Buckhead Annexation
By Sophia Dodd
Digital Storytelling Research Assistant
When the City of Atlanta was first incorporated, it encompassed a one-mile radius from the Zero Mile Post. The Atlanta we know today has expanded from the small 2,000-acre plot of land incorporated in 1847 to the almost 90,000 acres it is today. Annexation and de-annexation are part of a long history of city planning and development. The largest annexation in Atlanta history happened in 1952 with the addition of over 50,000 acres of land, including Buckhead.
Annexing Buckhead and other suburbs of Atlanta was no simple task. It was a decade-long effort that failed three times before becoming a reality. Mayor William B. Hartsfield was a leader in the attempt to expand Atlanta city limits, particularly in Buckhead. Hartsfield was always clear about his intention to annex parts of greater Atlanta and pushed for the city to begin the task of annexation.
Reasons for annexing Buckhead and surrounding areas were not singular. Hartsfield desired a larger metropolis because he believed population and geographic growth would bring prosperity and put Atlanta on the national stage.
Annexing Buckhead was also racially motivated as outlined in a private letter in January 1943:
“But the most important thing to remember, cannot be publicized in the press or made the subject of public speeches. Our negro population is growing by leaps and bounds. They stay right in the city limits and grow by taking more white territory inside Atlanta. Our migration is good, white, home-owning citizens.
With the Federal government insisting on political recognition of negroes in local affairs, the time is not far distant when they will become a potent political force in Atlanta if our white citizens are just going to move out and give it to them.”
A few weeks after Mayor Hartsfield sent the letter, a group of Buckhead residents petitioned for a referendum on annexation. Buckhead and Druid Hills residents thought the referendum would empower them through the voting process. It would also indicate to state legislators if they should pursue plans to authorize annexation of these areas. However, the Fulton County delegates to the Georgia General Assembly halted these efforts when they unanimously opposed the passage of any annexation bills.
Mayor Hartsfield and city council members continued to appeal to the general assembly for annexation. In 1947, Senator Everett Millican proposed a bill calling for a referendum of those living in areas proposed for annexation. While the Fulton County delegates killed any efforts to annex in 1943, they now supported the call for a referendum. Senator Millican and Representative Muggsy Smith of the Fulton County delegation fully supported annexing the Buckhead area. Luther Alverson, chairman of the Buckhead Citizens’ Committee, ardently opposed annexation. Most Buckhead and Cascade Heights residents voted against annexation in the 1947 referendum, significantly stalling efforts to expand the city limits for a second time.
A few days after the 1947 referendum, Buckhead residents held a mock funeral celebrating successful anti-annexation efforts. R.E. “Red” Dorough, the “unofficial mayor of Buckhead,” attended the funeral, which featured caskets labeled “Willie Hartsfield,” “The Atlanta Journal,” and “The Atlanta Constitution.”
Fresh off the failure of expansion for the second time, political candidates in Atlanta’s 1948 election centered their campaigns around annexation. Politicians focused on whether they were for or against annexation, as well as the manner of annexation. Would annexation happen by referendum only? If so, would Atlantans be included in another referendum attempt? While some candidates may have been outright against annexation, others favored a “one government plan” that would consolidate the governments of Atlanta and Fulton County.
Mayor Hartsfield openly supported the “Four Horsemen” of annexation, Millican, Smith, Leo S. Gilbert, and Frank Morrison. The Four Horsemen viewed the September 1948 election as a referendum in which annexation legislation would be decided based on who received the most votes. Former Mayor Roy LeCraw opposed Millican’s view on the election as a referendum and ran against him with the position that a separate referendum should decide annexation’s fate. Frank Morrison faced Luther Alverson, who supported a one government plan in the campaign for the state legislature.
Annexation issues were aired, debated, campaigned, and detailed in newspapers leading up to the election. However, the third attempt at annexation failed when three of the Four Horsemen lost their races. The only horseman to prevail was Smith. This blow to annexation efforts led to the rise in popularity of Alverson’s one government plan.
Supporters of the one government plan focused on two issues: Stopping remaining efforts to expand city limits to include Buckhead and eliminating overlapping services between the city and county. Opponents pointed out that implementing a one-government plan would be much more challenging to execute. The fight for annexation had taken on a new form — annexation versus one government.
To study the viability of consolidation or annexation, the Atlanta Local Government Commission was formed to research the issues and propose a solution. Joseph K. Heyman, executive secretary of the commission, headed the research in 1949. Mayor Hartsfield continued to advocate for annexation even as criticism grew over his failure to enact such legislation for a decade.
The commission came to a solution with the Plan of Improvement. The plan proposed annexing Buckhead and other areas of greater Atlanta, an initiative that would triple the size of Atlanta. It also detailed a critical caveat that addressed issues related to the one-government plan. The Plan of Improvement stipulated that Atlanta would take over municipal services in all annexed areas relieving Fulton County of those former duties.
On June 28, 1950, the Plan of Improvement was put to a public referendum at the request of the Fulton and DeKalb delegations of the General Assembly. The referendum called for a majority of voters in Atlanta and areas slated for annexation to vote in favor of the Plan of Improvement. Atlantans voted overwhelmingly in favor with 90 percent approval for the plan. Overall, citizens in areas proposed to be annexed voted in favor with an approval of 62 percent. In Buckhead, residents voted two-to-one in favor of annexation. With the approval of Atlantans and Buckhead residents, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation annexing 50,000 acres of land into Atlanta including Buckhead, eliminating overlapping services, and building the infrastructure to expand municipal services in newly annexed areas. Governor Eugene Talmadge signed the bills into law in 1951 and annexation took effect on January 1, 1952. Buckhead was now a part of Atlanta, and the decade-long fight for annexation was over.
With the approval of Atlantans and Buckhead residents, the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation annexing Buckhead and other areas of Greater Atlanta, eliminating overlapping services, and building the infrastructure to expand municipal services in newly annexed areas. Governor Eugene Talmadge signed the bills into law in 1951 and annexation took effect on January 1, 1952. Buckhead was now a part of Atlanta, and the decade-long fight for annexation was over.
The economy of Buckhead has exploded since it became a part of Atlanta and is a core component of the city’s tax revenue. What was once described as “just a crossroads with no social standing whatsoever” by longtime resident Henry Howell has evolved into a pillar of Atlanta’s economic, political, and social life.
Resource List
“Council Group Forgets Ballot On Annexation,” February 2, 1941. The Atlanta Constitution.
“Buckhead to Seek Vote on Annexation,” January 1, 1943. The Atlanta Constitution.
“No Annexation Bills To Pass This Session,” March 11, 1943. The Atlanta Constitution.
“Buckhead Annexation Vote Scheduled,” Aug. 19, June 4, 1947. The Atlanta Constitution.
“Buckhead, Cascade Say ‘No, August 20,” 1947. The Atlanta Constitution.
“One-Government Plan Finds Popular Favor,” September 26, 1948. The Atlanta Constitution.
Plan of Improvement, 1950 from the William Berry Hartsfield Papers at The Robert W. Woodruff Library, Emory University.
City of Atlanta, Department of City Planning GIS of Annexations.
William Berry Hartsfield Mayor of Atlanta by Harold H. Martin, The University of Georgia Press.
