Community Lens for Nov. 30

“This shot grabbed me while I was passing the old iron works on lunch break on Howell Mill Road,” wrote Lisa Johnston of Marietta. “The juxtaposition of old and new Atlanta captures the eternal struggle of our city ever since Sherman came through.” The city that become Atlanta after the Civil War began as the endpoint of the Western and Atlantic Railroad (aptly named Terminus) in 1837. Atlanta grew quickly with the completion of The Georgia Railway in 1845 and the Macon & Western in 1846. In 1860, Atlanta was a relatively small city ranking 99th in the United States in size with a population of 9,554 according to the 1860 United States Census. However, it was the 12th-largest city in what became the Confederate States of America. A large number of machine shops, foundries and other industrial concerns were soon established in Atlanta. The population swelled to nearly 22,000 as workers arrived for these new factories and warehouses.