| From the Daughters of the American Revolution, Sandy Springs Chapter Courtesy of Sandy Springs City Website The area north of Atlanta, Georgia known as Sandy Springs was named for actual springs currently protected for their historical significance. The region known as Sandy Springs dates to 400 A.D. and developed as a cross roads of the Itawa/Hightower/ Shallowford Trail (presently named Mt. Vernon Highway) and another unnamed trail which followed the route of present day Mount Paran Road and Glenridge Drive. This area was initially traveled by buffalo, Native Americans, and then British traders later becoming a major migration trail for Colonial Europeans. The freshwater springs which bubbled from the sandy ground and sustained life for the earliest inhabitants are today located on Sandy Springs Circle. The springs continue to produce 10 gallons of water per minute. During the 16th century the Creek Muskogee Tribe settled in the Sandy Springs area. This location, “No Man’s Land,” was well-suited for villagers because of the abundant rivers, woodlands, springs, and wildlife. A heavily traveled area, the sandy springs site became a Trading Post to sustain the early Creek Muskogee population. When gold was discovered, the Native Americans were forced to cede their land. In 1821 with the onset of Land Lotteries the white man began developing this rich soil into a farming community. Stephen Lee Spruill of South Carolina had been appointed by the Second Provincial Congress to procure “firearms for use of troops and maintain and repair all swords, dirks, pistols, and other implements of war.” After the Revolutionary War in the early 1800’s, the Spruill’s, one of the first prominent Southern families, moved to the fertile land found at Sandy Springs. By the 1820’s, the Spruill’s had acquired and farmed land in Sandy Springs which extended from Long Island Creek to present day Mt. Vernon Road. In the Land Lottery of 1825 James Wilbourn of Greene County paid the grant fee of $19.00 for Land Lot #88. His original Lot #88 is presently partitioned by Abernathy Road to the north, Roswell Road to the east, Mt. Vernon Road to the south, and Brandon Mill to the west. These 202.5 acres are considered the heart of Sandy Springs. The rich oral history from the Sandy Springs farming community is in part preserved in the Sandy Springs Christian Church. The Baptistry Cross is believed to be constructed from wood which originally supported the ancient Indian Trading Post at the site of Sandy Springs. The Trading Post marked the trails that led to the river, later to Johnson's Ferry, and onward to Atlanta. Today, what had started as a grass roots effort to defeat annexation in 1966 by the city of Atlanta grew to be an impressive bid for freedom. Sandy Springs is now Georgia's 7th largest city with an estimated population of 85,000 in 2006. It was incorporated in December 2005 after more than thirty years of persistent legal and political maneuvering by its staunch residents. With the steadfast leadership of Eva Galambos, its citizens fought for the right to break from Fulton County and for their right to more effectively administer their own services and uphold their quality of life. An overwhelming 94% of the residents voting on June 21, 2005 favored incorporation. In November 2005, Eva Galambos, was easily elected to be the first Mayor of the new city of Sandy Springs. * The History of the Sandy Springs Historic Community Foundation, by Garnett Cobb * Sandy Springs Past Tense and More Sandy Springs Past Tense, by Lois Coogle * What’s in a Name?, by Eva Galambos, 1996 * “A Tour of the Sandy Springs Site and Park,” by Lesley Nash, HSS Curator * “The Wooden Baptistry Cross,” by Linda Whitmire Special thanks to Mrs. E. Lynn Brackey, Organizing Regent, Sandy Springs Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Published with her permission. |
