Peachtree Corners

Before 1818 the western corner of Gwinnett County was Creek and Cherokee territory. A small farming community called Pinckneyville grew along a road to Atlanta. By 1827 it had the county's second school, the Washington Academy.

An 1870 railroad through Norcross drew businesses and residents away from Pinckneyville.

The name Pinckneyville survives today in Pinckneyville Middle School, which serves part of the city.

In the late 1960s Paul Duke proposed a planned community. In 1967 he began Technology Park Atlanta, and in 1968 he set up Peachtree Corners, Inc. In the 1970s Jim Cowart built the first neighborhoods, including Peachtree Station, Chattahoochee Station and Spalding Corners.

Residents then spent decades deciding whether to form a city. The United Peachtree Corners Civic Association formed in 1993. Incorporation was proposed in 1999 and 2005 but not pursued. It was revived in 2010 after Norcross tried to annex part of Technology Park Atlanta.

Technology Park Atlanta, begun in 1967, is the planned office park the city grew around.

Residents voted to incorporate in a referendum on November 8, 2011. That made it Gwinnett County's 16th city. Municipal operations began on July 1, 2012.

The city has a council-manager government, with a mayor and six council members.

The local economy centers on planned office parks, especially engineering, logistics, health technology and information technology firms. More than 2,300 businesses have a presence in the city, and it has 12 hotels.

The city has an economic development office and a form center for permits and business matters.

Interstates 285 and 85 and Georgia 316 and 400 are nearby. Main roads inside the city include Georgia 141 (Peachtree Parkway and Medlock Bridge Road), Georgia 140 (Holcomb Bridge Road), Spalding Drive and Peachtree Boulevard.

Ride Gwinnett serves the city. MARTA's Doraville station is about 5.7 miles away. DeKalb-Peachtree Airport is about 7.9 miles away, Gwinnett County Airport about 18 miles, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport 29 miles south. The Western Gwinnett Bikeway runs along Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.

Gwinnett County Public Schools serves the city. Feeder schools include Peachtree, Simpson, Stripling and Norcross elementary schools, Pinckneyville Middle School and Norcross High School. Norcross High School offers the IB Diploma Programme.

A portion of the city is zoned to Berkeley Lake Elementary, Duluth Middle and Duluth High. Private schools include Wesleyan School (kindergarten to grade 12) and Cornerstone Christian Academy (kindergarten to grade 8). The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, including its Medlock Bridge section, borders the city.