East Point Main Street Association, Inc. – PO Box 91274, East Point, GA 30344 |
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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, EPMSA will dig through the East Point Historical Society's archives to provide you with that month's "Flashback Feature". Each feature will highlight a photo and/or article from East Point's vibrant history. The photos/articles will give you a brief look at East Point back then . . . 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 Two:
Industry & Manufacturing, Part Two
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Top Right: U.S. Distillery, 1861
Middle Left: Buggy Works, 1908; Middle Right: Atlanta Utility Works, 1898
Bottom Left: Terra cotta, 1907; Bottom Right: Continental Gin, 1880
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. This is the second in a series of East Point history lessons, as reflected in a sampling of the quilt’s squares.
From the mid to the early 20th century, manufacturing expanded from on site farm locations to over a dozen factories along the railroad lines.
From peach baskets, to man hole covers, to fertilizer and cotton oil machinery, the Atlanta Utility Works manufactured products that reflected changing industrial needs. The structure that housed the Atlanta Utility Works survives and can be seen along Martin Street, south of the MARTA station.
The Atlanta Terra Cotta Company was founded in the early 1900s at the current site of Tri-Cities Shopping Center. Utilizing nearby natural springs, the factory made terra cotta pipes, tiles and decorative building trim until 1943 when the demand for building materials changed to glass and steel. One surviving example of their work is the façade of downtown Atlanta’s Eiseman building (74 Whitehall St. SW, Atlanta, GA) that was incorporated into the Five Points MARTA Station.
In 1908, B.M. Blount opened a second factory for the production of horse-drawn carriages and buggies. Today, this building is known as the Buggy Works. (It is one of the few buildings in East Point on the National Register of Historic Places).
In addition to a U.S. Distillery, cotton gin operations and bottle factories, East Point’s early businesses included a broad range of industries and services such as department stores, groceries, hardware stores, pharmacies, service stations and banks. Learn more about East Point history and see first hand the collection of artifacts, photographs, maps and records at the East Point Historical Society.
-Carole Griffith
» 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
Be sure to visit the East Point Historical Society at 1685
Norman Berry Drive to learn more about our city’s history. Museum & Archives - Free Admission
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Thursdays 1 - 4 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
- Phone: 404-767-4656