Muscogee
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsBuckhead
Buckhead is the uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within the Atlanta city limits, behind Downto ...
area of
Atlanta, Georgia
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 498,7 ...
. It was located where
Peachtree Creek
Peachtree Creek is a major stream in Atlanta. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 almost due west into the Chattahoochee River just south of Vi ...
Paces
A pace is a unit of length consisting either of one normal walking step (approximately ), or of a double step, returning to the same foot (approximately ). The normal pace length decreases with age and some health conditions. The word "pace" is al ...
neighborhood. It was located in the borderlands of the
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
and
Muscogee
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsFranklin M. Garrett, ''Atlanta and Environs'', pp. 8ff. /ref>
Etymology
Standing Peachtree's name is an accurate preservation of its native Muscogee Indian name, ''Pakanahuili''.
Some sources claim that "peachtree" is a corruption of "pitch tree", a supposed reference to pine trees from which pitch could be obtained. However, there is no evidence for the "pitch tree" name from before the 20th century, while "Standing Peachtree" can be traced back to the 18th century.
Peachtree Street
Standing Peachtree was the end of the Muscogee Peachtree Trail, which ran from near
Toccoa
Toccoa is a city in far Northeast Georgia near the border with South Carolina. It is the county seat of Stephens County, Georgia, United States, located about from Athens and about northeast of Atlanta. The population was 9,133 as of the 2020 ...
to just south of what is now
Piedmont Hospital
Piedmont Atlanta Hospital is a 643 bed, non-profit hospital located at 1968 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, Georgia.
History
Piedmont was established in 1905 as the Piedmont Sanitarium, the successor to Amster's private sanitorium, in the former mansi ...
in
Buckhead
Buckhead is the uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within the Atlanta city limits, behind Downto ...
. (A marker now stands there at the corner of Peachtree St. and Palisades Rd.) At this junction the path split. One branch went to Standing Peachtree (Pace's Ferry and Moore's Mill roads were built along this path). The other branch ran southwards towards what is now Five Points in Downtown Atlanta. Thus, much of Atlanta's main street,
Peachtree Street
Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta. Beginning at Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown; a few blocks after entering into Buckhead, the name changes to Peachtree Road a ...
follows the earlier Indian path.
Fort Peachtree
Fort Peachtree was built here in 1812. Later known as Fort Gilmer, it was connected to
Fort Daniel
Fort Daniel was a fort in Georgia, United States. Located on Hog Mountain in modern-day Gwinnett County, the fort was built in 1813, during the War of 1812, to protect settlers in the state's western regions from attacks. The site of the fort ...
at Hog Mountain in what is now
Gwinnett County
Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the second-most populous county in Georgia (after Fulton ...
, by a path which came to be known as Old Peachtree Road. The Muskogee ceded the land that is now
Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...
in 1821 as part of a series of coerced treaties that systematically removed tribal nations from Georgia. Standing Peachtree thus ceased its role as tribal trading post. It was established as the first post office in the newly established
DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb:
* DeKalb County, Alabama
* DeKalb County, Georgia
* DeKalb County, Illinois
* DeKalb County, Indiana
* DeKalb County, Missour ...
, preceding Decatur (the area would later become part of
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 ...
). Montgomery's Ferry (later DeFoor's Ferry) across the river opened at Standing Peachtree in 1837 and the area soon became better known by that name. The post office closed in 1842.