Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 US Census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818; in 2010, the population was 57,551. History In the 1830s, the Cherokee people in Georgia and elsewhere in the South were forcibly relocated to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) under the Indian Removal Act. Pioneers and farmers later settled on the newly vacated land, situated along a former Cherokee trail stretching from the North Georgia mountains to the Chattahoochee River. One of the area's first permanent landmarks was the New Prospect Camp Ground (also known as the Methodist Camp Ground), beside a natural spring near what is now downtown Alpharetta. It later served as a trading post for the exchanging of goods among settlers. Known as the town of Milton through July 1858, the city of Alpharetta was chartered on December 11, 1858, with boundaries extending in a radius from the city courthouse. It served as the county seat of Milton County until 1931, when Milton County merged with Fulton County to avoid bankruptcy during the Great Depression. The city's name may be a variation of a fictional Indian girl, Alfarata, in the 19th-century song "The Blue Juniata"; it may also be derived from alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet. The Simeon and Jane Rucker Log House, built in 1833, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Geography Alpharetta is in northern Fulton County and is bordered to the southeast by Johns Creek, to the south and west by Roswell, to the north by Milton, and to the northeast by unincorporated land in Forsyth County. Downtown Alpharetta is north of downtown Atlanta. According to the United States Census Bureau, Alpharetta has an area of , of which is land and , or 1.37%, is water. Climate Alpharetta has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa) and is part of USDA hardiness zone 7b. Demographics 2020 census As of the 2020 United States census, there were 65,818 people, 25,391 households, and 18,167 families residing in the city. 2010 census According to the 2010 census, the racial composition of the city of Alpharetta was as follows: White: 72.0% Asian: 13.7% Black or African American: 11.2% Hispanic or Latino : 8.7% Other: 2.9% Two or more races: 2.8% Native American: 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific