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Cumming, Georgia

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Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement

Cumming is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, Georgia, United States,<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> and the sole incorporated area in the county. It is a suburban city, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. In the 2020 census, the population is 7,318, up from 5,430 in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Surrounding unincorporated areas with a Cumming mailing address have a population of approximately 100,000.

History

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File:Cherokeenation1830map.jpg
1830 map of Cherokee territory

The area now called Cumming is located west of the historic location of Vann's Ferry between Forsyth County and Hall County.

Early history

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The area, now called Cumming, was inhabited earlier by Cherokee tribes, who are thought to have arrived in the mid-18th century.Template:Citation needed The Cherokee and Creek people developed disputes over hunting land. After two years of fighting, the Cherokee won the land in the Battle of Taliwa. The Creek people were forced to move south of the Chattahoochee River.<ref name="source1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="source2">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Cherokee1834.jpg
1834 map of counties that were created from Cherokee land. Cumming is shown in the middle of Forsyth County.

The Cherokee coexisted with white settlers until the discovery of gold in Georgia in 1828. Settlers that moved to the area to mine for gold pushed for the removal of the Cherokee. In 1835, the Treaty of New Echota was signed. The treaty stated that the Cherokee Nation must move to the Indian Territory, west of the Mississippi River. This resulted in the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee territory was then formed into Cherokee County in 1831. In 1832, the county had been split into several counties including Forsyth County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1833, the town of Cumming was formed from two Template:Convert land lots that had been issued as part of a Georgia State Land Lottery in 1832. The two lots designated as Land Lot 1269 and Land Lot 1270 were purchased by a couple of Forsyth County Inferior Court justices who realized that it was necessary to have a seat of government to conduct county business. The boundaries of the two lots ended at what is now Tolbert Street on the west side, Eastern Circle on the east side, Resthaven Street on the south side, and School Street on the north side. In 1834 the post office was established and began delivering mail. The justices of the Inferior Court divided the town land into smaller lots and began selling them to people over the next several years, reserving one lot for the county courthouse. During that same year, the Georgia State Legislature incorporated the town of Cumming into the City of Cumming and made it the official government seat of Forsyth County.

A second charter was issued in 1845, decreeing that Cumming's government would follow the mayor–council model of government.<ref name="cumming-admin">Template:Cite web</ref>

The community is commonly thought to be named after Colonel William Cumming.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> An alternate theory proposed by a local historian posits the name honors Rev. Frederick Cumming, a professor of Jacob Scudder, a resident of the area since 1815 who owned land in present-day downtown.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yet another theory is that the town is named after Alexander Cuming, the son of a Scottish baronet.<ref>Wait, you're from where? 11 towns and cities with suggestive names.</ref>

Modern history

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During the 1830s and 1840s, Cumming benefited from the gold mining industry as many businesses were created to meet the needs of the miners. However, the California Gold Rush in 1849 put the city into an economic depression. Newly built railroads bypassed the city and took traffic from the Federal Road that ran near Cumming. The city was spared during the Civil War because William T. Sherman did not pass through the city during his March to the Sea. In 1900, the county courthouse was destroyed in a fire after being struck by lightning; it was rebuilt in 1905.<ref name="source1"/><ref name="source2"/>

1912 racial conflict of Cumming

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Template:Main In 1912, Governor Joseph M. Brown sent four companies of state militia to Cumming to prevent riots after two reported attacks of young white women, allegedly by black men. A suspect in the second assault, in which the victim was also raped and later died, was dragged from the Cumming county jail and lynched. The governor then declared martial law, but the effort did little to stop a month-long barrage of attacks by night riders on the black citizens. This led to the banishment of blacks, and the city had virtually no black population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Better source needed

Template:Main Racial tensions were strained again in 1987 when a group of black people were assaulted while camping at a park on Lake Lanier. This was widely reported by local newspapers and in Atlanta. As a result of this, a local businessmanTemplate:Refn decided to hold a "Peace March" the following week. Civil rights leader Reverend Hosea Williams joined the local businessman in a march along Bethelview and Castleberry Road in south Forsyth County into the City of Cumming where they were assaulted by whites. The marchers retreated and vowed to return. During the following "Brotherhood March" on January 24, 1987, another racially mixed group returned to Forsyth County to complete the march the previous group had been unable to finish. March organizers estimated the number at 20,000, while police estimates ran from 12,000 to 14,000. Hosea Williams and former senator Gary Hart were in the demonstration. A group of the National Guard kept the opposition of about 1,000 in check. Oprah Winfrey featured Cumming and Forsyth County on her The Oprah Winfrey Show. She formed a town hall meeting where one audience member said:

Template:Cquote

File:USACE Buford Dam Georgia.jpg
Buford Dam, impounding Lake Lanier on the Chattahoochee River southeast of Cumming

However, most of the audience members agreed that Forsyth County should integrate. Williams was excluded from Oprah's show and arrested for trespassing.

City growth

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Today, the city is experiencing new growth and bears little resemblance to the small rural town it was mere decades ago. The completion of Georgia 400 has helped turn Cumming into a commuter town for metropolitan Atlanta. The city holds the Cumming Country Fair & Festival every October. The Sawnee Mountain Preserve provides views of the city from the top of Sawnee Mountain.<ref name="source1"/> In 1956, Buford Dam, along the Chattahoochee River, started operating. The reservoir that it created is called Lake Lanier.<ref name="source2"/> The lake, a popular spot for boaters, has generated income from tourists for Cumming as well as provides a source of drinking water.

Geography

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Cumming is located in the center of Forsyth County at Template:Coord (34.208464, -84.137575).<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> It is Template:Convert northeast of downtown Atlanta and Template:Convert northeast of Alpharetta.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Cumming has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert, or 0.58%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

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Template:US Census population

Cumming racial composition as of 2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 3,999 54.65%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 333 4.55%
Native American 6 0.08%
Asian 589 8.05%
Pacific Islander 2 0.03%
Other/Mixed 279 3.81%
Hispanic or Latino 2,110 28.83%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,318 people, 2,480 households, and 1,368 families residing in the city.

Government

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File:Cumming mayor.jpg
Mayor H. Ford Gravitt and the city council pictured at the Independence Day parade in 2002.

Cumming is a municipal corporation; since 1845 it has been governed by a mayor and a five-member city council. The mayor and council members serve staggered four-year terms.

On DecemberTemplate:Nbsp22, 1834, Cumming was officially incorporated and five councilmen were appointed: John Jolly, William Martin, Daniel McCoy, John H. Russell, and Daniel Smith. The town of Cumming's charter was revised on DecemberTemplate:Nbsp22, 1845, resulting in new councilmen William F. Foster, Arthur Irwin, Major J. Lewis, Henry L. Sims, and Noah Strong.<ref name="barrett-cumming-1993">Template:Cite book</ref>

House BillTemplate:Nbsp334 was enacted on OctoberTemplate:Nbsp10, 1885, giving Cumming a mayor and five-person city council.

Former mayor H. Ford Gravitt was first elected to the city council in 1966, and went on to be elected mayor in 1970.<ref name="ajc-estep-nov-2017"/> Gravitt was mayor of Cumming for 48 years before losing to rival candidate Troy Brumbalow. Brumbalow has held the office since January 2018<ref name="cumming-admin"/> and was re-elected in November 2021.

City Council

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Year Mayor Post 1 Post 2 Post 3 Post 4 Post 5
2011 H. Ford Gravitt Rupert Sexton Quincy Holton Lewis Ledbetter John Pugh Ralph Perry
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016 Chuck Welch Christopher Light<ref name="nf-2015">Template:Cite web</ref> Linda Ledbetter
2017
2018 Troy Brumbalow Chad Crane Jason Evans
2019
2020 Joey Cochran
2021
2022
2023
2024 Susie Charles-Carr

Previous city council members

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  • William F. Foster, 1845
  • H. Ford Gravitt, 1966–1970
  • Quincy Holton, 1969–2017 (Post 2)<ref name="ajc-estep-nov-2017">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Arthur Irwin, 1845
  • John Jolly, 1834
  • Lewis Ledbetter, 1971–2019 (Post 3)
  • Linda Ledbetter, 2016–2019
  • Major J. Lewis, 1845
  • William Martin, 1834
  • Daniel McCoy, 1834
  • Dot Otwell,<ref name="fcn-2015">Template:Cite web</ref> 1956–1957
  • Ralph Perry,<ref name="strategy-manual">Template:Cite web</ref> 1979–2016 (Post 4)
  • John D. Pugh,<ref name="ajc-torpy-2015">Template:Cite web</ref> 1993–2016 (Post 5)
  • John H. Russell, 1834
  • Rupert Sexton,<ref name="ajc-torpy-2015"/> 1970–2015 (Post 1; mayor pro tem)<ref name="strategy-manual"/>
  • Henry L. Sims, 1845
  • Daniel Smith, 1834
  • Noah Strong, 1845
  • Kenneth J. Vanderhoff,<ref name="strategy-manual"/> 1987–1990
  • Charles Welch, 1972–1986<ref name="fcn-2015"/>
  • Chuck Welch,<ref name="ct-1987">Template:Cite web</ref> 2015–2017 (Post 1)<ref name="fcn-2015"/>

Previous mayors

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Many historical records have been destroyed in fires, leaving some information unavailable or unverifiable.<ref name="barrett-cumming-1993"/>

  • W. W. Pirkle (possible)
  • T. J. Pirkle (possible)
  • E. F. Smith (possible)
  • Charles Leon Harris, term dates unknown (also Forsyth County School Superintendent, 1912–1916)<ref name="barrett-cumming-1993"/>
  • Alman Gwinn Hockenhull, term dates unknown (also Cumming Postmaster, 1913–1922)
  • Enoch Wesley Mashburn, 1913–?
  • Marcus Mashburn Sr., 1917; 1961–1966<ref name="strategy-manual"/>
  • Joseph Gaither Puett, 1918–1919<ref name="bramblett-bagley-1999">Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Henry Lowndes "Snacks" Patterson, 1920–1921 (also Georgia General Assembly representative, 1884–1885; Commissioner of Public Instruction, 1892–1910; Blue Ridge Circuit Court judge, 1912–1917)<ref name="barrett-cumming-1993"/>
  • John Dickerson Black, 1922–1923 (also Georgia General Assembly representative, 1933–1936)
  • Andrew Benjamin "Ben" Tollison, 1926–1927 (also Forsyth County School Superintendent, 1920–1932)<ref name="barrett-cumming-1993"/>
  • Roy Pilgrim Otwell, 1928–1956; 1959–1960
  • Marcus Mashburn Jr., 1957–1958
  • George Ingram, 1966–1970
  • H. Ford Gravitt, 1970–2018

Education

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Cumming is served by Forsyth County Schools. The following schools are located in the county school district:

Elementary schools

  • Big Creek Elementary
  • Brandywine Elementary
  • Brookwood Elementary
  • Chattahoochee Elementary
  • Chestatee Elementary
  • Coal Mountain Elementary
  • Cumming Elementary
  • Daves Creek Elementary
  • Haw Creek Elementary
  • Johns Creek Elementary
  • Kelly Mill Elementary
  • Mashburn Elementary
  • Matt Elementary
  • Midway Elementary
  • Poole's Mill Elementary
  • Sawnee Elementary
  • Settles Bridge Elementary
  • Sharon Elementary
  • Shiloh Point Elementary
  • Silver City Elementary
  • Vickery Creek Elementary
  • Whitlow Elementary

Middle schools

  • Veritas Classical Schools
  • DeSana Middle
  • Hendricks Middle
  • Lakeside Middle
  • Liberty Middle
  • Little Mill Middle
  • North Forsyth Middle
  • Otwell Middle
  • Piney Grove Middle
  • Riverwatch Middle
  • South Forsyth Middle
  • Vickery Creek Middle

High schools

Alternative schools

  • Creative Montessori School
  • Forsyth Academy
  • Forsyth Virtual Academy
  • Gateway Academy

Higher education

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File:University of North Georgia Cumming Library.jpg
The library at the University of North Georgia Cumming campus.

In 2012, the University of North Georgia established its Cumming campus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

  • Montessori Academy at Sharon Springs
  • Mountain Education

Transportation

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Major highways

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Pedestrians and cycling

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Notable people

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See also

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Notes

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References

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Template:Commons category

Template:Forsyth County, Georgia Template:Georgia county seats

Template:Authority control

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