Editing Powder Springs, Georgia (section)

== History ==

The town of Powder Springs was incorporated as '''Springville''' in 1838 in the lands of two [[Cherokee]] leaders. [[Gold]] had been discovered in Georgia 10 years earlier, and the first European-American settlers came to find gold. The settlers found little gold in the mines at Lost Mountain and off Brownsville Road. It was at about this time that the Cherokee people were forced off their land and [[Indian Removal|removed]] to [[Indian Territory]] west of the Mississippi River on the [[Trail of Tears]].

Springville was renamed Powder Springs in 1859. The name was derived from the seven [[spring (hydrology)|springs]] in the city limits.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=8154|title= Profile for Powder Springs, Georgia, GA|publisher= ePodunk |access-date= September 4, 2012}}</ref> The water in these springs contains some 26 [[mineral]]s that turn the surrounding sand black like [[gunpowder]] – hence the earlier name of Gunpowder Springs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://powdersprings.georgia.gov/05/home/detail/0,2232,8315379,00.html|title=Powder Springs|website=Georgia.gov|access-date=11 July 2018}}</ref>

[[American Civil War|Civil War]] history includes a skirmish at Lattermore's Mills on June 20, 1864, which was a part of the [[Battle of Kennesaw Mountain]] and [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]]'s [[Atlanta Campaign]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1864/june_20_1864_55865.html|title=Skirmish at Lattermore's Mills/Powder Springs Georgia...June 20 in History |website=BrainyHistory.com|access-date=11 July 2018}}</ref> Many slaves escaped the plantations in this area to join Sherman's forces and gain freedom.

In 2015, the city elected its first black mayor, Al Thurman. He was the first [[African-American]] to be elected as a mayor in Cobb County, but was one of several elected in small towns in Georgia in 2015.<ref name="pratt">[http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/2/16/black-mayors-georgia-towns.html Timothy Pratt, "New black mayors make a difference, one Georgia town at a time"], ''Aljazeera'' (US), 16 February 2016; accessed 12 December 2016</ref><ref>[http://www.cityofpowdersprings.org/156/City-Council-Members "City Council Members and Mayor"], City of Powder Springs</ref>