On December 9, 1822, the Georgia General Assembly created DeKalb County. They named it after a German peasant mercenary, Johann Kalb, who had fancied himself "Baron Jean de Kalb" when fighting for the colonies in the Revolutionary War. Decatur, the county seat of DeKalb, grew up in the 1820s around a log court house, a jail and a town square. Sawmills and gins were erected, stagecoaches came through and the railroads arrived in the 1830s.
Just after the first World War, a magnificent Tudor mansion was built in DeKalb by Coca-Cola heir Charles Howard Candler: Called Callanwolde, it is now the home of one of the most unique art centers in the country.
Today, DeKalb County is an ethnically diverse community that is a hub for education, the arts and more. DeKalb County is the home of Stone Mountain Park, a 3,200 acre educational, historical and recreational facility that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and hosted three Olympic events and various Olympic trials. DeKalb is very accessible, with four major interstate highways and the most modern public transportation system in the southeast. Shopping in DeKalb includes five major malls, a variety of unique shopping areas and a world famous farmer's market. DeKalb has an international corridor which is home to a wealth of unique ethnic shops, markets and restaurants. DeKalb County has more than 22,000 businesses.