Neigborhood Info
History of Powder Springs
History of Powder Springs
Powder Springs is a quaint community about 20 miles west of downtown Atlanta. Our City offers a quiet, serene, and active lifestyle while having the convenience of all the amenitities of a major metropolitan area. Our City's history is rich and colorful...
Settlers came in numbers when the land in the area of Powder Springs became available through the Gold Lottery in the 1830s and in 1838 the Town of Springville was incorporated. Springville became known for the seven medicinal mineral springs surrounding the area. The mineral water from these springs caused the sand around the springs to turn black like gunpowder and the City was incorporated as Powder Springs in 1859..
In the 1850s Powder Springs became known as a health resort. Since the water from these springs could not be transported, people came from great distances to partake. In some cases, doctors prescribed a trip to the springs as a treatment for patients with serious kidney and bladder disease.
The Civil War put an end to Powder Springs as a health resort, General Sherman's troops occupied this area for some time, destroying the Baptist and Methodist Churches and using the Presbyterian Church as a stable for their horses.
After the Civil War and before the coming of the boll weevil, Powder Springs was a thriving agricultural town with two gins, a cotton warehouse, two drugstores, two barber shops, several doctors, numerous merchandise and grocery stores, and a bank. After the Civil War, the springs attracted groups from neighboring communities, including Atlanta, for recreational purposes. School groups, clubs, and church groups picnicked and then enjoyed the dance pavilion, the ball diamond, wading in the shallow water of Powder Creek and fishing. However, the boll weevil took its toll, and the depression of 1929 was devastating to the City.
During the 1930's and early 1940's propriety began to return and the City has grown to a population of over 15,000, while maintaining the feel of that community where people traveled far and wide to visit in the 1800s.
For more information, please visit the the official
Powder Springs website.
