John Thrasher - Founding of Atlanta

Founding of Atlanta

In 1839, Thrasher was hired to do work on the terminus of the Western and Atlantic Railroad. His work crew lived in the area of what is now downtown Atlanta. During the construction Thrasher built homes for his workers and a general store. Nicknamed "Thrasherville" instead of its official name "Terminus" (given by the railroad), it was the first land development of the area. (A historical marker of this now stands on Marietta Street, in front of the State Bar of Georgia, just down from where the Philips Arena stands in present times.)

Thrasher himself purchased a large amount of land in Whitehall which is now the site of West End, a neighborhood of Atlanta just southwest of the city center. This area was originally supposed to have been the zero-mile marker of the railroad and Thrasher expected enough traffic generated to bring business to the grocery store he built and to spur development on his land. In 1842, Lemuel P. Grant, a railroad employee, donated land just northeast of Whitehall to the railroad and the terminus was moved. Thrasher was so disgusted by this that he sold his land at a significant loss and moved to Griffin, Georgia.

In 1844 Thrasher married and moved back to Atlanta opening another store on Peachtree Street. He became active in local politics and became a state legislator representing Fulton County. It wasn't until after the American Civil War and the destruction of Atlanta that he became deeply involved in Atlanta politics. He was instrumental in opening Atlanta's first jail, its first school, and its streetcars.