Smyrna: Jonquil City
Smyrna, nicknamed the “Jonquil City”
after the thousands of yellow flowers
that bloom there in spring, has a lot to
offer its residents and visitors. In recent
years the city has seen the additions
of new commercial and residential
development, has access to the Silver
Comet Trail and is near Truist Park,
home of the Atlanta Braves.
Smyrna was incorporated as a city
in 1872. Located 10 miles northwest of
Atlanta, Smyrna was once home to the
Cherokee Nation.
When gold was discovered in 1828
in the Cherokee Nation at Dahlonega,
the U.S. government and the state of
Georgia initiated policies to remove the
Cherokee from the area, which resulted
in the settling of Cobb County and the
subsequent founding of Smyrna. The state
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divided the land and offered it to settlers
through a lottery.
The town was originally known as Ruffs
Siding, then Varners Station, and later
Smyrna, after one of Paul the Apostle’s
seven Asian churches in the Bible’s Book of
Revelation.
Today, Smyrna is home to more than
56,000 residents.
The Market Village is the city’s social
center, with a mix of retail, restaurants,
office space and townhomes. Next to that
is the Village Green, which includes the
Smyrna Community Center, which has two
gyms and exercise equipment, a pond and
arboretum, Centennial Park, with green
space and a fountain, and the library.
Mayor Derek Norton took office in 2020,
and is the first new mayor after Max Bacon,
who was mayor for 34 years.
UCB Pharmaceuticals, a Belgiumbased
global pharmaceutical company, is
expanding its U.S. headquarters in Smyrna.
With 400 employees, UCB is one of
Smyrna’s largest employers.
In recent years, Smyrna has expanded
to the Chattahoochee River with the
new mixed-use Riverview Landing
development. Phase One of the project,
The Eddy at Riverview Landing at 6255
Riverview Road, includes apartments with
river and city views, retail space hosting
Reformation Brewery, a kayak launch
and biking trails. Phase Two, The Drift,
is opening with 270 residential units and
14,680 square feet of commercial/retail
space. When the two developments are
complete, there will be 580 apartment units,
317 town homes and 17,680 square feet of
commercial/retail space.
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