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208:, the fourth mayor of Atlanta. He was also elected the city's first mayor. Thrasher quickly turned Norcross into a vacation destination with a resort hotel he built. He was an active philanthropist in Norcross, a founder of First Baptist Church, a donor of houses to clergy and land for a park, now called Thrasher Park in downtown Norcross. A daily train ran between Norcross and Atlanta, perhaps the first commuter train in Georgia.
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Thrasher himself purchased a large amount of land in
Whitehall which is now the site of West End, a neighborhood of Atlanta just southwest of the city center. This area was originally supposed to have been the
173:, a railroad employee, donated land just northeast of Whitehall to the railroad and the terminus was moved. Thrasher was so disgusted by this that he sold his land at a significant loss and moved to
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and the destruction of
Atlanta that he became deeply involved in Atlanta politics. He was instrumental in opening Atlanta's first jail, its first school, and its streetcars.
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of the railroad and
Thrasher expected enough traffic generated to bring business to the grocery store he built and to spur development on his land. In 1842,
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John J. Thrasher's descendants have established the
Thrasher Family Association, which holds an annual reunion and publishes a quarterly newsletter.
283:, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Archives. Also available in John J. Thrasher Collection, Atlanta History Center.
232:. He never abandoned the railroads however, and was instrumental in bringing the railroads to that town. He died in Dade City on Nov. 13, 1899.
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and George
Woodruff, the great-grandsons of his first cousin, Caroline Thrasher. Robert Woodruff was a famous Atlanta philanthropist and CEO of
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Published privately by the
Thrasher Family Association (1986). Available at Emory University Library and University of Georgia Library.
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A Compilation of Fact and Legend
Pertaining to The History of Norcross in Gwinnett County
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Paula Crouch, "Before
Atlanta, before Terminus, It was Cousin's John Thrasherville,"
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https://archive.org/stream/historyofthrashe00thra/historyofthrashe00thra_djvu.txt
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In 1844 Thrasher married and moved back to
Atlanta opening another store on
96:(February 24, 1818–November 13, 1899) was the founder of the city of
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A sketch of John J. Thrasher appearing in an 1879 Harper's magazine article
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This article is about the
Georgia pioneer. For the Florida politician, see
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and founded the town of Norcross, named after Thrasher's good friend,
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In the late 1880s, Thrasher and his wife followed his sons to
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In 1839, Thrasher was hired to do work on the terminus of the
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Railroad Man: John J. Thrasher and the Early Years of Atlanta
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In 1870 Thrasher moved northeast of the city along the
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In 1878 his wanderlust struck again and he moved to
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133:. His work crew lived in the area of what is now
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73:Learn how and when to remove this message
36:This article includes a list of general
362:Atlanta Old and New: Prehistory to 1847
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441:People from Central, South Carolina
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344:"John Thrasher died in Florida,"
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196:Founding of Norcross
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