Moses W. Formwalt (1820 – May 26, 1852) was the first mayor of the city 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 ...

, which was then in

DeKalb County, Georgia DeKalb County (, , ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Decatur. DeKalb County is inclu ...

. Atlanta was chartered in December 1847 (the name had been changed from Marthasville in December 1845), and the first election of officers took place on January 29, 1848. Formwalt drew a larger share of the 215 votes than Jonathan Norcross and was elected mayor, representing the

Free and Rowdy Party The Free and Rowdy Party was a political party that operated in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, during the middle of the 19th century. Although the mayoral elections of Atlanta are not contested along party lines, the first three mayors o ...

. First meeting of the city council followed on February 2 at the Jonas Smith

grocery A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...

(site of the Howard Johnson hotel near Five Points). Things proceeded pretty normally throughout his one-year term: roads were cut, wells dug, law and order somewhat maintained (a jail was built); and on January 17, 1849, Dr. Benjamin F. Bomar succeeded him as mayor. Born in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, Formwalt came to Decatur in 1836 and established a

tin shop Tin is a chemical element with the Chemical symbol, symbol Sn (from la, :la:Stannum, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal. Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand wit ...

on Decatur St. in Atlanta in 1846 where one of his most popular products were

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s. He became mayor at age 28. Two years after leaving office, he began serving as deputy

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of DeKalb County; a short time later he was stabbed to death by a prisoner while escorting him from the council chamber.Deputy Sheriff Moses Formwalt, DeKalb County Sheriff's Department
/ref> Moses Formwalt monument

He was buried at Oakland Cemetery and is honored by Formwalt Street just southwest of downtown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Formwalt, Moses Mayors of Atlanta 1820 births 1852 deaths 19th-century American politicians Burials at Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta) People from Tennessee Georgia (U.S. state) sheriffs