Fulton County, Georgia
200px Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta
Location in the state of Georgia
Georgia's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 20, 1853
Seat	Atlanta
Largest city	Atlanta
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	534.61 sq mi (1,385 km²) 528.66 sq mi (1,369 km²) 5.95 sq mi (15 km²), 1.11%
PopulationEst.  - (2011)  - Density	949,599 1,741/sq mi (672.4/km²)
Congressional districts	5th, 6th, 13th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.fultoncountyga.gov

Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta,^[1] the state capital since 1868. 90% of the City of Atlanta is within Fulton County (the other 10% lies within DeKalb County). Fulton County is the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 920,581;^[2] however, Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed suspects significant undercounting in the City of Atlanta,^[3] which implies similar concerns for Fulton County as a whole – the 2009 estimate of the county's population was 1,020,014, 10.8% higher than the 2010 census results.

Fulton County is one of the five core counties of the Atlanta metropolitan area and the most populous county in the U.S. state of Georgia.

History[link]

Fulton County was created from the western half of DeKalb County in 1853.

During General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War, Sherman spared Roswell because he had a cousin who lived there. As a result, Roswell has more pre-Civil War historical buildings than anywhere else in north Georgia.^{[citation needed]}

The county's name is often assumed to be in honor of inventor Robert Fulton, who built the first successful steamboat in 1807. This assumption is likely because this steam engine was the predecessor to the steam locomotives which built Atlanta.^{[clarification needed]} Some research now indicates that the name may have been in honor of Hamilton Fulton, a surveyor for the Western and Atlantic Railroad.^[4] Nonetheless, the county claims to be named after Robert Fulton.^[5]

At the beginning of 1932, as an austerity measure to save money during the Great Depression, Milton County to the north and Campbell County to the southwest became part of Fulton County. This gave the county its current long shape along 80 miles (130 km) of the Chattahoochee River. On May 9 of that year, neighboring Cobb County ceded to Fulton the city of Roswell and lands lying east of Willeo Creek, in order that the latter county be more contiguous with the lands ceded from Milton.

Governance[link]

Fulton County is governed by a seven-member board of commissioners, whose members serve concurrent four year terms. The most recent election was held in November 2010. The county has a county manager system of government, in which day-to-day operation of the county is handled by a manager appointed by the board. The chairman of the Board of Commissioners is elected to District 1, a county-wide position. The vice chairman is elected by his or her peers on a yearly basis.

Services[link]

Fulton County's budget of $1.2 billion funds an array of resident services.

With 34 branches, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System is one of the largest library systems in Georgia.

Human services programs include one of the strongest senior center networks in metro Atlanta, including four multipurpose senior facilities. The county also provides funding to nonprofits with FRESH and Human Services grants.

Politics[link]

Atlanta is the largest city in Fulton County, occupying the county's narrow center section and thus geographically dividing the county's northern and southern portions. Atlanta's last major annexation in 1952 brought over 118 square miles (310 km²) into the city, including the affluent suburb of Buckhead, and was motivated in part to maintain a majority of white voters in the city.^{[citation needed]} The movement to create a city of Sandy Springs, launched in the early 1970s and reaching fruition in 2005, was largely an effort to prevent additional annexations by the city of Atlanta, and later to wrest local control from the county commission.

Taxation[link]

Geographically remote from each other, the northern and southern sections of the county have grown increasingly at odds over the collection of taxes and distribution of services. Residents of the affluent areas of North Fulton have increasingly complained that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners has ignored their needs, taking taxes collected in North Fulton and spending them on programs and services in South Fulton. In 2005, the Georgia General Assembly directed Fulton County, alone among all the counties in the state, to limit the expenditure of funds to the geographic region of the county where they were collected. Fulton County contested this law, known as the "Shafer Amendment" after Sen. David Shafer (Republican from Duluth), in a lawsuit that went to the Georgia Supreme Court. On June 19, 2006, the Court handed down a decision upholding the legality of the Shafer Amendment.

The creation of the city of Sandy Springs prompted a move to create two additional cities that completely municipalized north Fulton. In a domino effect, the residents of south Fulton then moved for referenda to potentially create additional cities. One of these two referenda passed; the other was defeated.

Municipalization[link]

Since the 1970s, residents of Sandy Springs had waged a long-running battle to incorporate their own city. They were repeatedly blocked by Atlanta Democrats, but when control of state government switched to suburban Republicans after the 2002 and 2004 election, the movement to create the city picked up steam.

The General Assembly approved creation of the city in 2005, and a suspension of existing state law that prohibited new cities (the only type of municipality in the state) from being within three miles (4.8 km) of an existing one. The citizens of Sandy Springs voted 94% in favor of ratifying the city charter in a referendum held on June 21, 2005. The new city was officially incorporated later that year at midnight on December 1.

Creation of Sandy Springs spurred a movement toward municipalization of the entire county, which would attempt to incorporate every area into a city. This would essentially eliminate the county's home rule powers (granted statewide by a constitutional amendment to the Georgia State Constitution in the 1960s) to act as a municipality in unincorporated areas, and return it to being entirely the local extension of state government.

In 2006, the General Assembly approved creation of two new cities, Milton and Johns Creek, that would completely municipalize North Fulton. The charters of these two new cities were ratified overwhelmingly in a referendum held July 18, 2006.

Voters in the Chattahoochee Hills community of southwest Fulton (west of Cascade-Palmetto Highway) voted overwhelmingly to incorporate in June 2007. The city became incorporated on December 1, 2007.

The General Assembly also approved a proposal to form a new city called South Fulton. Its proposed boundaries were to include those areas still unincorporated on July 1, 2007. As a direct result of possibly being permanently landlocked, many of the existing cities proposed annexations, while some communities drew-up incorporation plans.^[6]

Voters in the area defined as the proposed city of South Fulton overwhelmingly rejected cityhood in September 2007. It remains the only unincorporated section of the county.

Secession[link]

Some residents of suburban north Fulton have advocated that they be allowed to secede and re-form Milton County, after the county that was absorbed into Fulton County in 1932 during the Great Depression. Fulton County, in comparison to the state's other counties, is physically large. Its population is greater than that of each of the six smallest U.S. states.

The demographic make-up of Fulton County has changed considerably in recent decades. The northern portion of the county, a suburban area that is mostly Republican, is among the most affluent areas in the nation. The central and southern portion of the county, which includes the city of Atlanta and its core satellite cities to the south on the other hand, is overwhelmingly Democratic, and contains some of the poorest sections in the metropolitan area. However, there exist exceptions to this particularly in the neighborhoods of Cascade Heights and Sandtown located in the southwest region of Fulton County which are made up of predominantly affluent African-Americans.

Years of being outnumbered politically, with North Fulton's desires continually being ignored, have led citizens of north Fulton County to propose the recreation of Milton County. The main opposition to the separation comes from the residents of south Fulton County, who say that the proposed separation is racially based. State Senator Vincent Fort, an Atlanta Democrat and a member of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, very strongly opposes the plan to split the county. "If it gets to the floor, there will be blood on the walls", Fort stated. "As much as you would like to think it's not racial, it's difficult to draw any other conclusion", he later added.^[7]

A political firestorm broke out in Atlanta in 2006 when State Senator Sam Zamarripa (Democrat from Atlanta) suggested that the cities in North Fulton be allowed to secede and form Milton County in exchange for Atlanta and Fulton County consolidating their governments into a new "Atlanta County". South Fulton residents were strongly opposed to Fulton County's possible future separation.

Taxes[link]

Fulton County has a 7% total sales tax, including 4% state, 1% SPLOST, 1% homestead exemption, and 1% MARTA. Sales taxes apply through the entire county and its cities, except for Atlanta's additional 1% Municipal Option Sales Tax to fund capital improvements to its combined wastewater sewer systems (laying new pipes to separate storm sewers from sanitary sewers), and to its drinking water system.^[8] Fulton County has lowered its General Fund millage rate by 26% over an eight-year period.

Transportation[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Almost every major highway, and every major Interstate highway, in metro Atlanta passes through Fulton County. Outside Atlanta proper, Georgia 400 is the major highway through north Fulton, and Interstate 85 to the southwest.

MARTA serves most of the county, and along with Dekalb County, Fulton pays a 1% sales tax to fund it. MARTA train service in Fulton is currently limited to the cities of Atlanta, Sandy Springs, East Point, and College Park, as well as the airport. Bus service covers most of the remainder, except the rural areas in the far southwest. North Fulton residents have been asking for service, to extend the North Line ten miles (16 km) or 16 kilometers up the Georgia 400 corridor, from Perimeter Center to the fellow edge city of Alpharetta. However, as the only major transit system in the country that its state government will not fund, there is no money to expand the system. Sales taxes now go entirely to operating, maintaining, and refurbishing the system.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport straddles the border with Clayton County to the south and is the busiest airport in the world. The Fulton County Airport, often called Charlie Brown Field after aviator Charles Brown, is located just west-southwest of Atlanta's city limit. It is run by the county as a municipal or general aviation airport, serving business jets and private aircraft.

Geography[link]

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 534.61 square miles (1,384.6 km²), of which 528.66 square miles (1,369.2 km²) (or 98.89%) is land and 5.95 square miles (15.4 km²) (or 1.11%) is water.^[9] The shape of the county resembles a sword with its handle at the northeastern part, and the tip at the southwestern portion.

Major highways[link]

Secondary highways[link]

• Abernathy Road
• East Wesley Road
• Freedom Parkway (Georgia 10)
• Glenridge Drive
• Hammond Drive
• Johnson Ferry Road
• Lindbergh Drive (Georgia 236)
• Memorial Drive (Georgia 154)
• Moreland Avenue (U.S. 23/Georgia 42)
• Mount Vernon Highway
• Peachtree Road (Georgia 141)
• Peachtree-Dunwoody Road
• Piedmont Road (Georgia 237)
• Ponce de Leon Avenue (U.S. 23/29/78/278/Georgia 8/10)
• Powers Ferry Road
• Roswell Road (U.S. 19/Georgia 9)
• Windsor Parkway

Adjacent counties[link]

Fulton County, Georgia, is one of the few counties in the United States to border as many as ten counties. Listed clockwise, they are:

• Cherokee County – northwest
• Forsyth County – northeast
• Gwinnett County – east
• DeKalb County – east at Moreland Avenue
• Clayton County – south
• Fayette County – south
• Coweta County – southwest
• Carroll County – west
• Douglas County – west at Chattahoochee River
• Cobb County – west at Willeo Creek and Chattahoochee River

National protected areas[link]

• Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (part)
• Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site

Demographics[link]

As of the census^[10] of 2000, there were 816,006 people, 321,242 households, and 185,677 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,544 people per square mile (596/km²). There were 348,632 housing units at an average density of 660 per square mile (255/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 48.1% White, 44.6% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.60% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 5.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The largest self-reported European ancestry group in Fulton County is English (8.7%) followed by German (7.5%)^[11]

There were 321,242 households out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.30% were married couples living together, 16.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.20% were non-families. 32.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.15.

The age distribution was 24.40% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 35.50% from 25 to 44, 20.70% from 45 to 64, and 8.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,321, and the median income for a family was $58,143. Males had a median income of $43,495 versus $32,122 for females. The per capita income for the county was $30,003. About 12.40% of families and 15.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.60% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over.

Incorporated cities and towns[link]

• Alpharetta
• Atlanta
• Chattahoochee Hills
• College Park
• East Point
• Fairburn
• Hapeville
• Johns Creek
• Milton
• Mountain Park
• Palmetto
• Roswell
• Sandy Springs
• Union City

Unincorporated communities[link]

• Birmingham (now within Milton)
• Campbellton
• Crabapple (now within Milton)
• Ocee (originally New York, then Mazeppa, now within Johns Creek)
• Red Oak
• Rico (now within Chattahoochee Hills)
• Sandtown
• Serenbe (village within Chattachoochee Hills)
• Shakerag (within Johns Creek)
• South Fulton (entirety of remaining unincorporated land, voted against cityhood in 2007)
• Warsaw (now within Johns Creek)

Economy[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)

Companies headquartered in unincorporated areas in Fulfton County include Mellow Mushroom.^[12]

AFC Enterprises (Popeyes Chicken/Cinnabon), AT&T Mobility, Chick-fil-A, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Church's Chicken, The Coca Cola Company, Cox Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Earthlink, Equifax, First Data, Georgia-Pacific, Global Payments, Inc., The Home Depot, InterContinental Hotels Group, IBM Internet Security Systems, Mirant Corp., Newell Rubbermaid, Northside Hospital, Porsche Cars North America, Saint Joseph's Hospital, Southern Company, Spectrum Brands, SunTrust Banks, United Parcel Service, and Wendy's/Arby's Group are based in various cities throughout Fulton County.^{[citation needed]}

MaggieMoo's and Marble Slab Creamery had their headquarters in an unincorporated area in the county, however,^{[citation needed]} now those companies are located in neighboring Gwinnett County in Norcross.^[13][14]

Education[link]

All portions of Fulton County outside of the city limits of Atlanta are served by the Fulton County School System.

All portions within Atlanta are served by Atlanta Public Schools.

See also[link]

	Atlanta portal
	State of Georgia portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fulton County, Georgia

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Fulton County, New Georgia Encyclopedia
• Documents from Fulton County at the Digital Library of Georgia
• Fulton County Jail Information

	Cobb County	Cherokee County	Forsyth County
	Carroll County, Douglas County		Gwinnett County and DeKalb County
		Fulton County, Georgia    East
	Coweta County	Fayette County	Clayton County

v t e Municipalities and communities of Fulton County, Georgia, United States County seat: Atlanta Cities Alpharetta Atlanta‡ Chattahoochee Hills College Park‡ East Point Fairburn Hapeville Johns Creek Milton Mountain Park‡ Palmetto‡ Roswell Sandy Springs Union City Unincorporated communities Campbellton Hopewell Red Oak Sandtown Serenbe Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v t e Metro Atlanta   Counties Barrow • Bartow • Butts • Carroll • Cherokee • Clayton • Cobb • Coweta • Dawson • DeKalb • Douglas • Fayette • Forsyth • Fulton • Gwinnett • Hall • Haralson • Heard • Henry • Jasper • Lamar • Meriwether • Newton • Paulding • Pickens • Pike • Rockdale • Spalding • Walton   Major city Atlanta   Municipalities & communities 100k-250k Cumberland • East Cobb • Roswell • Sandy Springs 25k-100k Alpharetta • Brookhaven • Candler-McAfee • Duluth • Dunwoody • East Point • Gainesville • Johns Creek • Lawrenceville • Mableton • Marietta • Milton • Newnan • Peachtree City • Peachtree Corners • Redan • Smyrna • Tucker 10k-25k Acworth • Belvedere Park • Buford • Carrollton • Cartersville • Chamblee • College Park • Conyers • Covington • Decatur • Doraville • Druid Hills • Douglasville • Fayetteville • Forest Park • Griffin • Kennesaw • Suwanee • Lilburn • Monroe • Mountain Park • North Decatur • North Druid Hills • Panthersville • Powder Springs • Riverdale • Snellville • Stockbridge • Sugar Hill • Union City • Vinings • Winder • Woodstock   Topics Architecture • Arts • Climate • Crime • Colleges and Universities • Demographics • Festivals • Government • Historic Districts • History • Media • Museums • Neighborhoods • Parks • People • Public Schools • Religion • Skyscrapers • Sports • Tourism • Transportation • Transportation Georgia ·  United States

v t e  State of Georgia Atlanta (capital) Topics Index Geology History Delegations Government Governors Culture People Music Elections Politics Geography State Parks Demographics Economy Sports Transportation Visitor Attractions Regions Atlantic coastal plain Blue Ridge Central Georgia Cumberland Plateau The Golden Isles Historic South Lower Coastal Plain Metro Atlanta North Georgia North Georgia Mountains Northeast Georgia Piedmont Ridge and Valley Sea Islands Southern Rivers Southeast Georgia Southwest Georgia Tennessee Valley Wiregrass Region Largest cities Albany Atlanta Athens Augusta Columbus Johns Creek Macon Marietta Roswell Valdosta Savannah Warner Robins Counties Appling Atkinson Bacon Baker Baldwin Banks Barrow Bartow Ben Hill Berrien Bibb Bleckley Brantley Brooks Bryan Bulloch Burke Butts Calhoun Camden Candler Carroll Catoosa Charlton Chatham Chattahoochee Chattooga Cherokee Clarke Clay Clayton Clinch Cobb Coffee Colquitt Columbia Cook Coweta Crawford Crisp Dade Dawson Decatur DeKalb Dodge Dooly Dougherty Douglas Early Echols Effingham Elbert Emanuel Evans Fannin Fayette Floyd Forsyth Franklin Fulton Gilmer Glascock Glynn Gordon Grady Greene Gwinnett Habersham Hall Hancock Haralson Harris Hart Heard Henry Houston Irwin Jackson Jasper Jeff Davis Jefferson Jenkins Johnson Jones Lamar Lanier Laurens Lee Liberty Lincoln Long Lowndes Lumpkin Macon Madison Marion McDuffie McIntosh Meriwether Miller Mitchell Monroe Montgomery Morgan Murray Muscogee Newton Oconee Oglethorpe Paulding Peach Pickens Pierce Pike Polk Pulaski Putnam Quitman Rabun Randolph Richmond Rockdale Schley Screven Seminole Spalding Stephens Stewart Sumter Talbot Taliaferro Tattnall Taylor Telfair Terrell Thomas Tift Toombs Towns Treutlen Troup Turner Twiggs Union Upson Walker Walton Ware Warren Washington Wayne Webster Wheeler White Whitfield Wilcox Wilkes Wilkinson Worth (Campbell) (Milton)

Coordinates: 33°47′N 84°28′W / 33.79°N 84.47°W / 33.79; -84.47

Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat:

• Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton
• Fulton County, Georgia, the most populous of Georgia's counties
• Fulton County, Illinois
• Fulton County, Indiana
• Fulton County, Kentucky
• Fulton County, New York
• Fulton County, Ohio
• Fulton County, Pennsylvania

In Other uses:

• Fulton County (novel) by James Goldman
• Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, former home to the Atlanta Braves (1966-1996) and the Atlanta Falcons (1966-1991)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.