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East Point Main Street Association, Inc. – PO Box 91274, East Point, GA 30344
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Mission
To preserve and enhance the downtown area as the heart of
East Point, communicating a sense of place, community pride and heritage, while providing for a successful business and
residential environment.

Downtown Flashback Feature

Each month, the East Point Historical Society provides an article for the "Flashback Feature" for the Downtown Newsletter. Each article highlights a piece of East Point's vibrant history. More information about East Point's history is available at the East Point Historical Society located at 1685 Norman Berry Drive, East Point, GA 30344. You can contact them at (404) 767-4656 or visit www.eastpoinths.org. All "Flashback Features" will be archived on the website and can be accessed at any time.

East Point’s Centennial Quilt: A History Lesson in Needlework, Part Five: Commerce

Telephone
Trolley
South Fulton Hospital
Newspaper
Ford
Truck
Car

In 1987, members of the East Point Woman’s Club stitched together a quilt to commemorate East Point’s Centennial. Each of the 49 squares helps tell the story of East Point’s history. The quilt is on display at the East Point Historical Society. Here is the fifth in a series of East Point history lessons, as reflected in a sampling of the quilt’s squares.

Part Five: Commerce

Reflecting a growing and diverse economy, commerce and trade flourished in East Point throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

Telephones: East Point’s first telephone was installed in 1884 at the Furman Farm Improvement plant. This was East Point’s first industry, started in 1880. In 1900, Southern Bell granted a telephone franchise for the East Point vicinity.

Newspapers: Reflecting East Point’s agrarian-based industries, The Plow Boy was first published in 1886 to influence national and state farm policies. In the early 1900s, the East Point News (later the South Fulton News Herald) was adopted as the official newspaper for the city and the Suburban Reporter began as a weekly publication. In 1967, the Southside Sun issued its first edition.

Trolley: In 1899 Georgia Railway and Power Co. (now Georgia Power Company) sought to extend its electric street car line from Atlanta to East Point. Service began in 1901 with a 5 cent fare. In 1937, overhead lines for trackless trolleys were installed. Bus service was eventually implemented and is now incorporated into MARTA’s regional rapid rail and bus system.

South Fulton Hospital: As early as 1955, plans were underway for es-tablishing a hospital to serve the tri-cities area. Over $1,250,000 was raised through individual and business contributions to qualify for a Hill-Burton grant, authorized in 1946 for improving hospital services nationwide. It began operation in 1963 and merged with the Atlanta Medical Center in 2013, as the South Campus. The hospital was built on the site of Union Baptist Church, a Gothic-inspired structure built there in 1884. Union Baptist is East Point’s oldest African American congregation, dating back to 1866. Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr. (Daddy King) served this congregation in 1918 as he was beginning his ministerial career.

» Read East Point’s Centennial Quilt: A History Lesson in Needlework, Part Four: Education
» Read East Point’s Centennial Quilt: A History Lesson in Needlework, Part Three: City Services
» Read East Point’s Centennial Quilt: A History Lesson in Needlework, Part Two: Industry & Manufacturing, Part Two
» Read East Point’s Centennial Quilt: A History Lesson in Needlework, Part Two: Industry & Manufacturing, Part One
» Read related Flashback Feature about the East Point Centennial Quilt

East Point Historical Society
Learn more about East Point history and see first hand the collection of artifacts, photographs, maps and records that further illustrate East Point’s history. Visit the East Point Historical Society at 1685 Norman Berry Drive. Museum & Archives - Free Admission - Free Parking
- Thursdays 1 - 4 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Phone: 404-767-4656