Dacula

History

The Dacula area was originally within the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Most of the land within the city's limits was ceded to the State of Georgia in the 1790 Treaty of New York after the Oconee Wars. The vicinity of Dacula was one of the first areas in northeast Georgia to be occupied by white European settlers (around the time of the War of 1812). The area remained mostly uncolonized until the late 20th century, in part, due to the remaining presence of the Cherokee Nation in portions of Gwinnett County. After settlers lobbied for the ethnic cleansing of the Nation, the Trail of Tears (through the Indian Removal Act) made it easier for Dacula and the unannexed portions of Gwinnett to be settled. Dacula itself began in the late 1800s under the name of Chinquapin Grove (Chinquapin was spelled several different ways), where Dacula Elementary now stands. Chinquapin comes from the indigenous Powhatan word for dwarf chestnut tree (Allegheny Chinkapin). The tree is no longer found in the area due to chestnut blight. An 1865 United States Coast Survey Map shows the town of Chinquepin Grove. An 1883 George Cram Map of Georgia shows the town of Chincapin Grove. The town was renamed Hoke in 1891 after a Seaboard Air Line Railroad executive, but that name was changed due to the Post Office Department's protest. By 1895, maps of Georgia no longer showed the town of Chinquapin Grove and instead show the town of Dacula. Dacula's name is said to be formed from letters in Decatur and Atlanta by a postmaster. The two cities to the west that were already prospering at the time of Dacula's founding. The New-Herald issue dated June 16, 1899 stated that D The town was once home to a train station on a CSX line through northeast Georgia, although the station closed in the mid-1950s. In…

Geography

Dacula is located in eastern Gwinnett County, with U.S. Route 29 Business/Georgia State Route 8 (Winder Highway) the main road through the center of town. Business 29/SR 8 leads west to Lawrenceville, the county seat, and east to Winder. U.S. Route 29 (University Parkway) is a four-lane highway that bypasses Dacula to the south, with access from Harbins Road. University Parkway leads east to Athens and west to Interstate 85, which leads an additional southwest to Atlanta. The Little Mulberry Indian Mounds or the Parks-Strickland Archeological Complex are a series of carefully stacked rock piles located in Little Mulberry Park. According to the United States Census Bureau, Dacula has a total area of , of which , or 0.59%, is water. The Dacula 30019 ZIP code goes well beyond the city limits, resulting in mail delivery as far north as the unincorporated community of Hamilton Mill, south of Interstate 85.

Race & ethnicity