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20 Vintage Photos of Everyday Life in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1800s

History Nostalgia Vintage Photos May 27, 2025

Last Updated on May 27, 2025 by Matt Staff

Take a step back into the bustling crossroads of the American South just as it rose into the thriving rail-town metropolis that we know it as today. This collection of 20 vintage photos of everyday life in the 19th-century Atlanta aims to reveal an Atlanta that has long since passed the world by.

1. Atlanta back in the mid-1800s

A sepia-toned historic photograph shows a 19th-century street lined with brick and wooden buildings, with groups of people gathered on the sidewalks and at a street corner in the distance.
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2. Atlanta in 1864

Black-and-white photo of an old street with storefronts, including signs for "China, Glass & Queensware" and "Auction & Negro Sales." A person sits on the sidewalk outside the buildings.
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3. Atlanta’s Equitable Building, 1892

Historic black-and-white photo of a large, ornate multi-story building with arched windows and columns on a corner in an urban setting, with streetcar tracks and people visible on the street.
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4. Atlanta’s Five Points, 1892

Historic black and white photo of a city street scene with horse-drawn carts, people, rubble, a water tower, damaged buildings, and bent railroad tracks, indicating earthquake or disaster recovery efforts.
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5. Decatur Street, Atlanta, Georgia

A black-and-white photo of a muddy street in a 19th-century town, lined with brick buildings and leafless trees. People and horse-drawn wagons are visible along the road.
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6. Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia, 1875

A sepia-toned photograph of a dusty, wide street in a 19th-century town, lined with brick buildings and storefronts. Horse-drawn carriages and wagons are parked along the street.
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7. Another shot of the famed Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia

Historical black-and-white photo of a dusty main street lined with brick and stone buildings, some in ruins. Wagons and horses travel the road, and business signs are visible on several storefronts.
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8. The railroad yards out in Atlanta, Georgia were no joke

Historical black-and-white photo of a busy railway station with steam locomotives on multiple tracks, workers nearby, scattered materials, and an arched train depot building in the background.
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9. A street in Atlanta in the 1890s

A sepia-toned historic photograph shows a muddy street lined with trees, a brick building with columns on the left, and a church with a tall steeple on the right. The scene appears quiet and nearly empty.
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10. A wagon train leaving Atlanta, Georgia, in 1864

Historic black and white photo of a busy street with horse-drawn covered wagons, carts, and people. Wooden buildings and a large train station are visible in the background, suggesting a 19th-century setting.
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11. A wagon train on Whitehall Street, Atlanta, Georgia

A black-and-white historical photo shows a busy street lined with horse-drawn wagons and people, surrounded by brick buildings, including a corner bank, in a 19th-century urban setting.
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12. Atlanta back in the 1870s

Black and white photo of a 19th-century city street with horse-drawn wagons, people walking, tall brick buildings, a ladder leaning against a structure, and a tall pole in the center of the dirt road.
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13. Talk about a beautiful little rural street out in the Atlanta of the 1800s

A black-and-white photo shows a muddy, empty street lined with leafless trees, a brick building with columns on the left, and a tall church steeple in the background.
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14. Looks like a beautiful day to be out on a boat in Atlanta in the 1800s

A historic riverside pavilion with “ATLAS BREWERY” on a large barrel sign, a bridge, a boat with an American flag, and a neoclassical building with columns in the background. The image is in black and white.
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15. The House of Bishop Caines

A black-and-white photo of a Victorian-style house with ornate trim, a covered front porch, tall gabled roof, brick chimneys, and leafless trees in the foreground.
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16. A railroad depot in 1864

Black-and-white photo of a busy 19th-century street with horse-drawn wagons, wooden fences, and large buildings, including an arched market or depot in the background. People and carts fill the unpaved road.
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17. A house in 1864

Black-and-white photo of a 19th-century city street with horse-drawn wagons, people, and tall brick buildings. A tall pole, a ladder, and a gas streetlamp are visible in the foreground.

18. Marietta Street, 1864

A large three-story house with a cupola, multiple balconies, and a white picket fence in front, surrounded by sparse vegetation under a cloudy sky.

19. Street View, 1864

Black-and-white photo of a 19th-century street with brick buildings, a dirt road, people sitting on a sidewalk, and a horse standing by the curb. The street appears quiet with a few distant figures.

20. Nothing like the old Atlanta of the late 1800s

A historic black-and-white photo showing train tracks, boxcars, and industrial buildings, including one labeled “Atlanta Lard Oil Factory,” with trees and houses in the background.

Explore more vintage content:

If these glimpses of 19th-century Atlanta left you craving more vintage content, explore 25 Vintage Photos from the Late 1890s. Then watch life hurtle into modernity with 17 Vintage Photos of Great Britain in the 1890s-1900s Victorian Era.

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