The History of Atlanta: 1782-1910 By lexy590 1782 First Written Record of Standing Peachtree 1793 Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin 1814 Fort Peachtree was built Period: 1818 to 1838 Creeks and the Cherokees forced to surrender their land 1821 ATL opened for white settlement 1833 Hardy Ivy, first permanent white settler 1837 Western and Atlantic Railroad was built from Chattanooga to ATL 1837 ATL was named Terminus 1843 ATL name changed to Marthasville 1844 ATL became ATL 1850 Oakland Cemetery opened 1860 Civil War 1864 Sherman destroyed ATL 1865 All 5 railroads back in operation 1868 ATL became the capital 1886 John S. Pemberton created COCO-COLA 1886 Joe Jacobs Pharmacy began selling COCO-COLA 1890 ATL had 12 railroad lines 1892 COCO-COLA company founded by Asa Candler 1905 Alonzo Herndon founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Co. 1906 ATL Race Riot 1910 ATL had 40 railroad lines