Georgia Road

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Georgia Road is an east-west road in eastern Birmingham, a remnant of an old road that extended through the Mississippi Territory from Georgia along the length of the floor of Jones Valley.

Early settlers along Georgia Road included Obadiah and Edmund Wood at what became Woodlawn, Abner Killough at the "Big Spring" in present-day Avondale, Warren and Sam Truss at Trussville, Daniel Huffman at Huffman, Burrell Bass at Roebuck, and Richard B. Walker and William F. Nabers, whose lands included the area that would become the city of Birmingham. The road also traversed the grant given to William Ely on which Elyton was laid out in 1820. It was renamed "Cotton Avenue" within the town limits.

Georgia Road connected to Montevallo Road (also called Bear Meat Cabin Road or the Nashville to Montgomery Road) at Red Gap near what became Gate City. It crossed the Huntsville Road, Tuscaloosa Road and Arkadelphia Road at Elyton.

U.S. Highway 78 (Atlanta Highway) follows roughly the route of Georgia Road east of Birmingham.

Present route

The present Georgia Road runs from Messer Airport Highway eastward into the heart of Woodlawn, past Willow Wood park to 1st Avenue North. Historic addresses east of 50th Street were generally along what is now Messer Airport Highway.

The road reappears as it splits off from 1st Avenue South just before 57th Street South in Woodlawn, continuing eastward below I-20, through Gate City, below Oporto-Madrid Boulevard and on into Irondale where it is renamed 2nd Avenue North as it crosses 16th Street North.

Formerly, in the early twentieth-century, the section of Messer Airport Highway from about 43rd Street North to 50th Street North was also part of Georgia Road.

Notable addresses

Birmingham

Irondale