Stone Mountain, Georgia

Stone Mountain is a city located in DeKalb County, Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 7,145. It is the home of wrestler Jake Roberts.

History

In 1822 the area that now makes up the City of Stone Mountain was made a part of the newly formed Dekalb County. A post office was created in 1834 on the old Augusta Road, and Andrew Johnson built a hotel along the road in 1836. At around the same time, Aaron Cloud built an observation tower at the summit of the mountain. Visitors to the mountain would travel to the area by rail and road, and then walk up the 1.1 mile mountaintop trail to the top, where Cloud also had a restaurant and club.

Related Topics:
1822 - 1834 - 1836

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By 1839 a general store was added and a village was established under the name New Gibraltar. The name was officially changed to Stone Mountain by the Georgia legislature in 1847. During the Civil War, Stone Mountain village was destroyed by men under the command of General John McPherson on July 19, 1864.

Related Topics:
1839 - 1847 - Civil War - General John McPherson - July 19 - 1864

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The Ku Klux Klan was revived in Stone Mountain in 1915, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech consequently includes the line "let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia".

Related Topics:
Ku Klux Klan - 1915 - Martin Luther King Jr. - I Have a Dream

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