College Park

History

The community that became College Park was founded as Atlantic City in 1890 as a depot on the Atlanta and West Point Railroad. The town was renamed Manchester when it was incorporated as a city in 1891. It was renamed again as the city of College Park in 1896. The city's name came from being the home of Cox College (where the city hall and other buildings now stand) and Georgia Military Academy (now the Woodward Academy). The east–west avenues in College Park are named for Ivy League colleges, and the north–south streets are named for influential College Park residents. During World War I's anti-German hysteria, the name of Wilhelm Street was changed to Victoria Street in "solidarity with our British brethren." At the same time Berlin Avenue was changed to Cambridge Avenue and the name of German Lane was changed to English Lane. The history of College Park has been closely linked with what is now known as Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport—airport development having spurred several radical changes to the landscape of the municipality over the course of the 20th century. In 1966, a study funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development suggested that the introduction and expansion of jet aircraft travel would place the airport and surrounding communities, including College Park, into conflict; ultimately, the study concluded that "the only effective way to control the use of land is to own it," suggesting that the airport would have to acquire the properties it would be in conflict with in order to expand. In the 1970s and 1980s, large swaths of property in College Park were purchased using information detailed in The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Noise Land Reuse Plan, which allowed the airport to apply for federal funding to…

Geography

College Park is located on the border of Fulton and Clayton counties. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.19%, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Westlake High School
  High · Atlanta · 2,461 students · 20.9:1 ratio
• Langston Hughes High School
  High · Fairburn · 1,964 students · 18.9:1 ratio
• Banneker High School
  High · College Park · 1,610 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• Tri-Cities High School
  High · East Point · 1,483 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Maynard Jackson High School
  High · Atlanta · 1,474 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Benjamin E. Mays High School
  High · Atlanta · 1,337 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Renaissance Middle School
  Middle · Fairburn · 1,166 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• David T Howard Middle School
  Middle · Atlanta · 1,119 students · 15.3:1 ratio