Standing Peachtree

{{short description|Neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} '''Standing Peachtree''' was a [[Muscogee]] village and the closest Indian settlement to what is now the [[Buckhead]] area of [[Atlanta, Georgia]]. It was located where [[Peachtree Creek]] flows into the [[Chattahoochee River]], in today's [[Paces (Atlanta)|Paces]] neighborhood.<ref name=buckhead>{{cite web|url=http://www.buckhead.net/history/fort-peachtree/index.html|title=Fort Peachtree | website=www.Buckhead | access-date=February 19, 2017}}</ref> It was located in the borderlands of the [[Cherokee]] and [[Muscogee]] nations. It is referred to in several documents dating as far back as 1782.<ref name=fmg>[https://books.google.com/books?id=fl6xNpS6qUUC Franklin M. Garrett, ''Atlanta and Environs'', pp. 8ff.]</ref>

==Etymology== Standing Peachtree's name is an accurate preservation of its native Muscogee Indian name, ''Pakanahuili''.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/s.pdf| title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=211 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}</ref>

Some sources claim that "peachtree" is a corruption of "pitch tree", a supposed reference to pine trees from which [[Pitch (resin)|pitch]] could be obtained. However, there is no evidence for the "pitch tree" name from before the 20th century, while "Standing Peachtree" can be traced back to the 18th century.<ref name=fmg/>

==Peachtree Street== Standing Peachtree was the end of the Muscogee Peachtree Trail, which ran from near [[Toccoa, Georgia|Toccoa]] to just south of what is now [[Piedmont Hospital]] in [[Buckhead]]. (A marker now stands there at the corner of Peachtree St. and Palisades Rd.) At this junction the path split. One branch went to Standing Peachtree (Pace's Ferry and Moore's Mill roads were built along this path). The other branch ran southwards towards what is now [[Five Points (Atlanta)|Five Points]] in Downtown Atlanta.<ref name=buckhead/> Thus, much of Atlanta's main street, [[Peachtree Street]] follows the earlier Indian path.

==Fort Peachtree== Fort Peachtree was built here in 1812.<ref name=buckhead /> Later known as Fort Gilmer, it was connected to [[Fort Daniel]] at Hog Mountain in what is now [[Gwinnett County, Georgia|Gwinnett County]], by a path which came to be known as Old Peachtree Road.<ref name="Fort">{{cite web|url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/fort-daniel|title=Fort Daniel|publisher=New Georgia Encyclopedia - University System of Georgia|author= James J. D'Angelo|date=October 30, 2018|accessdate=November 25, 2018}}</ref> The Muskogee ceded the land that is now [[Metro Atlanta]] in 1821 as part of a series of coerced treaties that systematically removed tribal nations from Georgia. Standing Peachtree thus ceased its role as tribal trading post. It was established as the first post office in the newly established [[DeKalb County, Georgia|DeKalb County]], preceding [[Decatur, Georgia|Decatur]] (the area would later become part of [[Fulton County, Georgia|Fulton County]]). [[Historic ferries of the Atlanta area#Montgomery Ferry|Montgomery's Ferry]] (later DeFoor's Ferry) across the river opened at Standing Peachtree in 1837 and the area soon became better known by that name. The post office closed in 1842.<ref name=fmg/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://books.google.com/books?id=fl6xNpS6qUUC Franklin M. Garrett, ''Atlanta and Environs'', pp. 8ff.] * [http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/dekalb/trail-to-standing-peachtree-and-houston-chapel Trail to Standing Peachtree and Houston Chapel] historical marker * [http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/fulton/fort-peachtree-war-of-1812 Fort Peachtree, War of 1812] historical marker * [http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/fulton/standing-peach-tree Standing Peach Tree] historical marker

[[Category:Former neighborhoods of Atlanta]] [[Category:History of Atlanta]] [[Category:Muscogee tribal towns]] [[Category:Native American history of Georgia (U.S. state)]] [[Category:Former Native American populated places in the United States]]