Q: I saw a recent column regarding the origin of Snellville. I tried to research the origin of Panthersville, as in the area and road in DeKalb County, but could find nothing. Any ideas?
—Bob Altman, Atlanta
A: Let's let the cat out of the bag.
Or at least add to the numerous stories of panther sightings in Georgia, this one in a portion of DeKalb County near where Interstate 285 and Interstate 20 now meet.
Folks have been telling the tale of Panthersville’s origins for 150 years, which likely earned its name from one of those mysterious big cats that supposedly still roam our state.
Renowned Atlanta historian Franklin Garrett said the name probably dates to the early or middle 1830s, as author Kenneth Krakow wrote in “Georgia Place-Names.”
The most common version of the tale goes something like this (thanks to information provided by the DeKalb History Center):
A Decatur couple and their infant child were chased by a panther about 185 years ago.
Piromis H. Bell, whose family owned a plantation in the area, wrote in the DeKalb New Era how his grandfather told him the tale when he was 7 years old in 1865.
“Right up there in the swamps of Shoal Creek, they killed a panther measuring 11 feet from tip to tip,” his grandfather said.
In a letter dated Dec. 20, 1939, Scott Candler, DeKalb County’s Commissioner of Roads and Revenues, explained the origin of the name, as recorded by Vivian Price in “The History of DeKalb County.”
A family named Johnson (or Lochlin) lived where Blue Creek flows into South River. Their son, daughter-in-law and infant grandchild were leaving Panthersville, headed back to their home in Decatur, when a panther started to chase them.
The area just south of Panthersville, on South River, was a swamp, and the commissioner hypothesized that even then, development was pushing wildlife onto the unusable land.
“I know of no better explanation of how Panthersville District secured its name,” Candler said in the letter.
Hal E. Brinkley, who wrote “How Georgia Got Her Names” in 1967, gave one alternative. He says it was named for a Cherokee Indian clan.
Regardless, Panthersville was unique in the early 20th century because it had a public library. The area also has twice had a post office and one of the county’s militia districts was named Panthersville.
These days, Panthersville is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau, which uses its boundaries to tract demographics.
In the 2010 census, 9,749 people lived there, a drop from the 11,791 people residents during the 2000 count.
And next time someone asks you about the origin of Panthersville, maybe the cat won’t have your tongue.
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