County of town: Douglas County
To the north and east in country; crossroads of: I-20, GA-92, US-78 & GA-5
County is toward the NW section of the state
Elevation: 1,138 ft (347 m)
Population: 33,252 (2016)
"Douglasville is located in Douglas County, in northwestern Georgia,
25 miles west of Atlanta. The Douglasville Commercial Historic
District is roughly bordered by Broad St. and Church St., between
Adair St. and Club Drive in downtown Douglasville and is significant in the areas of architecture, commerce, and transportation.
"The original site of Douglasville was known for almost one hundred
years as "Skint Chestnut." According to local history, on the summit of this ridge there once stood a large chestnut tree, which for years
before white settlement was used by the Indians as a landmark. In
order for the tree to be more conspicuous, the Indians skinned it from
top to bottom. Hence, the early settlers referred to it as "Skint
Chestnut." In the course of time, the roads began to converge at
this point and it became a place from which to measure distance. The
stump of the old tree continued to be an object of much interest for
many years after the settlement of the town and at this point, the
landscape rises to an elevation some two hundred feet higher than the
city of Atlanta, Georgia and Anniston, Alabama.
"Most of the early settlers were farmers. Since Douglasville is
located in the good farming country of the Piedmont, they were able to
raise rye, barley, buckwheat, corn cotton, tobacco and an assortment
of vegetables. Many farmers served in the Civil War (though few had
been slave owners). The great majority were of English and Scotch
origin with their ancestors migrating to Georgia from Pennsylvania or
Virginia through the Carolinas along the Piedmont plateau. The
settlers came in the early 1820s when Carroll and Campbell counties
were created out of Creek Indian territory.
"In 1870, when the county was organized, the seat of government was
located at this point, and the name of Douglasville was so called for
Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, a candidate of the National Democracy
Party for President in 1860. By an Act of the Georgia Legislature
approved on October 17, 1870, Douglas County was created from portions
of Campbell (now merged into Fulton), Carroll, Cobb and Paulding
counties. Following the first county election, a controversy arose
over the location of the county seat, and the matter was taken to the
Supreme Court which involved almost four years of legal entanglements.
"In 1874, Mr. Young Vansant donated property to the county
commission for 133 lots to be auctioned for business and private
residences. The monies received from the auction were to be used to
build a county courthouse and a town. This property fronted both
sides of the Georgia Western Railroad which ran through the center of
the town.
"The Act to Incorporate the City of Douglasville was approved
February 25, 1875.
"In 1873, a post office was established at the site of what was to
become Douglasville, and in the 1880s, it was moved into the two-story
brick building on the corner of Broad Street and Campbellton Street.
It occupied a back corner of C. O. Dorsett's dry goods and millinery
store.
"The focal point of the town was the courthouse square and its park
with streets laid out north, south, east and west; Broad Street and
Factory Street, (later known as Church Street) served as the town's
two major arteries. The first courthouse building was hastily built
in 1871. The building was situated on the east side of the present
courthouse grounds, and had to be replaced in 1884. A new courthouse
with a clock tower was built in 1896. The building was constructed by
T. C. Thompson Bros.; the architects were Andrew J. Bryan & Co. The
building was destroyed by fire on January 11, 1956, and replaced with
a modern structure in 1958." ~ NRHP Nomination Form