Gwinnett: A Little Above Atlanta

From the time it was founded in 1818, until after World War II, Gwinnett County, Georgia was much like the vast majority of counties in the state: rural, engaged primarily in farming, and not much affected by the outside world.

After 1950, Gwinnett's proximity to Atlanta changed all that -- because of the automobile, the interstate highway system, and Atlanta developing into the Southeast's key airport. As the growth of Atlanta spread outside Fulton and DeKalb County, Gwinnett, with its open...