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Norcross' namesake
Group works to preserve the history of one of the area's early settlers

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(Reprinted by permission from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

By Pamela Wilson
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/17/08

When British citizen Derek Norcross visited Atlanta during the 1980s, he encountered an astonishing portrait in the corridors of Atlanta City Hall. "That man looks just like my grandfather," he was quoted as saying about the image of a bearded, white-haired man in a suit and bow tie.

He was not too far wrong.

The man was actually his great-great-grandfather Jonathan Norcross, one of the earliest settlers in an area that is now downtown Atlanta. He is also the man for whom the city of Norcross was named.

Soon he could be a focal point in a history museum if some history-minded citizens get their wish. The group wants to create the Norcross History Center in a house the city owns at 189 Lawrenceville St. —- reportedly the first brick house built in Norcross. They are currently in discussions with the city, according to Anne Webb, who spearheads the effort.

Their timing couldn't be better. Friday is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Norcross, who was born in Maine on April 18, 1808. He has been called "The Father of Atlanta" and "Atlanta's Most Historic Citizen" because he played a key role in the shaping of both the city of Atlanta and today's suburbs north of the city.

He was once so significant to Atlanta that when he died in 1898, his obituary made up the entire front page of the newspaper. These days, however, the name Jonathan Norcross is scarcely known to most of the town's residents. Still some are working to keep the name and legacy alive.

"As time goes by, the significance of certain historical figures fades," said Webb, who has long studied Jonathan Norcross and the history of the town that bears his name. "Because [Jonathan Norcross] was known mostly in this [metro Atlanta] area, he has faded in the minds of many. But his memory becomes significant again as we do research."

Historic accounts say that Norcross was the second or third generation of a family of British immigrants who lived in Maine. Trained as a mill worker, he came to Georgia at age 36 and settled in the area that would later become downtown Atlanta. He established a sawmill and general store in what is now the Five Points area at Peachtree and Marietta streets and became so well known that for a long time the area was called Norcross Corners.

Norcross co-founded Atlanta's first daily newspaper, The Daily Intelligencer. He was also active in Atlanta politics, serving as city councilman and legislator. In 1851 he was elected as Atlanta's fourth mayor. In the 1860s he led the effort to move the state capital from Milledgeville to Atlanta and was president of a railroad that extended north from Atlanta.

"With all of Jonathan's accomplishments, people often don't know that he was kind and generous and a person of extraordinary character," Webb said. "He donated the bell to First Baptist Church of Norcross, and he donated lumber to homeless people who used it to create shelter."

But Norcross' relationship with the city that bears his name came years later and was actually the idea of another early settler, John Thrasher, who was Norcross' friend and a fellow entrepreneur. Thrasher also launched businesses in Atlanta before venturing north to what is now Gwinnett County. He created a tiny town that was the first rail line stop north of Atlanta, and because he credited Norcross and the railroad for putting the area on the map after the Civil War, he named the town after his friend.

Derek Norcross learned all those facts and more when the portrait discovery prompted him to visit Norcross during his stay in Georgia. He called on then-Mayor Lillian Webb at Norcross City Hall, but since she was away, he left a card explaining his relationship to Jonathan Norcross. "I was delighted to learn about him," she said. "Then for a few years we [she and her family] corresponded with their family in England."

In the 1990s Webb, along with her son, John Webb, and his wife, Anne Webb, her daughter-in-law, set out on the first of many trans-Atlantic journeys to visit the Norcross descendants in England.

Over the years, Derek Norcross also extended an expression of friendship by visiting Norcross several times. He was a special guest at the opening of the new Norcross High School in 2001, where he presented a lecture about Jonathan Norcross and the family history. He also attended a British heritage celebration in Thrasher Park in 2003. The visits held a special significance for British transplant Edna Berkshire, who owns a Norcross store called Taste of Britain. That was the last U.S. visit for Derek Norcross, who died in an auto accident in late 2006.

"His visits highlighted our town's history," Berkshire said. "There's so little of Jonathan's legacy left here anymore other than just the name. But those who know about him seemed intrigued that the town has British heritage."

Anne Webb is doing some preservation of her own by amassing dozens of memorabilia items and maintaining Norcross historical facts.

"Knowing our origin gives us an identity," she said. "It provides us a connection to our town, and it's a rather fascinating connection."

"Our former fellow-citizen, Cousin John Thrasher, with his wide-awake energy, is fast infusing life into the beautiful village of Norcross. His splendid hotel, and his own character as a finished gentleman and good feeder, will make Norcross a place of result for our citizens during the summer months."

1870 Atlanta Constitution article