History

Early history of Norcross is linked to Atlanta not only by the railroad, but by the esteem held each for the other by two energetic, forward-leaning Atlanta businessmen.

The new city growing beside the rail line from Atlanta was officially incorporated in 1870 by businessman and entrepreneur John J. Thrasher.

Thrasher named his new town for Jonathan Norcross, his good friend and an early mayor of Atlanta. Like Thrasher, Jonathan Norcross was a founding settler of Atlanta. Jonathan Norcross was born in Orono, Maine, in 1808, the son of a minister whose family emigrated from England in the 1700's. Norcross moved to Putnam County Georgia in 1836, and in 1844, he arrived on horseback in Marthasville, as the new rail terminus was then called. He would lead the effort to name the city Atlanta, start a sawmill business, open the Norcross Emporium, become president of a railroad, found a newspaper, and run (unsuccessfully) for governor as a Republican.

In the 1980's, the city of Norcross gained more than a friend, it gained a living legacy when it was discovered by a member of the Norcross family in England who happened to be visiting Atlanta. Norcross became the only city in Georgia to connect with living family members in England of a founding namesake. Derek Norcross of Hastings, England, returned twice more to visit the town named for his famous forebear.