DeKalb

Formed December 9, 1822 (56^th county)

DeKalb County (764,386), Decatur (24,927), Stonecrest (59,190)

A Modern style steel and concrete courthouse, built in 1967, is located on Trinity Place between McDonough Street and Commerce Street.  United States Highway 278 is two blocks southeast of the building.  Bothwell & Associates provided the designs.  It was enlarged in 2001.  It sits in a park setting.  There were 1843 and 1898 versions of the courthouse all in Decatur the only county seat.  The county has existed since December 9, 1822 when it was carved from Henry, Gwinnett, and Fayette counties as the 56^th county.  Fulton County was later taken from DeKalb County.  American Revolutionary fighter German Baron Johann de Kalb is the county’s name source.  Naval hero Stephen Decatur provided the inspiration for the county seat.  He also provided his name to Decatur County.  The county center is 5 miles Northeast of Decatur nearer Clarkston. 

DeKalb County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Sixteen Superior Court Judges serve DeKalb and Rockdale counties and Six State Judges and Thirty-four County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve DeKalb County (judicial.) The county is in northwest Georgia in the eastern part of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.  Atlanta, Georgia is immediately west and Athens, Georgia is east of the county.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Gwinnett, Rockdale, Henry, Clayton, and Fulton counties. 

The area of the county is 268 square miles.  It is 113 of 159 in size in the state.  It ranks 4 out of 159 in population in the state.  It has a density of 2852.2 persons per square mile making it 1 out of 159 in the state.  DeKalb County has 44.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 20 comes in from the east, Rockdale County, and exits into Fulton County, west.  Interstate Highway 85 goes northeast to southwest from Gwinnett County to Fulton County.  United States Highway 23 enters from Gwinnett County, northeast, and exits into Clayton County, south.  United States Highway 29 parallels Interstate Highway 85 from Gwinnett County to Fulton County.  United States Highway 78 goes east to west through the county from Gwinnett County to Fulton County.  United States Highway 278 parallels Interstate Highway 20 from Rockdale County to Fulton County.  The county is overall triangular shaped with Decatur in the western quarter.  Stonecrest is in the southeast of the county.  Decatur is the county seat and Dunwoody is the largest city.  Decatur is 3.4% of the county population while Stonecrest is 7.7% of the county population.  The county is pronounced DEE-KAB.  This county is in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area.