Duluth, Georgia
Encyclopedia
Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia
Gwinnett County, Georgia
, Gwinnett County had a population of 805,321. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 53.3% white , 23.6% black , 2.7% Korean, 2.6% Asian Indian, 2.0% Vietnamese, 3.3% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% some other race and 3.1% from two or more races...

 and an increasingly more affluent and developed suburb of Atlanta. Unincorporated portions of Forsyth County
Forsyth County, Georgia
Forsyth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The county seat is Cumming, Georgia. Forsyth County is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

 also have Duluth as a mailing address, though this area is outside city limits. Much of the adjacent city of Johns Creek
Johns Creek, Georgia
Johns Creek is a suburban city in Fulton County, Georgia, USA, which incorporated December 1, 2006. It is named for a tributary that runs through the area. The city was created out of the northeastern part of unincorporated Fulton County...

 (incorporated in 2006) uses one of the Duluth ZIP codes.

As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 26,600.

Duluth is a suburb of Atlanta, close to Interstate 85
Interstate 85
Interstate 85 is a major interstate highway in the Southeastern United States. Its current southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus interchanges with Interstate 95 in Petersburg, Virginia, near Richmond...

. It is home to Gwinnett Place Mall
Gwinnett Place Mall
Gwinnett Place Mall is a super-regional shopping center located in Duluth, Georgia, in Gwinnett County. For the first 16 years, Gwinnett Place was the leading mall in the region, drawing shoppers from as far away as South Carolina and centering what was then one of the fastest growing counties in...

, Gwinnett Civic and Cultural Center, Arena at Gwinnett Center
Arena at Gwinnett Center
The Arena at Gwinnett Center is an indoor arena in Duluth, Georgia, United States. The arena was an expansion to the Gwinnett Center, which also includes a performing arts center and a convention center...

, Hudgens Center for the Arts and Red Clay Theater. It is also home to Gwinnett Medical Center
Gwinnett Medical Center
Gwinnett Medical Center is a not-for-profit network of healthcare facilities and providers in Gwinnett County, Georgia comprising the following licensed facilities:* GMC-Lawrenceville - a hospital with 353 acute care beds in Lawrenceville, GA...

 - Duluth, an 81-bed hospital constructed in 2006, as well as GMC's Glancy Campus, a 30-bed facility located near downtown. Nearby attractions include Stone Mountain
Stone Mountain
Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock in Stone Mountain, Georgia, United States. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet amsl and 825 feet above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain granite extends underground at its longest point into Gwinnett County...

 and Lake Lanier
Lake Lanier
Lake Lanier is a reservoir in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created by the completion of Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River in 1956, and is also fed by the waters of the Chestatee River. The lake encompasses of water, and of shoreline at normal level, a "full...

. The agricultural manufacturer AGCO
AGCO
AGCO is an agricultural equipment manufacturer based in Duluth, Georgia, USA. As a leading global manufacturer of agricultural equipment, AGCO offers a full line of tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage and tillage equipment, which are distributed through more than 2,700 independent...

 is based in Duluth.

According to Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

magazine, Duluth ranks 26th in the nation in America's Best Places to Move. It was also named the Best Affordable Suburb in Georgia by BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek
Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...

 magazine.

Government

The City of Duluth is governed by a mayor and five city council members, who together appoint the city administrator and city clerk. Elections are held every two years, in the odd numbered years, and the mayor and council members are elected for staggered four year terms.

The mayor of Duluth is Nancy Harris, the former principal of B.B. Harris Elementary School, and the city administrator is Phil McLemore.

History

Duluth's roots as a community stretch back to the early 19th century, when it was primarily forest land occupied by Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

 Indians. An Indian trail, called Old Peachtree Road
Peachtree Street
Peachtree Street is the main street of Atlanta. The city grew up around the street, and many of its historical and municipal buildings are or were located along it...

 by the settlers, was extended through the area during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 to connect Fort Peachtree in present day Atlanta with Fort Daniel near present day Lawrenceville
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Gwinnett County, Georgia, in the United States. The Census Bureau estimates the 2008 population at 29,258...

. With the creation of Gwinnett County, Georgia in 1818, white settlement of the area accelerated.

The City of Duluth was named after Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut
Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut
Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut was a French soldier and explorer who is the first European known to have visited the area where the city of Duluth, Minnesota is now located and the headwaters of the Mississippi River near Grand Rapids...

 (1636–1710), a French captain and explorer. He negotiated and signed peace between the Saulters and the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...

 nation. It was named after him for his memory. Duluth was originally part of the Cherokee Indian territory.

Duluth's forefather, cotton merchant Evan Howell, constructed a road connecting his cotton gin at the Chattahoochee River with Old Peachtree Road, creating Howell's Cross Roads. The settlement later became known as Howell's Crossing. Evan Howell was the grandfather of Atlanta Mayor Evan P. Howell
Evan Howell
Evan Park Howell was an American politician and early telegraph operator, as well as an officer in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War....

 and great grandfather of Atlanta Constitution publisher Clark Howell
Clark Howell
Clark Howell was a Pulitzer Prize winning American newspaper man and politician from the state of Georgia.-Biography:Howell was born on September 21, 1863 in Atlanta, Georgia...

. His descendants continue to live in the area, but only Howell Ferry Rd. in Duluth bears the name.

Railroad era

The town was renamed Duluth in 1871 after Congress approved funding for a north-south railroad connecting it with the better known Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...

, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, which is in turn named for Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut. Evan Howell was on hand for the renaming ceremony. Duluth's founding fathers apparently chose the name after a satirical speech, "The Untold Delights of Duluth," given by Congressman J. Proctor Knott
J. Proctor Knott
James Proctor Knott was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky and served as the 29th Governor of Kentucky from 1883 to 1887. Born in Kentucky, he moved to Missouri in 1850 and began his political career there...

 of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 during the debate over the railroad bill.

The railroad was an enormous boost to the Duluth economy. A school house was built in 1871 on the site of what is now The Monarch School (formerly Duluth Middle School). The first Methodist church was organized in 1871, and the first Baptist congregation formed in 1886. Both churches continue today at new locations along State Route 120. The Bank of Duluth was charted in 1904, followed by the Farmers and Merchants Bank in 1911. Neither survived the Depression, but the Bank of Duluth was re-chartered in 1945 at its original location.

In 1922, Duluth elected Georgia's first female mayor, Alice Harrell Strickland. She donated 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of land for a "community forest" and began efforts to conserve land for public recreation.

Post-war and modern era

Duluth grew rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s along with the rest of Gwinnett County. Georgia Governor George Busbee
George Busbee
George Dekle Busbee was an American politician who served as the 77th Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1975 to 1983....

 became a resident of Duluth in 1983 after leaving office, moving to the Sweet Bottom Plantation subdivision developed by Scott Hudgens. A major revitalization of the Duluth downtown area was undertaken in the early 21st century. Development along Sugarloaf Parkway has continued with construction of the Gwinnett Arena near the Gwinnett Convention Center.

In much of the 20th century, when Gwinnett County was still rural, Duluth was known in the area as being one of the few small towns with its own hospital, Joan Glancy Memorial Hospital. Consequently, many older residents of the area who call other towns home were actually born in Duluth. Joan Glancy was replaced with Gwinnett Medical Center
Gwinnett Medical Center
Gwinnett Medical Center is a not-for-profit network of healthcare facilities and providers in Gwinnett County, Georgia comprising the following licensed facilities:* GMC-Lawrenceville - a hospital with 353 acute care beds in Lawrenceville, GA...

 - Duluth in 2006. The site of the old Joan Glancy hospital is now GMC's Glancy Campus, home to the Glancy Rehabilitation Center, the Duluth location of GMC's Diabetes & Nutrition Education Center and the Duluth location of GMC's Center for Sleep Disorders.

2005 incidents

The city made national headlines twice in 2005. In March, Fulton County
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

 Courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols
Brian Nichols
Brian Gene Nichols is known for his escape and killing spree in the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia on March 11, 2005. Nichols was on trial for rape when he escaped from custody and murdered the judge presiding over his trial, a court reporter, a Sheriff's Deputy and later a Federal...

 was captured in a Duluth apartment after holding a woman hostage. In April, local resident Jennifer Wilbanks
Jennifer Wilbanks
The runaway bride case was the case of Jennifer Carol Wilbanks , an American woman who ran away from home on April 26, 2005, in order to avoid her wedding with John Mason, her fiancé, on April 30. Her disappearance from Duluth, Georgia, sparked a nationwide search and intensive media coverage,...

 was reported missing a few days before her planned wedding to John Mason. She was found a few days later in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

, where she admitted to having lied about being kidnapped
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...

.

Geography

Duluth is located in the northeastern section of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Approximately 20 mi (32.2 km) from Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...

, the city lies in the west-central section of Gwinnett County, bounded to the north by the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...

 (which also acts as the county line), northeast by Suwanee
Suwanee, Georgia
As of 2010 Suwanee had a population of 15,355. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 67.4% white, 10.8% black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 18.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.3% reporting some other race and 2.3% reporting two or more races...

, south by unincorporated land, and west by Berkeley Lake
Berkeley Lake, Georgia
Berkeley Lake is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. From its 1956 origins as a summer retreat, Berkeley Lake has grown into a thriving community centered on its namesake lake...

.

Climate

Similar to almost all of the Southeastern United States, Duluth experiences a humid subtropical climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...

 (Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

 Cfa).

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 22,122 people, 8,735 households, and 5,642 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 2,512.3 people per square mile (969.5/km²). There were 9,061 housing units at an average density of 1,029.0 per square mile (397.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.65% White, 11.86% African American, 0.33% Native American, 12.89% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.83% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 2.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.05% of the population.

There were 8,735 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.10.

In age 18 and over, for every 100 females there were 94.5 males.

Personal income

The median income for a household in the city was $60,088, and the median income for a family was $69,437. Males had a median income of $46,683 versus $34,334 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $29,185. About 3.0% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Duluth is a heavily car-dependent suburb with little to no public transportation available, with the exception of Gwinnett County Transit
Gwinnett County Transit
Gwinnett County Transit or GCT is the bus public transit system in Gwinnett County, Georgia, USA, one of metro Atlanta's three most populous suburban counties...

 which has a station near Gwinnett Place Mall. A number of collector roads distribute traffic around both incorporated and unincorporated areas of the city, some of the most important being Buford Highway
Buford Highway
Buford Highway is an international community along and on either side of a stretch of Georgia State Route 13 in DeKalb County, Georgia. It begins just north of Midtown Atlanta, continues northeast through the towns of Brookhaven, Chamblee, and Doraville, and ends northeast of the Perimeter at the...

 (), Duluth Highway (), Sugarloaf Parkway, and Pleasant Hill Road. Apart from Buford Highway, these roads bring traffic to Interstate 85
Interstate 85
Interstate 85 is a major interstate highway in the Southeastern United States. Its current southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus interchanges with Interstate 95 in Petersburg, Virginia, near Richmond...

, connecting the Duluth to central Atlanta about 25 mi (40.2 km) away.

Sports and recreation

The Gwinnett Gladiators
Gwinnett Gladiators
The Gwinnett Gladiators are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Duluth, Georgia. The Gladiators play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Gladiators play their home games at the Arena at Gwinnett Center....

 of the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

, a professional minor league ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team, plays in the Arena at Gwinnett Center
Arena at Gwinnett Center
The Arena at Gwinnett Center is an indoor arena in Duluth, Georgia, United States. The arena was an expansion to the Gwinnett Center, which also includes a performing arts center and a convention center...

, which opened in 2003 in an unincorporated area of Gwinnett County (the arena has a Duluth zip code). At the Sugarloaf Country Club
TPC at Sugarloaf
TPC at Sugarloaf is a private golf club, located within the gated community at Sugarloaf Country Club in Duluth, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.The facility consists of three 9-hole golf courses that were designed by Greg Norman, and is a member of the Tournament Players Club network operated by the...

 golf course, the AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...

 Classic tournament was played until 2008. Unincorporated Gwinnett County is home to the Berkeley Hills Country Club, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, Partnership Gwinnett and the 1818 Club, a private dining club.

Primary and secondary schools

Gwinnett County Public Schools
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Gwinnett County Public Schools is a school district operating in Gwinnett County, Georgia, USA. GCPS is the largest school system in Georgia, with 123 schools and an estimated enrollment of 161,000 students for the 2010-2011 year. GCPS is estimated to be the 14th largest school district in the...

 operates public schools serving residents of the city.

Elementary Schools
  • B.B. Harris Elementary (Duluth)
  • Berkeley Lake Elementary (Duluth)
  • Burnette Elementary (Peachtree Ridge) (Suwanee address) (opening 8/10)
  • Ferguson Elementary (Berkmar/Meadowcreek) (opening 8/10)
  • Chattahoochee Elementary (Duluth)
  • Charles Brant Chesney Elementary (Duluth)
  • M.H. Mason Elementary (Peachtree Ridge)
  • Parsons Elementary (Peachtree Ridge) (Suwanee address)


Middle Schools
  • Duluth Middle (Duluth)
  • Richard Hull Middle (Peachtree Ridge)
  • Louise Radloff Middle (Meadowcreek)


High Schools
  • Duluth High School
    Duluth High School
    Duluth High School is a public secondary school in Duluth, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. It provides education for grades 9-12 and is operated by Gwinnett County Public Schools, and holds a Blue Ribbon School award....

      (Duluth)
  • Peachtree Ridge High School
    Peachtree Ridge High School
    Peachtree Ridge High School is a public high school in Suwanee, Georgia, USA and a part of Gwinnett County Public Schools. Peachtree Ridge is the only Gwinnett County Public School to use block scheduling; Shiloh High School used to but discontinued it in 2008....

     (Peachtree Ridge) (Suwanee address)


Private Schools
  • Duluth Junior Academy (Duluth)
  • Duluth Montessori School (Duluth)
  • Notre Dame Catholic Academy (Duluth)

Businesses in Duluth

  • NCR
    NCR Corporation
    NCR Corporation is an American technology company specializing in kiosk products for the retail, financial, travel, healthcare, food service, entertainment, gaming and public sector industries. Its main products are self-service kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, automated teller machines, check...

  • AGCO
    AGCO
    AGCO is an agricultural equipment manufacturer based in Duluth, Georgia, USA. As a leading global manufacturer of agricultural equipment, AGCO offers a full line of tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage and tillage equipment, which are distributed through more than 2,700 independent...

  • Barco
    Barco
    Barco N.V. is a display hardware manufacturer specialising in video projectors, LCD projectors, DLP projectors, LCoS projectors, LED displays, video walls, flat panel displays, automated luminaires, digital lighting and lighting controls....

  • Broadcom
    Broadcom
    Broadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Broadcom was founded by a professor-student pair Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III from the University of California, Los...

  • Ciba Vision
    CIBA Vision
    CIBA VISION is a company that researches, develops, and manufactures contact lenses and lens care products. A Novartis company, it is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia in the Johns Creek Technology Park. Manufacturing plants are also located in Germany, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia...

  • Given Imaging
    Given Imaging
    Given Imaging is an Israeli medical technology company that manufactures and markets diagnostic products for the visualization and detection of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract....

  • Nordson
    Nordson Corporation
    Nordson Corporation is an American multinational corporation that designs and manufactures dispensing equipment for consumer and industrial adhesives, sealants and coatings. The company also manufactures equipment used in the testing and inspection of electronic components as well as...

  • Primerica
  • Roper Industries
    Roper Industries
    Roper Industries is a diversified industrial company that produces engineered products for global niche markets. The company is headquartered in Sarasota, Florida.Roper provides a wide range of products and services to customers in over 100 countries...

  • World Financial Group
    World Financial Group
    World Financial Group is a financial services marketing organization based in Johns Creek, Georgia that markets investment, insurance, and various other financial products through a network of associates in the United States and Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AEGON...

  • Advanced Armament Corporation

External links

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