griffin, Georgia
Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 23,478.
Griffin was founded in 1840 and named for landowner Col. Lewis Lawr ...
.
In 1844 Thrasher married and moved back to Atlanta opening another store on
Peachtree Street
Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks after entering into Buckhead ...
. He became active in local politics and became a state legislator representing
Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat:
*Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton
*Fulton County, Georgia
*F ...
. It wasn't until after the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
and the destruction of Atlanta that he became deeply involved in Atlanta politics. He was instrumental in opening Atlanta's first jail, its first school, and its streetcars.
Founding of Norcross
In 1870 Thrasher moved northeast of the city along the
Richmond and Danville Railroad
The Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) Company was a railroad that operated independently from 1847 until 1894, first in the U.S. state of Virginia, and later on of track in nine states.
Chartered on March 9, 1847, the railroad completed its ...
and founded the town of Norcross, named after Thrasher's good friend,
Jonathan Norcross
Jonathan Norcross (April 18, 1808 – December 18, 1898) was elected in 1850 as the fourth Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, serving the customary term at the time of one year. Dubbed the "Father of Atlanta" and "hard fighter of everything" by publi ...
, the fourth mayor of Atlanta. He was also elected the city's first mayor. Thrasher quickly turned Norcross into a vacation destination with a resort hotel he built. He was an active philanthropist in Norcross, a founder of First Baptist Church, a donor of houses to clergy and land for a park, now called Thrasher Park in downtown Norcross. A daily train ran between Norcross and Atlanta, perhaps the first commuter train in Georgia.
Later life
In 1878 his wanderlust struck again and he moved to
Central, South Carolina
Central is a town in Pickens County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,159, roughly 3,000 of whom were considered permanent residents. Contrary to its name, it is not near South Carolina's center. It rece ...
, where he built a restaurant on the train line that went from Atlanta to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
In the late 1880s, Thrasher and his wife followed his sons to
Dade City, Florida
Dade City is a city in and the county seat of Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is located in the Tampa Bay Area. The population was 6,437 at the 2010 census.
Dade City is popular with tourists for its antique stores, restaurants, and h ...
, where he grew
orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
s. He never abandoned the railroads however, and was instrumental in bringing the railroads to that town. He died in Dade City on Nov. 13, 1899.
["John Thrasher died in Florida," ''Atlanta Journal Constitution'' (14 Nov. 1899).
]
Adding to Thrasher's legacy are
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
and George Woodruff, the great-grandsons of his first cousin, Caroline Thrasher. Robert Woodruff was a famous Atlanta philanthropist and CEO of
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
from 1923 to 1939.
John J. Thrasher's descendants have established the Thrasher Family Association, which holds an annual reunion and publishes a quarterly newsletter.
References
Sources
Atlanta Old and New: Prehistory to 1847
External links
*https://archive.org/stream/historyofthrashe00thra/historyofthrashe00thra_djvu.txt
*
https://archive.org/details/pioneercitizensh00pion
*https://thrasherfamilyassociation.wordpress.com/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrasher, John
1818 births
1899 deaths
Pioneers of Atlanta
American city founders
People from Central, South Carolina