Duluth, Georgia

Duluth is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia and a suburb of Atlanta located in the Metro Atlanta area. Unincorporated portions of northeast Fulton County, Georgia and Forsyth County, Georgia also have Duluth as a mailing address, though this area is technically outside city limits. Much of the developing area called Johns Creek is considered to be in Duluth, though it may receive its own cityhood in the near future. The population was 22,122 at the 2000 census, making it the second most populated city in Gwinnett behind Lawrenceville.

Duluth is a popular and rapidly developing suburb of Atlanta, falling close to Interstate 85, which allows a quick commute to Atlanta. It has schools at all levels up through high school and is home to Gwinnett Place Mall, a central commercial center of the northeast Metro Atlanta area. Nearby attractions include Stone Mountain, Lake Lanier, and the Aurora Theatre. Its Peachtree Industrial Boulevard is the same road as Atlanta's Peachtree Road and Peachtree Street.

The Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL, a professional minor league ice hockey team, plays in the Arena at Gwinnett Center, which opened in 2003 in Duluth. In the TPC at Sugarloaf golf course, the Bellsouth Classic tournament is played just before The Masters. Atlanta Athletic Club is also in Duluth, which hosted the 1976 U.S. Open Golf Tournament and the 1981 and 2001 PGA Championship Golf Tournaments, as well as being home to the trophies of golfer Bobby Jones.

The Duluth-area 30097 ZIP code is also home to some of the most expensive neighborhoods in the Metro Atlanta area, including Sugarloaf Country Club, St. Marlo, and St. Ives.

Duluth has an annual Fall Festival celebrating the season of autumn, now held in their newly-built town center, where several buildings of traditional architecture are located, along with a pavilion, a fountain, and City Hall.

Geography

Duluth is located at (34.003100, -84.145498). It is bordered to the north by Suwanee, to the east by Lawrenceville, to the south by Berkeley Lake and Norcross, and to the west by Alpharetta.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.1 km² (8.9 mi²). 22.8 km² (8.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.12%) is water.

History

Duluth is an old city, with its origins stretching back to the early 1800's, when it was primarily forest land. Initially only Cherokee Indians lived in the area, but with the creation of Gwinnett County, Georgia it was opened to white settlers.

The shared names between Duluth, Georgia and the more well-known Duluth, Minnesota are no coincidence. Originally called Howell's Crossing after one of its founders Evan Howell, grandfather of Atlanta mayor Evan P. Howell, the town was renamed in 1871 to match the name of Minnesota's Duluth (which in turn is named for Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut) when it was named in a bill in the U.S. Congress to fund rail to that remote town.

Today, Duluth is home to many famous people including the infamous LaHatte family, suspected perpetrators of the Great Kitty Caper of 1848. Many celebrities also reside in the prestigious neighborhoods in the area.

2005 National Headlines

The city made national headlines twice in 2005, In March, Fulton County Courthouse shooting suspect Brian Nichols was captured in a Duluth apartment after holding local resident Ashley Smith hostage. In April, local resident Jennifer Wilbanks was reported missing a few days before her planned wedding to John Mason. She was found a few days later in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she admitted lying about being kidnapped.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,122 people, 8,735 households, and 5,642 families residing in the city. The population density was 969.5/km² (2,512.3/mi²). There were 9,061 housing units at an average density of 397.1/km² (1,029.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.65% White, 11.86% African American, 0.33% Native American, 12.89% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.83% from other races, and 2.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.05% of the population. Besides Atlanta, Duluth has the highest population of Asians of all other cities in the state.

There were 8,735 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.10.

In age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $60,088, and the median income for a family was $69,437. Males had a median income of $46,683 versus $34,334 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,185. About 3.0% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.