Atlanta is an unincorporated town

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Elmore County

Elmore County, Idaho

Elmore County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2010 Census the county had a population of 27,038, down 7.2% from 29,130 in 2000. The largest city and county seat is Mountain Home....

, Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was founded in 1864 during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 as a gold and silver mining community and named by Southerners after a rumored Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 victory over General Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...

 in the Battle of Atlanta

Battle of Atlanta

The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply center of Atlanta, Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman overwhelmed...

, which turned to be wholly false, but the name stuck. While the official website for the town indicates it was settled in 1863 , the town was not settled until 1864. Mining activity near Atlanta preceded its establishment as a mining community. The John Stanley party discovered gold on the nearby Yuba River on July 20, 1864, just two days prior to the battle back in Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. That November, John Simmons made the discovery of the Atlanta lode which contained both gold and silver.

Atlanta is at an elevation of 5383 feet (1640 m) above sea level surrounded by the Boise National Forest

Boise National Forest

The Boise National Forest is a US national forest located north and east of the city of Boise, Idaho. It is about 2,612,000 acres in size, ranging in elevation from 2,600 to 9,800 feet . The mountainous landscape developed through uplifting, faulting, and stream cutting...

, located near the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Boise River

Boise River

The Boise River is a tributary of the Snake River in the northwestern United States. It drains a rugged portion of the Sawtooth Range in southwestern Idaho northeast of Boise, as well as part of the western Snake River Plain...

, approximately 2 miles east of the mouth of the Yuba River. The Sawtooth Mountains

Sawtooth Range (Idaho)

The Sawtooth Range is part of the Rocky Mountains, located within a few miles south of Stanley, Idaho, in the Western United States. Much of mountain range is within the Sawtooth Wilderness, part of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area...

 are directly north, and Idaho City

Idaho City, Idaho

Idaho City is a city in and the county seat of Boise County, Idaho, United States, located about northeast of Boise. The population was 458 at the 2000 census.Idaho City is part of the Boise City–Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

 is approximately 35 miles (56 km) due west, as the crow flies

As the crow flies

"As the crow flies" or beelining is an idiom for the shortest route between two points; the geodesic distance.An example is the great-circle distance between Key West and Pensacola, at either end of the U.S...

.

Atlanta is about 40 miles (64.4 km) from two paved highways. It is east of State Highway 21

Idaho State Highway 21

Idaho State Highway 21 is the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, primarily a two-lane highway from Boise to Stanley. With two-thirds of its length in Boise County, it passes by historic Idaho City and the village of Lowman to the western edge of the Sawtooth Mountains, then along their northern...

, accessed on unimproved U.S. Forest Service

United States Forest Service

The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...

 roads. Atlanta is north of U.S. Highway 20, which is accessed by heading south on USFS roads through Rocky Bar, Featherville, and Pine. The junction with US-20 is just east of the Anderson Ranch Reservoir

Anderson Ranch Dam

Anderson Ranch Dam is an earth rockfill type dam on the South Fork of the Boise River, in Elmore County, Idaho, U.S.A. Its reservoir is plainly called "Anderson Ranch Reservoir" and has a spillway elevation of 4196 feet above sea level...

 on the South Fork of the Boise River
Atlanta can also be accessed by following the unimproved road from Arrowrock Dam

Arrowrock Dam

Arrowrock Dam is a concrete arch type dam on the Boise River, in Idaho, U.S.A. It opened in 1915 and is located on the border between Boise County and Elmore County, upstream of the Lucky Peak Dam and reservoir...

which climbs with the Middle Fork of the Boise River.

Though founded as a mining community, and a number of private claims remain in the area, no significant commercial mining has occurred in the area for over 50 years, though more recently inquiries into opening a new plant have seen some headway. In place of mining, Atlanta has diversified into areas such as tourism, back-country activities, and preservation of the town's lengthy historic legacy.