About the Johns Creek/Alpharetta/Duluth, Georgia Area 

JOHNS CREEK
“The area known today as Johns Creek, Georgia, was once a meeting ground between the rival Cherokee and Creek People. Inspired by the Chattahoochee River that acted as a boundary for their tribal nations, they agreed to make the Johns Creek area a "sacred place" where all tribal families could feel safe during their peace talks."
Tom Blue Wolf
(Creek descendent
Founder, EarthKeepers) 

Johns Creek's past began in the early 19th century as trading posts along the Chattahoochee River in what was then Cherokee Indian territory. Through the years, the trading posts grew slowly into crossroads communities where pioneer families gathered to visit and sell their crops.  

In the 1820s, the discovery of gold in the foothills of Northeast Georgia led to America's first Gold Rush. In 1831, much of the land in the former Cherokee Nation north of the Chattahoochee was joined into one big county called Cherokee. When Milton County was formed in 1858, the Johns Creek area was folded into it. In the 1930s, during the Depression, Milton County was dissolved and all its land was absorbed into Fulton County. 

By that time, four main crossroad communities had developed into the social, educational and business centers of this rural, unincorporated northeast Fulton County: Ocee, Newtown, Shakerag and Warsaw. 

For the next 50 years, these communities helped bring a sense of identity to the largely undeveloped and under-populated area, as the nearby cities of Roswell, Alpharetta, Duluth and Suwanee continued to grow and develop. 

In 1981, the founders of Technology Park/Atlanta (a technology business park established in 1970 by Georgia Institute of Technology graduates who wanted Atlanta to be a high-tech research center) bought 1,700 acres of rural land along McGinnis Ferry Road and Medlock Bridge Road/GA 141 to build a second campus/master planned community. Spotting tiny Johns Creek on an old map, they named their mixed use community Technology Park/Johns Creek. It was the first reference to Johns Creek as a place and it grew over the years to become the home of 200 companies – many of them Fortune 500 firms – with nearly 11,000 people spread over 6 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space. 

A sizable amount of the white collar, professional population that immigrated to Metro Atlanta in the 80s and 90s for its low cost of living and high employment base settled in the Johns Creek community. 

By 2000, a grassroots movement to incorporate the Johns Creek area into a city was slowly developing. It was only one of three main communities north of the Chattahoochee in Metro Atlanta that was not incorporated by that time. In 2005 a legislative campaign was begun to incorporate the Johns Creek community. House Bill 1321 was passed, signed by Governor Sonny Perdue in March 2006 and approved by the residents of northeast Fulton in a July 2006 voter referendum. The city was created out of the entire unincorporated eastern part of northern Fulton County, bounded by Roswell to the west and south, Alpharetta to the northwest, Forsyth County to the north, and Gwinnett County to the south and east. Johns Creek is a significant tributary of the Chattahoochee River that runs through the heart of the area. Johns Creek is the 10th largest city in the state of Georgia with an approximate population of 65,000.

Johns Creek has some of the highest rated schools in Georgia. National academic rankings, high test scores and award-winning scholars, artists and athletes are the result of the community's high value placed on its public schools.
Of the 19 public schools within Johns Creek, three of them (Chattahoochee High, River Trail Middle and Dolvin Elementary) are recipients of the US Department of Education's highest honor, the Blue Ribbon National School of Excellence. Two schools – Taylor Road Middle and Haynes Bridge Middle – are recognized as Georgia Schools of Excellence. 

Northview High was named "Best High School in Metro-Atlanta" by Atlanta Magazine for 2005, 2006 and 2007. 

Chattahoochee and Northview have each been recognized by Newsweek Magazine as a "Top 1,000 High School" and by US News and World Report as "Outstanding American High School." During the 2007-2008 school year Centennial High School was recognized again by Newsweek Magazine as one of the nation's Top 500 high schools, ranking 279, the highest of any Fulton County school. 

An average of 88% of the students who graduate from Centennial, Chattahoochee and Northview high schools attend 4-year colleges, including Harvard, Yale, UCLA, Princeton, West Point, Johns Hopkins, William & Mary, Duke, Stanford and Georgia Tech. 

The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area is spread over a 48-mile section of the Chattahoochee River. Five of the 16 recreation units are located in or near Johns Creek. These areas offer hiking trails, boat launch facilities, picnic tables, pavilions and other outdoor activities.  

Johns Creek has 4 other park facilities including Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center. It has 46 acres of ravine forest, with more than a mile of walking trails which wind past a scenic creek with rocky shoals, picturesque cliffs, mature trees, wildflowers, native plants and animal life. Autrey Mill Nature Preserve Association runs the park and provides year-round nature, historic, and scout badge programs and camps.

Newtown Park, Ocee Park, and Shakerag Park feature numerous softball/baseball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, picnic pavilions and other outdoor features for your enjoyment.

The Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek was the host of the 1976 U.S. Open Golf Tournament and the 1981 and 2001 PGA Championship Golf Tournaments, as well as being home to the trophies of golfer Bobby Jones.

Johns Creek's public libraries are part of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System. We have 2 major library locations including one of the newest additions, the Ocee/Dr. Robert E. Fulton Regional Library.  

The Johns Creek Arts Center has been operating for 10 years. The Center offers a wide variety of classes, workshops, and camps in visual and performing arts for children and adults. Sixty-four professional instructors teach drawing, painting, ceramics and other art mediums to about 2000 participants each year.  

Johns Creek proudly welcomes Emory Johns Creek Hospital. The newest addition to the North Fulton healthcare system. Emory Johns Creek offers a full range of services and care to meet the needs of you and your family.  

ALPHARETTA
FROM THE NORTH GEORGIA MOUNTAINS to the Chattahoochee River along a Cherokee Indian trail, a tiny village named New Prospect Camp Ground was formed. This village, made up of tents, a log school, and arbor became a trading post where Indians and white settlers exchanged their goods. On December 11, 1858, the town was chartered and became the county seat of Milton County. The town was renamed Alpharetta from the Greek words "alpha" meaning first and "retta" meaning town.

Alpharetta City Center is a vibrant and exciting new destination under development for unique dining, shopping, entertainment and residential experiences, all located in the heart of Downtown Alpharetta.

North Point Mall, just off GA 400, is the area's newest mall with over 1.3 million square feet inside and many retail and dining spots along North Point Parkway. Two movie theatre complexes and an ice and roller skating facility provide entertainment options near the mall.

THE ALPHARETTA RECREATION & PARKS DEPARTMENT provides a variety of special events throughout the year. Special events typically held include Children’s Easter Egg Hunt, Touch-A-Truck, Friday Night Dive-In , 4th of July Fireworks, Old Soldier’s Day Race and Pool Party. Autumn events include Halloween Hayrides and Haunts, Decorate a Pumpkin, and Fall Student & Staff Art Show. Events held in the winter season are Cookies with the Clauses, Breakfast with Santa, and Father/Daughter Valentine Dance.  

Alpharetta is home to WILLS PARK EQUESTRIAN CENTER. Located on 50 rolling acres of fields and woods. There are eight barns with covered aisle ways, nestled in amongst the trees with a total of 298 stalls. The covered ring is 150 by 350 feet housing its own show office, announcers booth, viewing room, raised bleacher seating and picnic area. There are two uncovered rings with all weather footing, each measuring 125 by 225 feet. They share a show office and announcer's tower, which also offers a meeting room for civic clubs and other organizations. Wills Park Equestrian Center offers ample paved parking areas with camper hook-ups for thirty campers. Wills Park Equestrian Center hosts a wide variety of events throughout the year, local horse shows and dog agility trials, Bull Riding, Rodeo, Symphony, and Arena Polo are some of the special events held during the year. The Equestrian Center is also the site of many corporate outings.

Alpharetta is served by 15 elementary schools, seven middle schools, and four high schools, as well as a number of private facilities. Its public schools consistently win awards and recognition for the high quality of education they provide: both high schools were named among the top 13 in the state of Georgia, and one was recently named a Georgia School of Excellence. 

DULUTH
Duluth has been an important crossroads since the Cherokee Indians first settled here. In 1821, Evan Howell, Duluth's forefather, developed the town of Howell Crossing which later evolved into a major artery for the railroad. In the early 1800's there were no known white settlers in the area known as the town of Duluth. This was then a part of the Cherokee Indian territory. At the time that Evan Howell came to the area, there was only one road opened in the section. This was the Peachtree Road, an offshoot of an old Indian trail that ran along the bridge south of the Chattahoochee River. Peachtree Road is still the most famous road in Georgia.

Duluth is recognized as a model city for Gwinnett County. It is poised with a perfect blend of small businesses, entrepreneurial enterprise, major corporations and visionary developers. Its success rate has been obtainable through sound economic efforts, business advocacy and leadership development. Duluth remains a busy hub today, continuing in the vanguard of the Metro area's great business and residential expansion. Despite phenomenal growth, it has remained its small-town character, where personal camaraderie, spirited by annual holiday and festive events, is savored. Duluth is home to more than 22,000 residents who live, work and play in its 9.8 square-mile community. Its commercial corridor is among Gwinnett County's busiest. Over 1,600 businesses are located within the City limits.  

The Duluth Festival Center and Amphitheater is surrounded by Duluth’s historic Main Street district, the center’s architecture and setting blends in with neighboring restaurants, businesses and homes. With grassy areas, park benches, lighted trees and shrubs, and the relaxing sound of the interactive water fountain, the center is a unique backdrop for any special event.  

Duluth is home to the superb Southeastern Railway Museum that offers daily train rides with vintage steam engines. Situated on 30 acres, it’s an open-air museum that preserves, restores and operates historical railway equipment including more than 90 pieces of rolling stock, several steam and diesel engines, and is the site of several special events throughout the year. 

The Duluth Fall Festival, held the last weekend in September, offers more than 250 arts and crafts and food booths, and draws crowds greater than 30,000.  

The town is also home to several beautiful parks and recreational opportunities, a 30-acre railway museum and summer concerts and outdoor movies shown on the Town Green on Friday nights. The festive spirit of the townspeople was evident with a showing of “The Wizard of Oz,” where some people dressed up as characters in the movie for entertainment for the children. This is the type of great family fun that is typical in the town of Duluth.

If you love sports, Duluth really does have it all. The city boasts several parks - the largest being the 45-acre Bunten Park. This beautiful recreation area features 4 lighted tennis courts, walking and jogging trails, and a 29,000 square foot activity/playground area for children.

The Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL, a professional minor league ice hockey team, plays in the Arena at Gwinnett Center, which opened in 2003 in Duluth. At the TPC Sugarloaf golf course, the Bellsouth Classic tournament is played the third week in May.  

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