Interactive Map

The communities of

Fulton County

East Point

Located just over seven miles south of Atlanta is the city of East Point, so named because it sits at the eastern terminus of what is now the Atlanta and West Point Railroad.

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Russell High School

Click on the school mascot to explore the high schools of East Point in Fulton County.

The high schools of East Point

South Fulton High School

The doors of Russell High School opened in 1924. That year, 300 students and 10 teachers transferred from Central High School, which had served East Point since 1887. The school’s name is attributed to William Alexander Russell, a former captain of the Confederate Army, who became a wealthy developer of the city of East Point. When his nephew, John Egan, donated 10 acres of land to the city in 1923, it was with the understanding that a high school –named for his uncle—would be located there. Shortly after Russell came under the direction of the Fulton County School System in 1927, it was enlarged to accommodate the white students from the nearby towns of Hapeville, Ben Hill and College Park.

Russell High School, 1924-1988

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Want to learn more? Click the indicator to the right to read about Russell High School's history.

All images’ attribution: Fulton County Schools Archives

In 1928, the Fulton County Board of Education opened a 10-room school building and designated it the East Point Colored School. It was established to serve the African American children of East Point, College Park, Hapeville, Red Oak and Ben Hill, all of whom could pursue an education there through the 9th grade. On January 2, 1940, a fire ravaged the building, leaving its students scrambling for classroom spaces in nearby churches. Using insurance proceeds from the loss, as well as funds provided through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Board rebuilt the school. By 1950, the East Point Colored School offered a full high school education and many of its students would graduate having completed all 12 grades in the same building. In 1953, the school was renamed South Fulton High.

South Fulton High School, 1950-1980

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Want to learn about life as a South Fulton High School student? Click the indicator to the right to explore the 1958 yearbook.

All images’ attribution: Fulton County Schools Archives

Alpharetta

Alpharetta is located twenty-five miles north of Atlanta. Incorporated in 1858, this largely rural town originally served as the seat of Milton County. In its early years, Alpharetta relied on cotton and its supporting industries to power its economy. Milton County operated its own school system until 1932, the year it was annexed by Fulton County.

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Milton High School

Click on the school mascot to explore the high schools of Alpharetta in Fulton County.

The high schools of Alpharetta

Bailey-Johnson High School

Milton High School was established in 1921 by the Milton County Board of Education. Originally located in downtown Alpharetta, the school functioned as the only high school in the county until it was annexed by Fulton twelve years later. In its earliest decades, Milton High was located in a largely rural, agricultural area of the county. As a testament to this, students of the Milton chapter of the Future Farmers of America constructed one of its most notable features – a log cabin erected in the 1930s, which still exists today. In 2005, Milton High School moved to its current location on Birmingham Highway.

Milton High School, 1921-present

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Want to learn more? Click the indicator to the right to read about Milton High School's history.

All images’ attribution: Fulton County Schools Archives

Bailey-Johnson, known first as the Alpharetta Colored School, was created in 1932 out of a merger of three schools located in black communities across North Fulton. The school had, by far, the largest attendance zone in the district, incorporating students from Sandy Springs to what is now Johns Creek. In the late 1940s, a new school building was constructed along Kimball Bridge Road, using funds from a county bond issue. The facility was renamed Bailey-Johnson in 1953 in honor of the donor of the property, a white landowner named George “Hard” Bailey, and a former slave and proponent of education, Warren Johnson. That same year, Bailey-Johnson began offering courses through the 12th grade.

Bailey-Johnson High School, 1932-1967

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Want to learn about life as a Bailey-Johnson High School student? Click the indicator to the right to watch a video.

All images’ attribution: Fulton County Schools Archives EXCEPT WHERE SPECIFIED AS: Courtesy, Charles Grogan

Fairburn

Twenty miles southwest of the city of Atlanta is the town of Fairburn. This suburban, railroad town served as the county seat of the now defunct Campbell County from 1870 to 1932, when the county was merged with Fulton by the state legislature.

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Campbell High School

Click on the school mascot to explore the high schools of Fairburn in Fulton County.

The high schools of Fairburn

Fairburn High School

For its first 43 years, the Fairburn Institute served the white students of Fairburn and the area of old Campbell County surrounding it. Built in 1889, the original two-story, wood frame school prospered under the leadership of Mauney D. Collins, who would go on to serve as the State Superintendent of Schools from 1933-1958. As early as 1918, Collins had established a full, 4-year high school program there. As the Fulton County Board of Education assumed control of the school by annexation in 1932, the name was changed to Campbell High School in honor of the former county that its students had always called home.

Campbell High School, 1929-1988

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Want to learn more? Click the indicator to the right to read about Campbell High School's history.

All images’ attribution: Fulton County Schools Archives

In 1923, the Fairburn Colored School was constructed through resources provided by the Rosenwald Fund, the Campbell County Board of Education and the African American community of Fairburn. Students of all ages filled this one-room, rural schoolhouse, traveling from as far away as Union City and Campbellton. By the time the Fulton County Board of Education annexed the school in 1932, Fairburn had 4 teachers and 125 students. Under the new administration, a new 12-classroom, brick building was planned to replace the old wooden structure. Although Fairburn offered high school courses as far back as the 1940s, the first twelfth grader to attend did so in 1962.

Fairburn High School, 1946-1971

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Want to learn more? Click the indicator to the right to read how Fairburn Elementary became a school for all students.

All images’ attribution: Fulton County Schools Archives

College Park

Located 10 miles south of downtown Atlanta, the city of College Park traces its history back to the year 1890, when it was established under the name Manchester. By the turn of the twentieth century, both Cox College (for women) and the Georgia Military Academy were located there, which had inspired the town’s new name. College Park operated its own school system until 1927, when residents voted to turn over administrative control to the Fulton County Board of Education.

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College Park High School

Click on the school mascot to explore the high schools of College Park in Fulton County.

The high schools of College Park

Eva Thomas High School

In 1940, the City of College Park and the Fulton County Board of Education purchased the former site of Cox College along Main Street. A new high school was erected there in 1942 to replace the aging Alonzo Richardson High, the city’s first high school located just 5 blocks east on Temple Avenue. Among the school’s notable features was the College Park City Auditorium. Built in 1941 to host civic and public events, the venue also supported many of the school’s indoor sporting events and its annual graduation exercises.

College Park High School, 1943-1988

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Want to learn more? Click the indicator to the right to read about College Park High School's history.

All images’ attribution: Fulton County Schools Archives

Eva Thomas High School was built in 1963, part of a federally funded Urban Renewal Project, which also included Sophie M. Avery Elementary School and Camp Creek Parkway. Its construction coincided with the Board’s need to avoid the busing of black students—past the all-white College Park High—to attend South Fulton in East Point. Named for a 1945 graduate of Atlanta University and a lifelong committed educator, Eva Thomas High was so designated on the eve of the school’s opening, just after Thomas passed away. At the request of the citizens of her community, the school was named in her honor and memory.

Eva Thomas High School, 1964-1980

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Want to learn more? Click the indicator to the right to read about Eva Thomas High School's history.

All images’ attribution: Fulton County Schools Archives

Oral History, Mazie Strickland McCain, 1989

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