Slabtown or Slab Town was a red-light district that developed in Atlanta in the 1840s. The neighborhood, which was the site of a railway terminus, was located off present-day Decatur Street. The area's structures were built by poor workers and settlers, largely with slabs and leftover lumber from pioneer Jonathan Norcross' sawmill. As the railway terminus grew, the area became associated with brothels, saloons, and gambling.
In the 20th century, Grady Memorial Hospital was developed at the site.
History
Dubbed the "Father of Atlanta" and "hard fighter of everything," Jonathan Norcross was a pioneer in the railroad town.
Following Indian removal in the 1830s, in 1844 Norcross moved to northern Georgia, where he became a successful dry goods merchant and sawmill operator. His sawmill produced mainly railroad ties and string timbers for the assembly of the Georgia Railroad, which had a terminus at Atlanta. Reclaiming timber and debris discarded by the sawmill, poor settlers quickly began building crude shanties for their families.
Rise and fall
In 1845, pioneer life could be characterized as desolate and distinct with simple pleasures. The numerous male railroad workers in Atlanta sought rough trade. About 15 years before the American Civil War, this was a time of ill repute for Atlanta; the railroad town was known for vice and political corruption. A collection of huts, shacks, brothels, and saloons began developing in the settlement. It grew alongside the similar nearby developments of Snake Nation and Murrell's Row.
Norcross commented, "the reason why the streets are so crooked, is that every man built on his land just to suit himself."
In 1851, there was an election for the Mayor of Atlanta. The Free and Rowdy Party ("rowdies") which represented the "toughs" of Slabtown, Murrell's Row, and Snake Nation, nominated lawyer and former city councilman L. C. Simpson.