City: Atlanta, GA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (404) 373-1088

Address: 101 East Court Sq.

Description: The city of Decatur is 6 miles east of Downtown Atlanta. Founded in 1823, it’s more than a decade older than its big, noisy neighbor. It’s said that Decatur was considered the terminus point for the Western & Atlantic railroad in the 1830s, but local residents objected, fearing the smoke and general confusion. Instead the railroad line ended at what became Five Points, and the rest, as they say, is history. On July 22, 1864, a skirmish at Decatur’s cemetery resulted in one of the few Confederate victories in the fighting around Atlanta. Decatur, so near the center of the Atlanta metropolitan region, has been able to preserve its villagelike atmosphere. The Old Courthouse (so named to distinguish it from the current modern DeKalb County Courthouse) presides over Decatur’s central square, site of the first courthouse, a log cabin structure put up in 1823. Surrounding the square are numerous interesting structures from the early 20th century and even some from before the Civil War. The Old Courthouse is the home of the DeKalb Welcome Center, (404) 373-1088, and the DeKalb Historical Society, (404) 373-1088. The Society’s museum includes portraits of Baron DeKalb (the French mercenary and Revolutionary War hero for whom the county is named), Commodore Stephen Decatur (a naval hero in the War of 1812 for whom the city is named), and Mary Harris Gay (a Decaturite whose wartime diaries were published as Life in Dixie During the War). Two-thirds of what is called the Battle of Atlanta was fought in DeKalb County, and the museum has a Civil War collection that includes weapons, flags, and medical equipment. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.