Red Oak is an area in the City of
South Fulton,
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is located in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,066,710, making it the state's most-populous county and its only one with over one million inhabi ...
, United States, near
College Park and
East Point East Point is the name of several places:
In Australia
* East Point, Northern Territory
** East Point Military museum located in East Point, Northern Territory
In Canada
*East Point, Prince Edward Island
In Hong Kong:
*East Point, Hong Kong
In ...
. The ZIP Code is 30272 and 30349 The region is located along
U.S. Route 29
U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington me ...
and the
Georgia State Route 14 Connector to
Interstate 85
Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, n ...
and
285
The year 285 ( CCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the "Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Aurelius" (or, less frequently, "year ...
. The former terminus of SR 14 Connector is in the vicinity of post office destroyed during a civil war battle in 1864.
1983 Red Oak, Georgia Topographical Map (Historic Aerials Online)
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Through its history the community of Red Oak has never been incorporated as a town, but a post office was built in 1849. Its first postmaster was the Reverend William “Harrison” Walker (1809-1879), a Baptist minister, who came to Fayette County with his father, Levi Loudy Walker (1784-1860), and shows up on the first Fayette County census in 1830. Levi's property adjoined his son's and another son – Redmond – lived close by.
As was the custom the Red Oak post office was established on the property of the postmaster. Rev. Walker's home was in District 9, Land Lot 128 of Fayette County. On one of the early deeds to his property the Atlanta and West Point Railroad can be clearly seen crossing the property.
Local stories state a red oak tree stood at the postal stop giving the community its name – Red Oak. Today, a Georgia Historical Society marker stands at the intersection of Welcome All Road and U.S. 29/Roosevelt Highway. The marker verifies the existence of the Red Oak post office which was discontinued following the Civil War. Decades later another post office at Red Oak would be re-established and continues to this day.
In 2020, Red Oak was named one of the Historic Main Street Districts in the City of South Fulton.
References
''The Newnan Herald'', Newnan, Georgia, August 18, 1860, page 3
Reeves, Frances C., ''A Short History of Fayette County, Georgia 1821-1877'', (1977)
White, George, ''Historical Collections of Georgia: Containing the Most Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographic Sketches, Etc. Relating to Its History and Antiquities, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time'', 1855.
White, George, ''Statistics of the State of Georgia...'', (1849)
Wood, Chris, ''Clayton County: Reflections of a Crescent Jewell'' (1993)
Unincorporated communities in Fulton County, Georgia
Unincorporated communities in Georgia (U.S. state)
Unincorporated communities in the Atlanta metropolitan area
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