East Atlanta is a neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States The name East Atlanta Village primarily refers to the neighborhood's commercial district. Geography East Atlanta lies entirely within DeKalb County and is bounded by: Interstate 20, Edgewood and Kirkwood to the north. Moreland Avenue, and the neighborhoods of North Ormewood Park, Ormewood Park and Woodland Hills, to the west. Parts of unincorporated DeKalb County, such as Gresham Park Candler-McAfee Decatur, share borders with East Atlanta to the south and east. History Early history Prior to the arrival of American colonists, the area had been dominated by the Creek Native American people. The Sandtown-Flat Shoals Trail existed along high ground as part of a trade route system between the Chattahoochee River and the coast. This trail would eventually become Flat Shoals Avenue. After the forcible removal of the Creek in the 1820s, American citizens began acquiring land in the area through the Georgia land lotteries. Civil War During the Civil War, Atlanta became a major supply hub of the southern war effort and a major target of the northern war effort. Lemuel P. Grant designed the city's fortifications to protect his plantation on the eastside of the city in what is now Grant Park. General James B. McPherson placed his Yankee forces on high ground a mile east of Grant's plantation, the area today known as East Atlanta. A Union cannon was placed at the intersection of Glenwood Avenue and Flat Shoals Road to protect the flank of the front line. The Confederate forces were able to attack from behind, however. The Battle of Atlanta, which was part of the Atlanta Campaign and sealed the fate of the Confederacy, was fought in East Atlanta behind Union lines resulting in more than 12,000 deaths. Today many historic markers dot the neighborhood including two upturned cannons where Confederate General Walker and Union General McPherson were killed. Reconstruction Era East Atlanta recovered after the Civil War, quickly becoming a developing unincorporated town. The Marbut and Minor Mercantile Store was soon established at the crossroads of Glenwood Avenue and Flat Shoals Road. By the late 1890s, the store had grown to encompass five different businesses including a dry goods store, feed and seed, blacksmith, livery stable, and grocery store. Asa Candler, Joel Hurt, Frederic Patterson, and Aaron Haas, founders of the Metropolitan Streetcar Company, developed the McPherson Park subdivision to provide