Johns Creek, Georgia
Encyclopedia
Johns Creek is a suburban city in Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

, USA, which incorporated December 1, 2006. It is named for a tributary that runs through the area. The city was created out of the northeastern part of unincorporated Fulton County
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

. It is bounded by Roswell
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...

 to the west and south, Alpharetta
Alpharetta, Georgia
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 34,854 people, 13,911 households, and 8,916 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,631.6 people per square mile . There were 14,670 housing units at an average density of 686.7 per square mile...

 to the northwest, Forsyth County
Forsyth County, Georgia
Forsyth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The county seat is Cumming, Georgia. Forsyth County is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...

, and the city of Suwanee
Suwanee, Georgia
As of 2010 Suwanee had a population of 15,355. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 67.4% white, 10.8% black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 18.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.3% reporting some other race and 2.3% reporting two or more races...

  to the north, and Gwinnett County
Gwinnett County, Georgia
, Gwinnett County had a population of 805,321. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 53.3% white , 23.6% black , 2.7% Korean, 2.6% Asian Indian, 2.0% Vietnamese, 3.3% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% some other race and 3.1% from two or more races...

 to the south and east. In the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 76,728. It is the tenth-largest municipality in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 and its wealthiest city.

History

In the early 19th century, the Johns Creek area was dotted with trading posts along the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...

 in what was then Cherokee Indian territory. The Cherokee nation was a confederacy of villages led by a chief. They were agrarian and lived in log homes. After Europeans settled in the area, the Cherokee developed an alphabet, and a legislature and judiciary patterned after the American model.

Some trading posts gradually became crossroads communities where pioneer families – Rogers, McGinnis, Findley, Buice, Cowart, Medlock and others – gathered to visit and sell their crops.

By 1820, the community of Sheltonville (now known as Shakerag) was a ferry crossing site, with the McGinnis Ferry and Rogers Ferry carrying people and livestock across the river for a small fee. Further south, the Nesbit Ferry did the same near another crossroads community known as Newtown.

In the 1820s, the discovery of gold in the foothills of Northeast Georgia inside the Cherokee Nation – approximately 45 miles (72.4 km) north of today's Johns Creek – led to America's first Gold Rush, the eventual takeover of the Cherokee Nation by the U.S. Government in 1830 and the subsequent forced exile ("The Trail of Tears") of Cherokee Indians to Oklahoma and other areas of the American West.

A few Cherokees remained, the most famous being Sarah Cordery (1785–1842), the half-blood Cherokee wife of pioneer John Rogers (1774–1851), and their 12 children. Rogers was a respected, influential plantation owner and colleague of President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

. Rogers' 1828 home – today, a private residence in Johns Creek – was an overnight stop-over for Jackson. Much later, the home was also visited by famed humorist Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....

, the great, great-nephew of John Rogers.

In 1831, much of the land in the former Cherokee Nation north of the Chattahoochee was joined into one big county called Cherokee. When Milton County was formed in 1858, the Johns Creek area was folded into it.

In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, Milton County was dissolved and all its land was absorbed into Fulton County.

The four main crossroad communities—Ocee, Newtown, Shakerag and Warsaw—remained the social, educational and business centers of rural, unincorporated northeast Fulton County. For the next 50 years, these communities helped bring a sense of identity to this largely undeveloped and under-populated area, as the nearby cities of Roswell, Alpharetta, Duluth and Suwanee and adjoining Forsyth and Gwinnett counties continued to grow and develop.

In 1981, a group of Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

 graduates bought 1700 acres (6.9 km²) of farm land and woods near McGinnis Ferry and Medlock Bridge roads for a high-tech office park. The new office park was to mirror one built in 1970 in nearby Peachtree Corners
Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Peachtree Corners is a city in western Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta, located east of Dunwoody and south of Johns Creek. Out of all of Atlanta's northern suburbs, Peachtree Corners is the only one that was developed as a planned community...

, known as Technology Park/Atlanta. Spotting tiny Johns Creek on an old map, they named their mixed-use, master-planned community Technology Park/Johns Creek. This was to be the first reference to Johns Creek as a place. The area grew over the years to become the home of 200 companies – many of them Fortune 500 firms – with nearly 11,000 people spread over 6000000 square feet (557,418.2 m²) of office, retail and industrial space. With the jobs came houses and shopping centers, and the population increased to about 60,000.

By 2000, a grassroots movement to incorporate the Johns Creek area into a city was slowly developing. Residents wanted more control over issues such as traffic, growth, development and their quality of life. They also sought a level of service that was a challenge for the sprawling Fulton County to provide.

Following the nearby city of Sandy Springs’ successful incorporation in 2005, a legislative campaign was started to incorporate the Johns Creek community. House Bill 1321 was passed by the state legislature, signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue in March 2006 at Northview High School
Northview High School (Johns Creek, Georgia)
Northview High School is located in Johns Creek, Georgia, U.S.A. The school is a part of the Fulton County School System.One of its many notable achievements is earning the Governor's Cup in 2004, 2005, and 2006, which was presented by Sonny Perdue for the largest numerical improvement in SAT...

, and approved by the residents of northeast Fulton County in a July 18, 2006 voter referendum.

In November 2006, the City's first elected officials were voted into office, with the City of Johns Creek becoming official December 1, 2006.

Government

The City Council consists of a mayor and six council members who are elected at large, and serve four-year terms. Elections are staggered every two years.

The effort to launch the City government was expedited by hiring CH2M HILL-OMI
CH2M Hill
CH2M Hill is an American-based global provider of engineering, construction, and operations services for corporations, nonprofits, and federal, state, and local governments. The firm is headquartered in Meridian, an unincorporated area of Douglas County, Colorado in the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan...

, a global, Colorado-based consulting firm that provided most day-to-day municipal services (except for police and fire) for the first three years of cityhood.

The company provided equipment and staff so the City could be functional immediately upon the first day of operation.

The public-private partnership, modeled after a similar plan in Sandy Springs, was one of the most extensive in the country at the time. Only the city manager, city clerk, city attorney, mayor’s aide, finance director, municipal court clerk and judge were city employees. Other staff was provided by CH2M HILL-OMI or their sub-contractors.

As the City grew and matured, it reduced its reliance on CH2M HILL. In September 2010, the City Council voted to revise its public-private partnership with CH2M HILL. Community Development http://www.johnscreekga.gov/commdev/index.asp and Public Works http://www.johnscreekga.gov/publicworks/index.asp operations continue to be provided by CH2M HILL while all others are provided by city employees or other contractors and sub-contractors.

The Johns Creek Police Department http://www.johnscreekga.gov/police/index.asp launched October 7, 2008, and the Fire Department http://www.johnscreekga.gov/fire/index.asp launched April 27, 2008. The Police Department was certified by the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement within two years of the department’s formation, a feat not matched since the history of CALEA.

Geography

Johns Creek is centered at 34°1′44"N 84°11′55"W (34.0289259, -84.1985790), as recognized by the USGS GNIS in December 2006. The elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....

 is around 286 m (938.3 ft) AMSL. Johns Creek is bounded to the south by the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...

 and Gwinnett County. It is bounded on the Northeast by McGinnis Ferry Road and Forsyth County. It has an irregular boundary with the cities of Roswell and Alpharetta on its northwestern side.

Major highways

  • State Route 120
  • State Route 141

Climate

Johns Creek has a humid subtropical climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...

 (Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...

 Cfa).

Demographics

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, 76,728 people live in the City of Johns Creek, a 27.1 percent increase since a 2000 estimate for Georgia's 10th largest city. The racial makeup of the city in the 2010 U.S. Census was 63.5 percent White; 23.4 percent Asian; 9.2 percent African American; 5.2 percent Hispanic or Latino; 0.1 percent Native American; 1.4 percent from other races; and 2.4 percent from two or more races.

Since the city's December 2006 incorporation, it has used an estimated population of 70,050 for planning purposes. The city did not exist at the time of the U.S. Census in 2000, therefore official U.S. Census data did not exist.

As of 2007, there were about 70,050 people estimated, with 23,013 households, and 18,740 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 73.8 percent White; 13.7 percent Asian; 8.8 percent African American; 4.5 percent Hispanic or Latino; 0.1 percent Native American; 1.3 percent from other races; and 2.2 percent from two or more races.

Johns Creek's 2010 demographics showed an estimated $109,576 median household income, a $137,271 average household income and a $45,570 per capita income.

ZIP Code issue

Johns Creek residents share five different ZIP Codes with adjoining cities: 30022 and 30005 (Alpharetta); 30097 (Duluth), 30024 (Suwanee); and 30076 (Roswell). All Johns Creek businesses and residents, except those living in the 30076 ZIP Code, are able to use Johns Creek as their mailing address as long as the ZIP Code and address are correct.

City leaders have lobbied U.S. Post Office officials about the possibility of having a post office or single ZIP Code in Johns Creek, but have been told that ZIP Codes are only used to expedite mail delivery.

Culture and leisure

Johns Creek has metro Atlanta’s only part-time, fully professional symphony orchestra, the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra http://www.johnscreeksymphony.org Under the leadership of Music Director, J. Wayne Baughman, the orchestra performs several times each year.

The Johns Creek Arts Center http://www.johnscreekarts.org offers classes and camps for aspiring artists in multiple media throughout the year.

There also are several festivals year-round, such as Founders Week in December in which the community celebrates the City’s incorporation with activities and a parade. The “Fall Family Festival” in September is a community get-together at Newtown Park. Arts on the Creek is a juried art show, and also has musical and stage performers.

"The Taste of Johns Creek" is an annual food festival in the fall that features more than 40 local restaurants with proceeds supporting public school extracurricular activities.

There are six golf facilities (five private, one public) in Johns Creek, including the renowned Atlanta Athletic Club
Atlanta Athletic Club
The Atlanta Athletic Club , founded in 1898, is a world-renowned private athletic club in Johns Creek, Georgia, a suburb 23 miles north of Atlanta. The original home of the club was a 10-story building located on Carnegie Way, and in 1904 a golf course was built on Atlanta's East Lake property...

, home of the 2011 PGA Championship
2011 PGA Championship
The 2011 PGA Championship was the 93rd PGA Championship. Keegan Bradley won his first major championship, in a three-hole playoff over Jason Dufner. The tournament began on Thursday, August 11, 2011 and concluded on Sunday, August 14...

 and the 2014 U.S. Amateur.

Other golf facilities include: Country Club of the South, Rivermont Golf and Country Club, River Pines Golf, St. Ives, and The Standard Club.

The Atlanta Athletic Club was the site of the inaugural Atlanta Tennis Championships http://www.atlantatennischampionships.com in 2010. Johns Creek is home to thousands of members of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association
Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association
The Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association is a non-profit organization founded in 1934 that is devoted to the development of tennis for recreation and physical fitness and is pledged to maintain the rules of play and high standard of sportsmanship based in Atlanta, Georgia...

 (ALTA), one of the largest and oldest organized recreation leagues in the country.

Johns Creek, which is bordered by 13.5 miles (21.7 km) of the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...

, has multiple nearby spots where paddlers can put in or take out their boats. It has shoals and low-level rapids. It also offers prime trout fishing.

Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center offers a replica of a Creek Indian hut, an 1800s historic village, and wildlife in 46 acres (186,155.6 m²) of woodlands. Biking the four-mile (6 km) Greenway along Ga. 141 also is a popular pastime. The city has plans to develop and connect other pathways to the Greenway, which will tie in with other cities, adding several miles of trails.

Education

The public schools in Johns Creek are part of the Fulton County School System but are not funded by the city.

Johns Creek’s public schools consistently place among the top in the nation. Chattahoochee High School, River Trail Middle School, and Dolvin Elementary are National Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence. Northview High School has three times won the Governor’s Cup for the state’s highest SAT scores. Johns Creek High School, opened in 2009, is a state-of-the-art educational facility.

High Schools (Grades 9-12)
  • Chattahoochee High School
    Chattahoochee High School
    Chattahoochee High School is a public high school in Johns Creek, Georgia within the Fulton County School System and has been recognized as one of America's Blue Ribbon schools. The school is currently ranked as the number one high school in the State of Georgia by ACT average composite scores...

  • Northview High School
    Northview High School (Johns Creek, Georgia)
    Northview High School is located in Johns Creek, Georgia, U.S.A. The school is a part of the Fulton County School System.One of its many notable achievements is earning the Governor's Cup in 2004, 2005, and 2006, which was presented by Sonny Perdue for the largest numerical improvement in SAT...

  • Johns Creek High School


Centennial High School
Centennial High School (Roswell, Georgia)
Centennial High School is a public high school located in Roswell, Georgia.  Opened in 1997, it has an enrollment of around 1,900 students. The school's mascot is the Knight. Centennial High School is a part of the Fulton County Schools system...

, located in Roswell, serves students who live in the Newtown community.

Middle Schools (Grades 6-8)
  • Autrey Mill Middle School
  • River Trail Middle School
    River Trail Middle School
    River Trail Middle School is a 7-time Blue Ribbon Award-winning public middle school located in Johns Creek, Georgia. The Georgia Department of Education identified River Trail as a Blue Ribbon winner during the 2002-2003 and 2007-2008 school years. In the Single Statewide Accountability System...

  • Taylor Road Middle School
  • Haynes Bridge Middle School, located in Alpharetta, serves students who live in the Newtown community.


Elementary Schools (Grades K-5)

Private Schools

Public libraries
  • Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System
    Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System
    The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System is a network of public libraries serving the City of Atlanta and Fulton County, both in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is currently administered by Fulton County...

     operates the Northeast Spruill Oaks Library and Ocee Regional Library

Notable residents

  • Bobby Brown
    Bobby Brown
    Robert Barisford "Bobby" Brown is an American R&B singer-songwriter, occasional rapper, and dancer. After success in pop group New Edition, Brown began his solo career in 1987 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits, culminating in a Grammy Award. He was a pioneer of New Jack Swing music, a...

    , singer
  • Keyshia Cole
    Keyshia Cole
    Keyshia Myeshia Cole Gibson born October 15, 1981) is an American singer–songwriter and actress. She gained nationwide acclaim when her 2005 debut album, The Way It Is went platinum. Her sophomore album Just Like You went into production shortly after that and was released in September 2007...

    , singer-songwriter
  • Morris Day
    Morris Day
    Morris E. Day is an American musician and composer. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.-1970s and 1980s:...

    , singer
  • Jeff Foxworthy
    Jeff Foxworthy
    Jeffrey Marshall "Jeff" Foxworthy is an American comedian, television and radio personality and author. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a comedy troupe which also comprises Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and Ron White. Known for his "you might be a redneck" one-liners, Foxworthy...

    , comedian
  • Tom Glavine
    Tom Glavine
    Thomas Michael Glavine is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher.With 164 victories during the 1990s, Glavine was the second winningest pitcher in the National League, second only to teammate Greg Maddux's 176...

    , Braves baseball pitcher
  • Whitney Houston
    Whitney Houston
    Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...

    , singer
  • Don Majkowski
    Don Majkowski
    Donald Francis Vincent Majkowski, "Majik", is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts and Detroit Lions.-College career:...

    , former Green Bay Packers quarterback
  • Tyler Perry
    Tyler Perry
    Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...

    , comedian
  • Raven-Symoné
    Raven-Symoné
    Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman , known professionally as Raven-Symoné , or simply Raven, is an American actress, singer, songwriter, comedian, dancer, television producer and model. Symoné launched her successful career in 1989 after appearing in The Cosby Show as Olivia...

    , actress/singer; played on That's So Raven
    That's So Raven
    That's So Raven is an American cable television teen sitcom/fantasy series. The show premiered on the Disney Channel on January 17, 2003, and ended on November 10, 2007. The show spawned Disney Channel's first spin-off series: Cory in the House...

    and The Cosby Show
    The Cosby Show
    The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...

  • Ralph Sampson III
    Ralph Sampson III
    Ralph Lee Sampson III is a college basketball player who currently plays for the University of Minnesota. His father, Ralph Sampson, was the first overall pick in the 1983 NBA Draft and a 4-time NBA All-Star....

    , college basketball player for the Minnesota Golden Gophers
    Minnesota Golden Gophers
    The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the college sports team for the University of Minnesota. The university fields both men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, golf, ice hockey, swimming, tennis, and track and field. Men's-specific sports include baseball, football, and...

    ; son of NBA Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson
    Ralph Sampson
    Ralph Lee Sampson, Jr. is a retired American college and professional basketball player.A 7-foot-4 phenom, three-time College Player of the Year, and No...

  • John Smoltz
    John Smoltz
    John Andrew Smoltz is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and active sportscaster. He is best known for his prolific career of more than two decades with the Atlanta Braves, in which he garnered eight All-Star selections and received the Cy Young Award in 1996...

    , Braves baseball pitcher
  • Usher
    Usher (entertainer)
    Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...

    , Grammy Award-winning R&B singer
  • Devon Werkheiser
    Devon Werkheiser
    Devon Joseph Werkheiser is an American actor and musician, best known for his starring role as Ned Bigby on the Nickelodeon sitcom Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and for his role in the 2007 TV Movie Shredderman Rules, as the lead character Nolan Byrd.-Personal life:Werkheiser was born...

    , actor, played on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
    Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
    Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, commonly called Ned's Declassified for short, is an American live-action situation comedy on Nickelodeon that debuted in the channel's Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004. The series' actual pilot episode aired on September 7, 2003...

  • Charlie Whitehurst
    Charlie Whitehurst
    Charles David Whitehurst is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft...

    , pro football player, currently playing for the Seattle Seahawks
    Seattle Seahawks
    The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...

  • Kim Zolciak
    Kim Zolciak
    Kimberleigh Marie "Kim" Zolciak is an American reality television personality known for her participation on the Bravo series The Real Housewives of Atlanta.-Early life:...

    , on The Real Housewives of Atlanta
    The Real Housewives of Atlanta
    The Real Housewives of Atlanta is an American reality television series on the Bravo cable network that premiered in the fall of 2008. Following the format of its predecessors , in 2009 the Atlanta series was not only the highest rated show of the The Real Housewives of... franchise, it was the...

  • Brian Stann
    Brian Stann
    Brian Michael Stann is an American mixed martial artist and former US Marine who competes as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is a former WEC Light Heavyweight champion...

    , American mixed martial artist

External links

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