Fort Peachtree lat: 334988N long: 8426937W
With Creek Indians as British allies & Cherokees
loyal to U.S., in War of 1812, it was expedient to
locate a fort at Standing Peach Tree on the
Chattahoochee - the boundry line. Lt. Geo. Gilmer
(later, twice Gov. of Georgia) was sent here ( 1814)
with a small force to erect a fort & protect workman
building flat boats for shipping supplies to Ft.
Mitchell. Lt. Gilmer’s fort was built on the knoll N.
of & at mouth of Peachtree Cr. J.McC. Montgomery,
Supt. of Artificers, set up the boat yard in the flat area
S. of the Cr. - a bridge connecting it with the fort.
Montgomery returned to this vicinity as a resident
about 1821
060-61 Ga. Historical Commission  1956                             Location -- Ridgewood Rd. at Ridgewood Circle
One of a line of forts hastily constructed during the War of 1812 to control the Creek Indians who were in alliance with the British, Fort Peachtree occupied the summit northeast of the confluence of the Chattahoochee River and Peachtree Creek, and overlooked the creek trading post town of Standing Peachtree. First Lt. George Rockingham Gilmer (Governor of Georgia, 1829-39) erected the fort in 1814. He later said he had “never seen a fort” up until that time, but as far as anyone knows, his construction was successful, since the strength of the fort was never Gilmer’s command of twenty two, wrote Gen. Andrew Jackson (March 20, 1814) that the site, “on a commanding eminence,” provided a “romantic” view of the river,both up stream and down. In July he described the fort as being “two large hew’d logg block houses, six dwelling houses, one fram’d store house, one bridge... and five boats” which cost “the Government not less that five thousand dollars.” (Montgomery later returned to live here. He became postmaster of Standing Peachtree and established Montgomery’s Ferry near the fort site.) After the War of 1812, Fort Peachtree was apparently abandoned. No trace of the fort remains atop the hill. 060-194 Ga. Historical Commission 1966
 
It could be argued that the history of Atlanta began at Fort Peachtree, where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River. Way back when this point was the borderline between the Creek Indian lands to the south and Cherokee territories to the north, there stood a large peach tree (or, depending on who you listen to, it may have been some sort of pine, or "pitch" tree.) The tree gave the name to the nearby creek, which in turn gave the name to the main indian trail in the area, and from that, the street, and so on. And on this spot in 1814, the Americans built Fort Peachtree to watch over the neighborhood -- and maybe also the tribes -- during the War of 1812. (The fort is a latter-day recreation constructed by the Water Department, which today operates a water quality monitoring station on the site. At this writing, the property has remained closed to visitors after the events of September 11, 2001.) Later, this spot was briefly chosen as the location where the railroads would come together to form the city of Atlanta. But later, possibly because rivers and train tracks all coming together in one place would be too confusing, they decided to locate the terminus several miles to the east.
 
 
Fort Peachtree, 2630 Ridgewood Road, replica of part of the first non-Indian settlement in Atlanta built by City of Atlanta Bureau of Water near the Atlanta Waterworks pumping station as part of the bicentennial celebration.
 
Nearby is a rustic stone picnic shelter with a beamed roof, fireplace, granite benches and access to toilets.
 
This low bluff overlooking the Chattahoochee River at its confluence with Peachtree Creek takes the imagination far back into Atlanta's history. A major Creek Indian settlement, Standing Peachtree lined the banks of the river here and ran up Peachtree Creek as far back as its junction with Nancy Creek. The river was the frontier between the Creek and Cherokee Indian nations and Standing Peachtree was a major contact point for both Indians and white traders.
 
It's the site from which Peachtree Street/Road takes its name, though some believe instead of a peach tree a commanding pine, or "pitch" tree, stood at the site and was the origin of the name.