EAST POINT, Ga. — With nearly 132 years under its belt, the town of East Point has plenty of stories to tell. Since its inception in 1978, the East Point Historical Society has been committed, not only to preserving the history of this fine city but ensuring that residents have access to it as well.
The city that we now call ‘East Point’ was granted it's charter way, way back on August 10th, 1887 when the boundaries of the city were officially established. Although firmly rooted in the Southwest side of Atlanta, the name of the city has nothing to do with its relative placement to Atlanta. In fact, East Point derives its name from the fact that is the terminus(end) of the Atlanta & West Point Railroad which begins in West Point Georgia, where the rail line ends in the west.
This exact spot is marked by a bronze disk set in a short concrete post which resides at the foot of the re-dedicated James L. Jackson Pedestrian Bridge. The official charter stated that its (East Point) eastern terminus should be at a convenient point on the Macon & Western RR (now Central of Georgia) between “the City of Griffin and the Town of Atlanta”.
The East Point Historical Society Vice-President, G. Frederick Brown had this to say, “I would say to anybody that lives in East Point to come by and see what happened before you got here.”
The mission of the Historical Society is to maintain the east and future history of East Point by collecting, preserving and displaying its wide variety of artifacts while cooperating with like-minded agencies who possess a similar goal.
The City of East Point will be celebrating its 132nd birthday this coming Saturday in the Downtown Commons area, which, incidentally, is almost smack in the middle of the oldest part of town. For more information about the celebration, visit the city's website and for more info about the Historical Society, you can stop in on Thursdays and Saturdays or visit their website as well.
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