Peachtree City history and landmarks

Last checked Oct. 6, 2026. Facts come from the City of Peachtree City’s History page, the M.T. Allen Memorial Library’s Joel Cowan History Room and its online exhibit, the National Park Service and the Fayette County Historical Society, each linked below. Library: 770-631-2520.

Peachtree City is a young city on old ground. It was chartered on March 9, 1959, as a planned community, a “new town” built from scratch in western Fayette County, according to the city’s History page.

Who to call

• Joel Cowan History Room (M.T. Allen Memorial Library, 201 Willowbend Road): 770-631-2520, by appointment
• Fayette County Historical Society research center, 195 Lee St., Fayetteville: 770-461-9270
• Official page: Peachtree City history

Before the city

The city says the land was first settled by Woodland-era Indigenous people about 12,000 years ago. William McIntosh Jr., born in 1775 to a Scottish father and a Creek mother, became a chief of the Lower Creek. In 1821 he ceded Creek land to the federal government, part of which became Fayette County. After McIntosh was killed by fellow Creeks in 1825, his two wives and several of his children stayed for several months at the Ware plantation, in what is now Peachtree City. Many towns and roads in the county were given Scottish names in his honor, and McIntosh High School is named for him.

The city’s cemeteries page says traces of Native American occupation and of the earlier communities of Aberdeen and Clover remain inside the city. The state recognizes two historic locations and regulates all abandoned and active cemeteries; three abandoned cemeteries are owned by the Fayette County Historical Society. The city says it keeps city-owned abandoned cemeteries and identified historic sites as undeveloped greenbelt, and maps them in a story map.

A planned “new town”

In the 1950s a group of real estate developers assembled more than 12,000 acres in Fayette County for a planned community. The plan divided the city into villages, each with its own shopping, recreation and elementary schools. Today’s villages are Aberdeen, Braelinn, Glenloch, Kedron and Wilksmoor.

The original plan called for 80,000 to 110,000 residents. In 1985 the plan was revised to a full build-out of about 45,000. The 2020 census counted 38,244; see Peachtree City population.

The founders

The library’s online exhibit, The Development of Peachtree City: A “New Town” for South Metro Atlanta, profiles two founders:

• Joel H. Cowan is credited with founding the city in 1959 and served as its first mayor, 1959 to 1963. A 1958 Georgia Tech graduate, he led two early development companies, Peachtree Corporation of Georgia and Garden Cities Corporation. The exhibit includes a 1962 photo of Cowan working on the dam at Lake Peachtree and a 1972 tour of British new towns with Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell.
• W. Floy Farr, raised in Tyrone, handled the escrow on the initial land purchase. In 1965 he and Cowan moved Redwine Brothers Bank to Peachtree City as Fayette State Bank, with Farr as president. The exhibit credits him with bringing telephone service to western Fayette County in 1935, and he was a founding member of Coweta-Fayette EMC in 1945.

National Register listings

The National Park Service’s list of National Register properties (data as of May 22, 2026) shows no listings in Peachtree City. Fayette County’s listings are in and around Fayetteville:

Inside Peachtree City, the Andrew Nations House at Redwing and Bernhard roads was documented by the federal Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS No. GA-2306); its photographs are in the public domain.

Museums, history rooms and sites you can visit

• Joel Cowan History Room, M.T. Allen Memorial Library, 201 Willowbend Road. Opened in 1987, it holds the city’s founding documents, developers’ marketing, photos, maps and textiles, plus an oral history project begun in 2002 with transcripts and audio of founding residents. By appointment only; call 770-631-2520. The collection is also on the Digital Library of Georgia.
• Fayette County Historical Society research center, 195 Lee St., Fayetteville: 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, per the society’s website. The society, chartered in 1971, also opens Starr’s Mill and the Old Courthouse Welcome Center and Museum from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month.

What this means for you

• The city’s own archive is the Joel Cowan History Room at the library; call to book a visit.
• For older Fayette County history, the historical society’s research center is in Fayetteville.
• Starr’s Mill opens to visitors once a month, on the second Tuesday.

More: Lake Peachtree, parks and trails and your town, county and neighbors.

Frequently asked questions

When was Peachtree City founded?

Peachtree City was chartered on March 9, 1959, after a group of real estate developers assembled more than 12,000 acres in Fayette County in the 1950s to build a planned community.

Who founded Peachtree City?

Joel H. Cowan is credited with founding the city in 1959 and served as its first mayor from 1959 to 1963, according to the M.T. Allen Memorial Library’s history exhibit.

What are the villages of Peachtree City?

Aberdeen, Braelinn, Glenloch, Kedron and Wilksmoor. The city was planned as villages, each with its own shopping, recreation and elementary schools.

Are there National Register historic places in Peachtree City?

None, according to the National Park Service’s list of National Register properties. Fayette County’s five listings are in and around Fayetteville, including the Fayette County Courthouse, listed in 1980.

Where can I research Peachtree City history?

The Joel Cowan History Room at the M.T. Allen Memorial Library, by appointment (770-631-2520), and the Fayette County Historical Society’s research center at 195 Lee St., Fayetteville (770-461-9270).