Peachtree Rd. -Created from a Creek Indian Trail ° History and GPS Maps
21 July 2011 -Text and photos by jack yeazel
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A trail known as the Peachtree Trail stretched from  Standing Pitch Tree along the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta to Fort Daniel located at Hog Mountain in present-day Gwinnett County.  The Peachtree Road construction began in 1812.  Many portions of present-day roads trace this route.

THUMBNAILS
Atlanta Water Works, Site of Original Standing Pitch Tree Indian Village
The Water Works are no longer open to the public, one must call  (404) 982-1468 for an appointment.
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There Appears to have been TWO Fort Peach Trees, if one goes by the Historical Markers
Fort reconstructed for the 1976 Bicentennial.  °  The artifacts inside appear in major disrepair.

Fort Peachtree Site on Top of a Nearby Hill
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Historical marker on Ridgewood Rd. at Ridgewood Cir.  °  The 'summit' is now occupied by two houses.  °  Location Map
The indian village of Standing Pitch Tree was about 1/2 mile to the SW on the Chattahoochee River

At the beginning of the War of 1812 two forts were established in Georgia to protect settlers of the then western frontier from the Cherokee  and Creek indians  who were collaborating with the enemy.  Fort Daniel was located at Hog Mountain,  and Fort Peachtree  was located near the Standing Pitch Tree indian village, about 30 miles inside the Indian lands.  William Nesbit supervised the building of Military Rd from Ft. Daniel to a shallow ford on the Chattahoochee River . This became the beginnings of Peachtree Road  constructed between the two forts along the Peachtree Ridge (the watershed between Nancy Creek and Peachtree Creek).  It should be pointed out that the indians always routed their trails along to top of ridges to 'claim the high ground' in case of attack and avoid crossing creeks.

Atlanta grew up on a site occupied by the Creek people, and the "peachtree" street was, in fact, not named for a peach tree of any sort, but for a large Creek settlement called Standing Pitch Tree after a tall lone tree.  Reportedly, the Creek used trees with fresh pitch (the sap of a pine tree) for solemnizing vows and treaties.  The "pitch tree" was corrupted to "peach tree", perhaps by mistake, or because it sounded better to English speakers.  While peaches are widely feral, they seem native to northern Georgia and the Atlanta area.  Although Georgia is the "Peach State", there was apparently no historical peach tree that led to the name.  The Standing Pitch Tree site is now occupied by the Atlanta Water Works intake pipes and pumps.

ROUTE OF THE MILITARY ROAD

ATLANTA
In Atlanta the Trail from Standing Pitch Tree is now Moores Mill Rd. to W. Paces Ferry Rd. to Peachtree Rd. in Buckhead.

CHAMBLEE and DORAVILLE
In Chamblee the Trail crosses to the east side of the railroad onto New Peachtree Rd.  which joins Buford Hwy. in Doraville.

NORCROSS
The Trail branches off Buford Hwy. to S. Peachtree St., Thrasher St., and then N. Peachtree St.  (Jumps to those streets aren't accurately known.)  Starting in SW Norcross, the Trail  runs along the Eastern Continental Divide.  to Hog Mountain.

PEACHTREE CORNERS
The Trail on N. Peachtree St.  eventually runs into Medlock Bridge Rd. which turns onto S. Old Peachtree Rd. and Industrial Park Dr.

SOUTH DULUTH
In Duluth the Trail intersects N. Berkley Lake Rd. and then turns onto Buford Hwy.  Near the Railroad Museum, the Trail turns onto Peachtree Rd NW, but is immediately blocked by a rock burn.  This blocked road is owned by the City of Duluth and may in the future become a walking path.
The blocked road runs north about a mile, becomes un-blocked, and the name changes to Main Street which passes the New City Hall.

The closed part of Peachtree Road NW begins at the Southeastern Railway Museum south of Duluth.
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Strange-looking locomotive  °  The closed Rd. is walkable, and the pavement may be the oldest surviving of the original road.

NORTH DULUTH
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(From South to north) Main Street  °  Historical Strickland house on Buford Hwy.  °    Peachtree Rd. Marker at Thompson St.
The Trail follows Main Street to Brock St. which crosses the railroad to the east and then links with Buford Hwy.

GWINNETT COUNTY
After about a half mile on Buford Hwy., the Trail turns onto Old Peachtree Rd.  The Trail follows this road some 15 miles and then turns NE onto Brasselton Hwy.  On Brasselton Hwy. the Trail runs about three miles to Fort Danial in Hog Mountain.

Four Airplanes Crashed Near Old Peachtree Road
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Photo by David Seibert  °  Site Map (Blue is the ECD)  °  Redesigned altimeter with warning bars below 10,000 feet

MAPS
This remarkably accurate old Fulton County map has been converted into a GPS map
One can place their own waypoints and tracks on it using two OziExplorer files (HERE).

THUMBNAILS

On this  Fulton County map of the early indian trails and creeks, waypoints (yellow) are along present day roads built on the trail.
The red line is a GPS track recorded while driving along the presumed Trail to Ft. Danial and  Hog Mt..
The blue line to the south is the Eastern Continental Divide in the Atlanta, East Point, Forest Park, and Decatur areas.
(The Trail and the ECD eventually run together at S. Peachtree St. and Jimmy Carter Blvd. in Norcross)


This composite Garmin MapSource Map shows the complete route of the first Peachtree Rd. -as the author understands it!

END OF THE TRAIL
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All that remains of Ft. Danial is this marker (1/2 mile SW of Hog Mtn.) and a small clump of woods.

 Downloads

1. Georgia Early Roads and Trails, 1730 to 1850 -complete map (now out of print) in the .jpg format. (This map is also an OziExplorer GPS map)

These files are in the ..gpx (GPSeXchange) universal format, that can be displayed by Garmin's MapSource and other programs.

2. High-resolution track of the original Peachtree Trail from the Chattahoochee River to Fort Danial
3. Low-resolution track of the Eastern Continental Divide in the state of Georgia.
4. High-resolution track of the Eastern Continental Divide from Morrow to the triple point of three river basins in N. Georgia.

FURTHER READING
 Atlanta Upper West Side         The Buck Stopped Here        A Short History of Atlanta

Fort Peachtree     Creek Indians