🍑Georgia

The Peach State · The Empire State of the South

Georgia was the last of the thirteen original colonies, founded in 1733 as a buffer between Spanish Florida and the wealthier Carolinas. Today it is the largest state east of the Mississippi by area and a political and economic powerhouse of the New South, anchored by Atlanta — one of the largest metropolitan regions in the country.

Oglethorpe's Colony

General James Oglethorpe founded Georgia in 1733 with a charter from King George II, for whom the colony was named. Oglethorpe envisioned a refuge for the "worthy poor" of Britain and banned slavery, rum, and large land grants. All three bans were later reversed. Savannah, the colony's first settlement, was laid out on a grid of 24 public squares that remains largely intact.

Civil War and Sherman's March

Georgia seceded in 1861. In the summer of 1864, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman captured Atlanta after months of fighting, then burned much of the city and embarked on his "March to the Sea" — 300 miles of destruction designed to break Confederate will. Sherman reached Savannah on December 21, 1864, offering the port to Lincoln as a "Christmas gift."

Atlanta Rises

Rebuilt after the Civil War, Atlanta became the commercial capital of the New South. The city hosted the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Today it is home to the world's busiest airport (Hartsfield-Jackson), the Coca-Cola Company (founded in 1886 by Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton), Delta Air Lines, and Home Depot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been headquartered in Atlanta since 1946.

Civil Rights Cradle

Atlanta was home to Martin Luther King Jr., born there in 1929, educated at Morehouse College, and pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. The King Center and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park preserve his birthplace and tomb in the city's Sweet Auburn district.

Georgia Facts

• Georgia produces more peanuts than any other state — about half of the U.S. crop.
• Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, grew up on a peanut farm in Plains, Georgia.
• The Masters golf tournament has been held at Augusta National since 1934.
• The Okefenokee Swamp in southeastern Georgia is one of the largest intact freshwater wetlands in North America.
• Stone Mountain near Atlanta is the largest exposed granite monolith in the world.

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