The area now called Cumming was first inhabited by Cherokee tribes. They arrived in 1755, the Cherokee and Creek people developed disputes over hunting land. After 2 years of fighting, the Cherokee won the land in the Battle of Taliwa. The Creek people were forced to move south of the Chattahoochee River.
The Cherokee lived together with the settlers until the discovery of gold in Georgia in 1828. Settlers that relocated to the area to mine for gold pushed for the removal of the Cherokee. Finally in 1835, the Treaty of New Echota was signed. The treaty stated that the Cherokee Nation must relocate to the Indian Territory. This resulted in the Trail of Tears. The Cherokee territory was then formed into Cherokee County in 1831. In 1832, the county was then split into several counties including Forsyth County.
Modern History
During the 1830s and 1840s, Cumming benefited from the gold mining industry as many business were created to meet the requirements of the miners. However, the California Gold Rush in 1849 put the city into an economic depression. Newly-built railroads bypassed the city and took traffic from the Federal Road that ran near Cumming. The city was spared during the Civil War because William T. Sherman did not pass through the city during his March to the Sea. In 1900, the county courthouse was destroyed in a fire and rebuilt in 1905.
In 1912, Georgia governor, Joseph M. Brown, sent four companies of state militia to Cumming to prevent riots after several rapes of young white women by African-American men.
The governor then called martial law, but the effort did little to stop a month-long barrage of attacks by night riders on the African-American citizens. This led to a diaspora of African-Americans, and the city had virtually no black population.
Racial tensions were strained even more in 1987. A civil rights demonstration was held through the streets of Cumming to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Meanwhile, a Ku Klux Klan chapter started a counter-demonstration that threw bottles and stones at the civil rights activists. This acquired nationwide attention during the following week. As many as 20,000 people formed a second march. Civil rights leader, Hosea Williams, and former senator, Gary Hart, were in the demonstration. A group of the National Guard kept the opposition of about 1,000 in check. Oprah Winfrey featured the Cumming and Forsyth County on her show, The Oprah Winfrey Show. She formed a town hall meeting where one audience member said this:
I’m afraid of blacks coming to Forsyth County,” he said to Oprah at the meeting. “I was born in Atlanta, and in 1963, the first blacks were bussed to West Fulton High School. I go down there now and I see my neighborhood and my community, which was a nice community, and now it’s nothing but a rat-infested slum area because they don’t care.
However, it was found the most of the audience members agreed that Forsyth County should integrate. Later in an interview , she says that she later regrets going to Forsyth County.
Currently , the city is experiencing new growth. The completion of Georgia 400 has helped evolve Cumming into a commuter town for Atlanta. The city holds the Cumming Country Fair & Festival every October. The Sawnee Mountain Preserve also provides views of the city from the top of Sawnee Mountain. In 1956, Buford Dam, along the Chattahoochee River, started operating. The reservoir that it created is called Lake Lanier. The lake, being a well-liked spot for boaters, has generated income from tourists for Cumming as well as provide a source of drinking water. However, because of speedy growth of the Atlanta area, drought, and mishandling of a stream gauge, Lake Lanier has seen record-low water levels. Moreover, the lake is involved in a longstanding lawsuit between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. Because of a recent ruling, the city may not be able to withdraw its water. However, the city is looking into different sources of water such as wells and various creeks .
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