Editing Tucker, Georgia (section)

==History==

===Settlers===
The [[1821 Land Lottery|1821 Georgia Land Lottery]] opened portions of state land for settlement between the [[Flint River (Georgia)|Flint]] and [[Ocmulgee River|Ocmulgee]] rivers, including present-day DeKalb County. The [[Muscogee (Creek) Nation]] ceded the land to the United States in January of that year, and drawings for lots measuring {{convert|202.5|acre}} each began in May in [[Milledgeville, Georgia|Milledgeville]], the state capital until 1868. The land grant fee was $19.00.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Fourth or 1821 Land Lottery of Georgia | publisher=Southern Historical Press, Inc. | last=Lucas | first=Silas Emmett Jr. | year=1986 | page=i}}</ref>

In 1821, the area that would become Tucker was in [[Militia (United States)|Militia District]] 572 in [[Henry County, Georgia|Henry County]]. The state created DeKalb County on December 9, 1822, and District 572 became DeKalb's 18th District, or the Brownings District, reportedly named for Andrew Browning.<ref>{{cite book | title=Georgia Counties: Their Changing Boundaries | publisher=Georgia Department of Archives and History, a Division of the Office of Secretary of State Max Cleland | last1=Bryant | first1=Pat | last2=Shields | first2=Ingrid | year=1983 | pages=50, 62, 67}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=A History of Tucker 1821-1942 | publisher=Tucker Historical Society | last=Timmons | first=Elias W. (Tim) | year=2013 | page=19}}</ref>

Among the thirty [[cemetery|cemeteries]] within a {{convert|4|mi|adj=on|0}} radius of Main Street, approximately 30 [[grave]]s belong to individuals born in the 18th century, four of whom are [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] soldiers. Twelve graves belong to [[Confederate States Army|Confederate soldiers]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Cemetery Record of Tucker, Georgia and Environs (DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties) | publisher=The R. J. Taylor, Jr., Foundation | last=Brooke | first=Ted O. | year=2012 | pages=189–190}}</ref>

=== American Civil War===
In spite of DeKalb County delegates voting against secession from the United States, Georgia joined the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] and seceded from the Union in 1861. The full reality of that decision marched into Tucker in July 1864. [[Union Army|Union soldiers]] camped at Henderson's Mill, used the Brownings Courthouse, one of the few buildings in the area they did not burn, dismantled the railroad to [[Stone Mountain, Georgia|Stone Mountain]], and formed the left wing of [[William Tecumseh Sherman|Sherman]]'s advance to Atlanta.
[[File:Henderson's Mill Map 1864.JPG|thumb|left|Map of Tucker area during the U.S. Civil War]]

===Railroad===
[[File:USGU Tucker, Georgia Map.jpg|thumb|19th century geological survey showing railroad in Tucker]]

In 1886 the [[Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway]] received a charter to build a new rail line between [[Monroe, North Carolina]], and Atlanta. Prior to the project's completion, the company leased the road to the [[Seaboard Air Line Railroad]] system, a collection of regional railroads headquartered in [[North Carolina]] eager to extend its reach to Atlanta.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofbo18nort_0#page/220/mode/1up | title=Second Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of North Carolina, for the Year Ending December 31, 1892. | publisher=Railroad Commission of North Carolina | access-date=January 21, 2014 | year=1893 | page=220}}</ref>

Seaboard built depots at a number of small villages, often little more than a crossroads, and named them for railroad company officials. The depot at Jug Tavern, for example, was named for Seaboard's general manager, John H. Winder. The stop at Bryan was named in honor of the system's general superintendent, Lilburn Meyers. Although the origin of the name is unknown, it is possible that the next stop, in the Brownings District, may have been named for Rufus S. Tucker, a director and major shareholder in several Seaboard system railroads. At the DeKalb County Centennial Celebration in 1922, Charles Murphey Candler stated that Tucker a “prosperous and promising village on the Seaboard Air Line Railway... was named in honor of Capt. Tucker, an official of the Seaboard Air Railway.” Some residents attribute the name to a local family with the surname Tucker.<ref>{{cite book | title=DeKalb County Centennial Celebration at Decatur, Georgia November 9, 1922 Historical Address by Hon. Charles Murphey Candler | publisher=DeKalb County Centennial Association | last=Candler | first=Charles Murphey | year=1922 | page=21}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=A History of Tucker 1821-1942 | publisher=Tucker Historical Society | last=Timmons | first=Elias W. (Tim) | year=2013 | page=98}}</ref>

[[File:Map of DeKalb County, Georgia, 1895..jpg|thumb|left|1895 Map of DeKalb County, Georgia, including Tucker.]]

The first train steamed into the new Tucker station on Sunday, April 24, 1892. Originating in [[Elberton, Georgia|Elberton]] with a final destination of the Atlanta suburb of [[Inman Park]] — a four-hour trip — the Seaboard train consisted of two cars carrying 150 passengers and a baggage car.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/stream/annualreportofbo18nort_0#page/224/mode/2up | title=Second Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of North Carolina, for the Year Ending December 31, 1892. | publisher=Railroad Commission of North Carolina | access-date=January 21, 2014 | year=1893 | page=224}}</ref> Two months later the [[United States Postal Service|US Postal Service]] appointed Alpheus G. Chewning first Postmaster of the Tucker Post office. [[Rural Free Delivery]] began on March 2, 1903.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://webpmt.usps.gov/pmt002.cfm | title=Postmaster Finder Postmasters by City, Tucker Post Office, DeKalb County, Georgia | publisher=United States Postal Service | access-date=February 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/first-rfd-georgia.pdf | title=First Rural Routes by State | publisher=United States Postal Service | date=April 2008 | access-date=February 17, 2014}}</ref>

On Saturday, July 1, 1967, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad merged with the [[Atlantic Coast Line Railroad|Atlantic Coast Line]] to form Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. In 1983 The line became Seaboard System and merged with the Chesapeake & Ohio, Baltimore & Ohio and the Western Maryland in 1986 [[Chessie System]] to form current railroad operator, [[CSX Transportation|CSXT]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Seaboard Coast Line & Family Lines | publisher=TLC Publishing | last=Griffin | first=William | year=2004 | pages=4–16 | isbn=0-9766201-0-3}}</ref>
Although no longer a train stop for passengers, the Tucker depot is currently a CSX field office for track repair and signal maintenance.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://maps.google.com/maps?q=CSX+Transportation+4312+Railroad+Ave,+Tucker,+GA+%E2%80%8E&ie=UTF-8&ei=9bKqUqbTGeu-sQTx_4DYDg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg | title=CSX Transportation 4312 Railroad Ave, Tucker, GA 30084 | access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref>

Tucker, at {{convert|1117|ft|m}} above sea level, is the highest point of elevation on the railroad line between Atlanta and [[Richmond, Virginia]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Cemetery Record of Tucker, Georgia and Environs (DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties) | publisher=The R. J. Taylor, Jr., Foundation | last=Brooke | first=Ted O. | year=2012 | page=vii}}</ref>

=== 20th century ===
Following [[World War II]], Tucker began a steady transition from an agricultural community to a mixed industrial, retail, and residential area. The strength of a county-wide [[water system]] extending into Tucker by the 1950s, and the post war establishment of nearby employers in other areas of the county including the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] in 1946 (originally known as the Communicable Disease Center),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cdc.gov/museum/history/our-story.html | title=Our History - Our Story &#124; David J. Sencer CDC Museum &#124; CDC | date=April 19, 2023 }}</ref> [[General Motors]] in [[Doraville, Georgia|Doraville]], [[Kraft Foods]] and a large Veterans' Hospital in [[Decatur, Georgia|Decatur]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.va.gov/atlanta-health-care/ | title=VA Atlanta health care }}</ref> and the growth of [[Emory University]], brought new residents to Tucker from across the nation. Descendants of early settlers subdivided and sold family land for neighborhoods and [[strip mall|shopping plazas]]. Local community leaders opened Tucker Federal Savings and Loan, created a youth football league, and by the 1960s newspapers identified Tucker as “DeKalb’s Area of Golden Opportunity.”  The [[post–World War II baby boom]] drove the growth of DeKalb County schools and with the affordability of the car, the expansion of the [[US Highway System|highway system]], and inexpensive fuel, Tucker became an ideal location to call home.<ref>{{cite book | title=Mr. DeKalb | publisher=Dixon's Inc. | last=Shelton | first=Morris | year=1971 | pages=49–50}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=From Cotton Fields to High Technology in Tucker, Georgia | publisher=Tucker Historical Society | last=Turner | first=Dewey | year=2009 | edition=Reprint | page=80}}</ref>

=== 21st century ===
A [[Hondurans|Honduran]] immigrant, who had permission to live and work in the United States while his asylum application proceeded, was arrested in Tucker by [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement|Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)]] agents during Sunday church services. The man was reported to have been worshiping in the church at a church he helped found with his wife and children when he was summoned outside by the agents. The arrest was the first reported ICE raid at a church during the second term of President [[Donald Trump]].<ref>Andy Olsen. [https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/01/should-churches-fear-ice-raids-atlanta/ When ICE Comes to Church.] Christianity Today, January 31, 2025.</ref>