Terminus to capital to metro
Atlanta History
Atlanta is a railroad city that has reinvented itself at least three times: as the terminus that became a state capital, as the burned city that rebuilt into the New South's business capital, and as the civil-rights capital that grew into one of America's biggest metros.
The story below is the straight version: the founding, the fire, the movement, and the growth.
The founding
Terminus to Marthasville to Atlanta
The settlement began as Terminus, the southern end of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. It became Marthasville in 1843, took the name Atlanta in 1845, and incorporated under that name in 1847. The railroad was the whole reason the place existed.
Fire and rebuild
1864 and the New South
Union forces burned the city in November 1864, and Atlanta rebuilt with remarkable speed, becoming the state capital in 1868 and the merchandising hub of the Southeast.
The movement
The civil-rights capital
Atlanta was home to Martin Luther King Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the sit-in movement that changed the country. Auburn Avenue's Sweet Auburn district was the commercial center of Black Atlanta, and the National Park preserves that history today.
The modern city
Olympics and metropolitan growth
The 1996 Centennial Olympic Games rebuilt the downtown park district and put Atlanta on the world stage. The metro has since grown into a region of more than six million people.
An editorial guide, not a listings site. Updated September 13, 2026. Real-estate guidance on this page is provided by Rob Dietrich, REALTOR® with eXp Realty, LLC.