Welcome to Historic South Atlanta Traditional Cache

Although many Atlantans may refer to the south side of Atlanta, Georgia as "South Atlanta", South Atlanta is in fact an officially defined neighborhood of the city of Atlanta within the south side, and one rich in African-American history. It is bounded on the northeast by the railroad and the Chosewood Park neighborhood; on the northwest by the railroad and the BeltLine and the Peoplestown neighborhood, on the west by High Point and the Villages at Carver, and on the south mostly by Turman Street and the Lakewood Heights neighborhood.

 

South Atlanta was originally known as Brownsville. Clark University (founded in 1869), moved to a site in South Atlanta in 1883, establishing Gammon Seminary Theological Seminary the same year. In 1941 Clark departed to its present location near Downtown Atlanta when it joined the Atlanta University system but it served as a cultural, religious and community anchor in South Atlanta. Its importance was magnified by the fact that at the time, black artists and performers had little opportunity to perform in the South except on black college campuses, and black audiences had little access to traditionally "white" cultural activities. Brownsville became a thriving black community during segregation.