Stone Mountain

Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. It is a suburb of Atlanta that encompasses nearly 1.7 square miles. It lies near and touches the western base of the geological formation Stone Mountain. Locals often call the city "Stone Mountain Village" to distinguish it from the larger unincorporated area traditionally considered Stone Mountain and Stone Mountain Park. Stone Mountain Village went unscathed until the Battle of Atlanta, when it was destroyed by men under the command of General James B. McPherson on July 19, 1864. The term Shermantown was coined for this form of destruction of the railroad ties, which were then twisted around trees by heating them over the flames. In 1864, Union forces scavenged corn, wheat, cotton, cattle, and other goods from the surrounding area, taking the villages until the end of the Civil War. After the war, Stone Mountain was rebuilt as housing in the area's granite quarry. It was also used in the construction of the Liberty National Building and the steps in the east wing of the U.S. Capitol. The city's name is derived from the Stone Mountain granite, which was quarried at the mountain's base for many decades. The name Stone Mountain means "stone mountain" or "stone of the mountain" in the local language, and "mountain" means "hill" in English. The word Stone Mountain is also used to refer to the mountain, which is also known as "Rock Mountain" by locals.

History

Stone Mountain is the primary city name, but also Smoke Rise, Stone Mtn are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is Stone Mountain, Georgia. The Treaty of Indian Springs in 1821 opened a large swath of Georgia for settlement by non-Native Americans on former Creek Indian land. In 1822, the area that now makes up the city was made a part of the newly formed DeKalb County. By 1850, Stone Mountain had become a popular destination for Atlanta urbanites who endured the four-hour round trip by rail just to experience its natural beauty, lodging, and attractions. Stone Mountain Village went unscathed until the Battle of Atlanta, when it was destroyed by men under the command of General James B. McPherson on July 19, 1864. After the Civil War, housing in the area was again in demand for construction across the nation. A significant force in the quarry's work force was African Americans, but they were generally excluded from areas where white families lived, so a shantytown, Shermantown, came into being at the southeast side of the village. The name was a reference to General William T. Sherman; its name is now 8th Street of the Fourth Street of Simons Simons on the east side of Stone Mountain. The birth of the town ended in 1868 when a church was built to serve the families of the Reverend R. M. Burson. The town's name was changed to Stone Mountain after the birth of its first mayor, Andrew Johnson, in 1836. The city was named after Stone Mountain, Georgia, which is located on the Georgia Turnpike.

Government

Stone Mountain is governed by a council-manager form of government. Citizens elect a mayor and six council members who are all elected at-large. The terms of office are four years, with elections staggered every two years. Daily city operations are managed by an appointed professional city manager. Services provided by the city include police, public works, code enforcement, and municipal court. The city holds a City of Ethics designation from the Georgia Municipal Association and is a member of Main Street America. It also has standing commissions for historic preservation, downtown development, and planning & zoning.

Geography

According to the State of Georgia, the city has an area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²), of which 0.62% is water. Stone Mountain is at the western base of the quartz monzonite dome monadnock of the same name. While Stone Mountain city proper is completely within DeKalb County, the postal regions designated and traditionally considered as Stone Mountain include portions of De Kalb and Gwinnett Counties. The city has a population of about 2,000, with about 1,000 of them living in Stone Mountain. The town is located on the Georgia Turnpike, one of the state's main north-south roads. It is located in the Georgia panhandle, just south of the city of Atlanta, and is located near the Georgia-Tennessee border. The state's largest city, Atlanta, is just to the south, in Cobb County, Georgia, and the city's population is around 1,500. The area is mostly farmland, with the exception of a few isolated pockets of woodland. The majority of the town's residents live in the Stone Mountain area, which was once known as the "Stone Mountain Suburbs" The city's name comes from the name of a nearby mountain, Stone Mountain, which is located at the base of a quartz monzonite dome. The name Stone Mountain means "stone of the mountain" or "stone-like" in English. The mountain is also known as "The Mountain of the Mountain" by locals.

Demographics

According to 2017 US Census Bureau estimates, Stone Mountain has 6,368 residents, a 9.0% increase since 2010. 8.9% of Stone Mountain residents are foreign-born. There are 2,519 households, with an average of 2.42 persons per household. The median income is $35,964, with a per capita income of $21,134. Of persons 25 years or older, 87.3% are high school graduates or higher, while 30.8% have attained a bachelor's degree or higher. Estimates of the racial makeup of the city are 73% African-American/Black, 22.1% White, 1% Asian, 0.9 % Native American/Alaskan, and 1.1 % of two or more races. As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,703 people, 2,351 households, and1,578 families residing in the city. The city's population is expected to rise to 6,700 by the end of the decade, and 7,000 by the year 2020, according to the 2020 US census. It has a population of 6,500, up from 6,300 at the start of the 2010 U.S. census bureau  Estimates of its population growth since 2010 are 6,400. It's estimated that the city's residents will reach 6,600 by 2020, a rise of 4.5% since the 2010 US Census Bureau estimates.

Arts, culture and leisure

Stone Mountain has been a beneficiary of Georgia's flourishing film industry. Film crews and production personnel have become common sights in Stone Mountain Village. The Vampire Diaries, Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, MacGyver, and the Netflix science fiction/horror series Stranger Things have been filmed in the village. The Atlanta Regional Trail of the PATH off-road trails, which serves walkers, runners, cyclists, and skaters, enters the village on East Ponce de Leon Avenue, goes south on Main Street, and continues into Stone Mountain Park via a trail built atop the old railroad spur that once connected the CSX tracks to the Stone Mountain Scenic Railroad. Stone Mountain is one of a handful of Georgia communities that permit golf carts on city streets with a city-issued inspection permit. The village is home to the Museum of Miniature Chairs, a three-room gallery and shop featuring over 3000 miniature chairs. The ART Station Contemporary Arts Center and Theatre Company, a multi-disciplinary arts center, is in the Trolley Car Barn, built by the Georgia Railway and Power Company in 1913. The Wells-Brown House is an elegant early 1870s neoclassical residence that is home of the Stoneountain Historical Society. The Stone Mountain Historical Society houses a growing artifact collection and research library. It is located on the second floor of the Wells- Brown House, which was built in the 1870s and is still in use as a home today. The Village is located in the historic downtown area of Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Organizations

Stone Mountain Village is home to a number of community, civic, and outreach organizations. The village is also home to the DeKalb Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 10 and the Stone Mountain Cooperative Ecumenical Ministry (Food Bank) The Village is also the home of the Stone Mountains Woman's Club and the Side by Side Brain Injury Clubhouse. It is located on the east side of the village, near the intersection of Ridge Avenue and East Mountain Street.

Education

The children of Stone Mountain are served by the DeKalb County Public Schools. Stone Mountain Elementary School and Champion Theme Middle School are within the city limits. Georgia Military College (GMC) has a satellite campus in Stone Mountain Village at 5325 Manor Drive. The Stone Mountain-Sue Kellogg Library (952 Leon Street) is the city's public library. The city is home to the Stone Mountain High School football team, which won the state championship in 2008. The school's football team also won the national championship in 2010. The football team won the Georgia State Championship in 2010, the first time the state had won the title in the last 10 years. The team was also the first to win back-to-back state titles in the state of Georgia since 2000 and 2001. The last time was in 2003 and 2004, the team won three straight state titles. It is the first city in Georgia to win three consecutive state titles since 2002 and 2003, and the second in 2004 and 2005. The town has a population of 3,000 people. It was the first Georgia city to win the state title in 2008 and the first in 2005 and 2006. It has won three state championships in the past five years. It also won one in 2010 and two in 2011, the last in 2012 and 2013, the latter of which was in the middle of the school's first year of existence. The community has a history of being involved in the Civil Rights movement. The village was founded in the early 1900s.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Stone Mountain, DeKalb County, Georgia = 6.9. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 31. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 89. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Stone Mountain = 5.2 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 6,703 individuals with a median age of 33.7 age the population grows by 4.43% in Stone Mountain, DeKalb County, Georgia population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 4,059.96 residents per square mile of area (1,567.38/km²). There are average 2.89 people per household in the 2,560 households with an average household income of $41,556 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.50% of the available work force and has dropped -6.39% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 16.72%. The number of physicians in Stone Mountain per 100,000 population = 284.2.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Stone Mountain = 53.3 inches and the annual snowfall = 1.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 108. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 217. 87 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 27.9 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 34, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Stone Mountain, DeKalb County, Georgia which are owned by the occupant = 49.14%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 28 years with median home cost = $116,030 and home appreciation of -5.08%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $8.13 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,198 per student. There are 13.1 students for each teacher in the school, 380 students for each Librarian and 324 students for each Counselor. 11.23% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 15.19% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 6.30% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).