Alpharetta history and landmarks

Last checked 2026-10-04. Dates come from the City of Alpharetta’s history page, its Learn Local History page, the city’s Alpharetta History Walk brochure (PDF), the Alpharetta and Old Milton County Historical Society and the National Park Service’s National Register data.

Alpharetta was incorporated on Dec. 11, 1858, to be the seat of the new Milton County. It stayed the county seat until Milton County merged with Fulton County in 1932. The free history museum inside City Hall tells the story, and 25 markers downtown let you walk it.

Who to call

• History museum and History Walk: City of Alpharetta Arts and Culture, 678-297-6078, arts-culture@alpharetta.ga.us
• Historical society, research and archives: Alpharetta and Old Milton County Historical Society, 678-449-6910, info@aomchs.org
• Historic designation of a property: the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, through City Hall, 678-297-6000

How Alpharetta began

Settlers came to the area in the 1830s, and the community began as a trading post, the city says. The land had been part of the Cherokee Nation and, from 1831, the southern part of Cherokee County, according to the historical society. Residents faced a trip of up to four days to the county seat in Canton, so parts of Cherokee, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Forsyth counties were joined to form Milton County.

Of the 60 acres, 12.5 were kept for county use and the rest sold as lots for the downtown business district and homes, the historical society says. Cotton drove the economy for decades. Most of the commercial buildings on the west side of South Main Street and Old Roswell Street went up between 1902 and 1914.

Alpharetta had about 3,000 residents in 1980, the city says, and is now home to more than 65,000.

National Register of Historic Places

The National Park Service’s listed-properties file, dated May 22, 2026, places two properties under Alpharetta. A listing does not open a property to the public; neither record gives visiting hours.

The Rucker house is listed at the state level of significance for exploration and settlement and architecture; the school at the local level for architecture and education. The file lists no historic district in Alpharetta. Inside the city, the Historic Preservation Commission keeps the Historic Resources Inventory and holds hearings on historic designation. It meets at 3 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month in the council chambers at City Hall.

Museums and places to visit

Alpharetta and Old Milton County History Museum, inside City Hall, 2 Park Plaza. Open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday; weekends by appointment. Admission is free, according to the History Walk brochure. Group tours with a local historian are by appointment, the city’s museum page says. A kiosk plays recorded interviews with longtime residents.

Mansell House and Gardens, 1835 Old Milton Parkway, in Wills Park. Robert Mansell built the Queen Anne-style farmhouse for his wife, Maude Dorris; it was moved to the site in 1993. The historical society is based there and lists office hours of 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, or by appointment, on its contact page.

Future Farmers of America Log Cabin, 200 Milton Ave. Milton High School students built it in 1935, and it was moved to Milton Avenue in 2018, the city says. The historical society’s research library and archives are in its basement (the society lists the address as 210 Milton Ave.), open 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday or by appointment at aomcharchives@gmail.com.

Markers, walks and cemeteries

The city’s History Walk covers 25 markers within walking distance downtown, plus seven sites a short drive away. There is also an online story map of Alpharetta’s history and markers. Some stops:

• Milton County Courthouse site, 2 S. Main St. The courthouse was demolished in 1955; the building there now is a replica.
• Skelton-Teasley House, 1856, 61 Roswell St.
• Alpharetta First United Methodist Church, 69 N. Main St., where a meeting house stood as early as 1834.
• Webb Guano House, c. 1901, 21 Milton Ave.
• Dodd Hotel, c. 1870, 120 Milton Ave.

Resthaven Cemetery, 90 Milton Ave. In December 1860 the Milton County Inferior Court gave two acres for a graveyard. The earliest recorded burial is Susan Camp Garrison, who died in 1861, the brochure says. Myra Adeline and Payne Cook Pineview Cemetery, c. 1950, at 300 Teasley Drive, is on the brochure’s list of additional sites. Neither source publishes visiting hours.

Frequently asked questions

When was Alpharetta founded? Alpharetta was incorporated on Dec. 11, 1858, as the seat of the new Milton County, according to the city and the Alpharetta and Old Milton County Historical Society.

What happened to Milton County? Milton County, nearly bankrupt, merged with Fulton County on Jan. 1, 1932. Alpharetta had been its county seat from 1858.

Is the Alpharetta history museum free? Yes. The Alpharetta and Old Milton County History Museum inside City Hall, 2 Park Plaza, is free and open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday.

What National Register of Historic Places sites are in Alpharetta? The National Park Service lists two under Alpharetta: the Simeon and Jane Rucker Log House, listed in 1997, and Newtown Elementary School, listed in 2006.

Where is the oldest cemetery in downtown Alpharetta? Resthaven Cemetery at 90 Milton Ave. dates to December 1860, when the Milton County Inferior Court gave two acres for a graveyard, according to the city’s History Walk.

What this means for you

• Start at the museum in City Hall on a weekday; it is free.
• Walk the downtown markers with the History Walk brochure or the online story map.
• Researching a family or a house? Email the historical society’s archives first.
• Thinking of seeking historic designation for a property? Start with the Historic Preservation Commission.

Related: parks and trails, things to do in Alpharetta and who to call at City Hall.