Mableton, Georgia

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, most of the land in present-day southern Cobb County belonged to the Cherokee and Creek. Two Native American villages were established near the area that will later become known as Mableton - the settlements of Sweet Water Town and Nickajack. Both tribes coinhabited the area peacefully, with one legend claiming that eventual ownership of the area by the Cherokee was settled via a ball game.[5] One of the earliest known records of white Europeans being aware of the inhabitants is an 1839 map depicting a 'Nickajack Creek' converging with the Chattahoochee River south and west of the Standing Peachtree settlement.[6]

Robert Mable

The town was named after Scottish immigrant Robert Mable (October 18, 1803 - July 7, 1885), who on September 11, 1843, bought 300 acres (approximately 120 hectares or 1.2 km²) of land in southern Cobb County from the Georgia Land Lottery of 1832. Mable was a millwright and farmer who grew cotton, corn, potatoes, and sorghum in the area; he owned between 11 and 48 slaves by 1860. According to oral interviews, Mable was a "fair and kind" enslaver who educated slave children alongside his own, and eventually also liberated his slaves before any government mandate ordered him to.[5] The Robert Mable House and Cemetery, located off U.S. 78 on Floyd Road just north of Clay Road, now includes an amphitheater which hosts public events.[7]

More white settlers moved into the northern edge of Mableton by Nickajack Creek, near Smyrna, in the mid-1800s. They formed a community initially known as 'Mill Grove', and later 'Nickajack.' The creek provided ample power to run grist, saw, cotton, and woolen mills. A covered bridge, originally built c. 1848–1850, traverses the stream and is now part of a historical district. It is one of the few remaining covered bridges in Georgia, and still highly active today after it was later buttressed to handle automobile traffic. A notable resident of the area during that period was John Gann, Cobb County's first state senator. His home, built in 1841, still stands today and is also part of the historical district.[6]

During the Atlanta campaign of the Civil War, Union officers Walter Q. Gresham and Francis P. Blair Jr. of the XVII Corps reached Mableton on July 3, 1864, after the Union defeat at Kennesaw. Gresham replenished his troops' supplies and received medical care at Robert Mable's house, and camped for the night before advancing to Atlanta.[8] The house was spared from the carnage of Sherman's March to the Sea.[9]

The Mableton train depot, constructed 1881

The Georgia Pacific Railway (later absorbed by Southern Railway and today known as the Norfolk Southern Railway) opened a railroad station in Mableton in December 1881. The chief engineer erected a sign displaying 'Mableton' upon completion of the station in honor of Robert. The first train from Atlanta arrived at the station just before Christmas. Shortly after, the post office was established on June 28, 1882. This replaced the post office in Bryantville, a former settlement about two miles (3.2 km) southeast. The arrival of the railroad allowed Mableton to act as a commercial hub for then-rural Cobb County.[10] Cotton export flourished throughout the county from the 1890s until the Great Depression.[11]

A family in Mableton, 1908

On August 19, 1912, Mableton was incorporated as a town but was disincorporated on August 17, 1916.[12] In that year, the town suffered from a heavy flood, resulting in an unexpected tax burden being placed upon the residents for repairs.[9] But after locals successfully demanded that a tax on storm drains be shared by all of Cobb County instead, the town's charter was revoked and Mableton was disincorporated.[13] H.A. Glore, a medical doctor from Atlanta Medical College (now Emory University), served as the town's mayor during this time.[5][14]

Mableton is located at 33°48′48″N 84°34′18″W (33.813355, -84.571691).[15] The Chattahoochee River acts as the southeast border, separating Cobb County from west Fulton County — where the historic African-American neighborhood of Collier Heights and the former site of the Bankhead Courts housing project are nearby. Two suburban cities directly border Mableton: Austell in the west and Smyrna in the north. Lithia Springs, an unincorporated community, is directly southwest.

Mableton is approximately 15 miles west-northwest from the city of Atlanta, and approximately 20 miles from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The City of Mableton was approved by the voters in a referendum on the General Election Ballot on November 8, 2022.

The referendum was the result of the General Assembly's passage of House Bill (HB-839), which set the boundaries of the city, established city council districts, and laid out the powers of the Mayor and Council. The law also established March 21, 2023, as the date for a special election for the first Mayor and Council Members.

In the election held March 21, 2023, Aaron Carman received 35.79 percent of the vote to 30.56 percent for Michael Owens. Both candidates proceeded to a run-off special election held April 18, 2023.

On April 18, 2023, for the first time in 107 years, Mableton elected Michael Owens as its first mayor. Michael Owens defeated Aaron Carman Tuesday in the runoff election to lead the new city, according to results from Cobb elections. Owens received 56% (3,396 votes) to Carman's 44% (2,703 votes).

Owens, a Marine veteran, cybersecurity executive and former chair of the Cobb Democratic Party, becomes Mableton's first mayor since its brief existence as a city from 1912 to 1916.

The public-use, general aviation Fulton County Airport (Brown Field) is adjacent to Mableton's southeast border with Fulton County. It includes two runways and handles approximately 65,000 operations annually.[18]

The Cobb County School District operates several public schools in the area:

In the summer of 2010, more than a hundred residents, bureaucrats, politicians, architects, designers and traffic engineers spent a week designing a vision for a redeveloped downtown Mableton. It was then formalized by Duany Plater-Zyberk into a plan that was unanimously approved by Cobb County's Board of Commissioners in 2013.[29] The establishment of the new Mableton Town Center (MTC) is part of the county's 2040 Comprehensive Plan.[30]

A rendering of the proposed mixed-use development along Mableton Parkway

As of late 2020, Embry Development Company is in talks with the Cobb County Board of Commissioners to begin construction of a 31-acre mixed-use commercial/residential plaza at Mableton Parkway and Old Powder Springs Road.[31] The development calls for 81 town homes, 46 "courtyard cottage" style houses, 21 detached single-family homes, and 13,500 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The particular area, in addition to establishments along Veterans Memorial Highway (U.S. 78), is largely dated and rundown, with some businesses failing to adhere to building codes.[32]

Another company, Garner Group, is also redeveloping a nearly 40 year old strip mall along Floyd Road and East-West Connector into a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly plaza. There will be 360 luxury apartments and 42 townhomes on the 60-acre site, with the entire development occupying about 720,000 square feet. Planning Commission Chair Galt Porter, proponent of the plan, stated of the recent growth in the area: "It's probably been 15 to 20 years since there's been a market rate development of apartments anywhere close to this...you have to go to Smyrna to get something, or you have to go out all the way into Powder Springs to get something. There's just nothing in this area."[33] The project was approved by the Cobb County Board of Commissioners on October 21, 2020.[34]

In 2020, a local initiative known as the South Cobb Alliance fostered a debate for cityhood.[35] A feasibility study conducted by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government stated that the potential city would generate $11.3 million in operating expenses and $14.6 million in revenue.[36] Alternatively, nearby Smyrna considered annexing parts of Mableton. This move would have made Smyrna the largest city in Cobb County, surpassing the county seat of Marietta, and ultimately disrupt Mableton's cityhood efforts.[37]

Following the 2022 midterm elections, a referendum on cityhood was passed, with 13,162 in favor of Mableton's cityhood and 11,675 rejecting it.[38] It is the largest city in Cobb County in terms of population, with the new city incorporating about 78,000 residents.[39] The city limits also include areas of unincorporated Smyrna and Austell.

• 
  Sen. John Gann's home, the Boxwood Cottage, built 1841
• 
  The Concord Covered Bridge spanning Nickajack Creek, largely unchanged in appearance from 1872
• 
  Dr. H.A. Glore (right), mayor of incorporated Mableton, with his family in 1894
• 
  Cotton workers in Mableton, around 1900
• 
  Swimmers in Nickajack Creek, 1916

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/cobb-county/crowded-first-council-meeting-mableton-met-with-confusion/OSZJ7AFOUNBUDES45KPKP3PNBI/