Atlanta, GA Guides, Vacations, Tourism

Atlanta is a relatively young city. It began in 1837, when an almost random dot on the map was named "Terminus" during plans for railroad construction. After the railroads arrived, the renamed Atlanta proved to be a crucial transportation center in the Civil War. Home to the huge Confederacy munitions industry, it was burned by Sherman's Union army in 1864, an act immortalized in Gone With the Wind. Recovery after the war was quick: Atlanta was the archetype of the industrial "New South," championed by "boosters" – newspaper owners, bankers, politicians, and city … more »