Interesting facts about Gwinnett County
Gwinnett County was created on December 15, 1818. The county is named for Button Gwinnett. Button Gwinnett was one of the three Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Button Gwinnett never lived in Gwinnett County. He died in a duel and is buried in Savannah, GA
Auburn, GA
Auburn was established in 1892 and got its name from the special red clay that was used to dye cloth auburn-red.
Bufurd
Buford was named after Algernon Sidney Buford, who at the time was president of the Atlanta and Richmond Air-Line Railway
Berkeley Lake:
Frank Coggins developed a 700-acre development in the 1940s. In 1948, a 88 acres dam was built. This dam created Berkeley Lake which was named in honor of Coggins’ Berkeley Blue Granite Quarries in Elberton, Georgia.
Braselton
Braselton, GA has its footprints in four counties: Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties.
In 1876 William Harrison Braselton bought 800 acres of land and built a plantation on it. Braselton was incorporated in 1916.
Dacula, GA
Dacula is a portmanteau. It is the combination of Decatur and Atlanta.
Doraville (Atlanta)
Doraville is located in both Gwinnett and Dekalb counties. Doraville was incorporated in 1871. Doraville is named for Dora Jack, the daughter of a local Southern Railway official.
Duluth, GA
Duluth is named in honor of Daniel Greysolon Du Luth who was a French captain and explorer. He was born in Saint Germain Laval (Loire – France). He negotiated and signed a peace treaty between Saulters and Sioux nations in the area of the city of Duluth, Minnesota on September 15, 1679.
Dunwoody
Dunwoody was incorporated in 2008. Dunwoody came about as a misspelling? It sure seems that way. Dunwoody is named after Confederate soldier Charles Dunwody.
Grayson,GA
Grayson was not originally called Grayson. It was called Trip in 1881 after a post office was built there. It was later suggested that the name be changed to Berkeley, which was approved in 1901. However, a name change was requested because another city bore that name. Graymont was suggested because of the ability to see Stone Mountain. However, they finally settled at Grayson. Grayson was approved by Georgia’s General Assembly in 1902.
Lawrenceville, GA
The city is named after Commodore James Lawrence. Lawrence was the commander of the frigate Chesapeake during the War of 1812. William Maltbie, the town’s first postmaster, suggested the name of “Lawrenceville.”
Lilburn, GA
Lilburn was incorporated in 1910. It was named after Lilburn Trigg Myer. Myers was the railroad superintendent for the Seaboard Air Line Railway.
Loganville, GA
Loganville was incorporated in 1887. The City of Loganville is named for James Harvie Logan. Logan was a farmer and shoemaker from Tennessee. He purchased the original 62.5 acres in 1842 at an auction.
Norcross, GA
Incorporated in 1870, Norcross is named after Jonathan Norcross. He was a good friend of Atlanta businessman, John J. Thrasher, who purchased 250 acres of land near the first stop north along the proposed Richmond Danville rail lines. Norcross was the second city in Gwinnett County.
Peachtree Corners
Peachtree Corners is the County’s newest city. Before Peachtree Corners, the area was called Pinckneyville. It was incorporated in 2012. In the late 1960s, businessman Paul Duke pitched the idea of creating Peachtree Corners. Paul Duke STEM High School bears his name.
Suwanee, GA
Suwanee was incorporated in 1949. The area was originally settled by Shawnee Native Americans. Later, both Cherokee and Creek came to the area they referred to as Suwanee Old Town.
Sugarhill, GA
Sugarhill was named after an incident where a large shipment of sugar spilled and the area became known as “the hill where the sugar spilled” or “the sugar hill”.
