Georgia's Stone Mountain enjoys a long and storied past. The enormous granite rock alone has inspired awe and reverence ever since man first laid eyes on it thousands of years ago. And the land surrounding the mountain has seen many important events and changes.

In 1790, American settlers began moving into the area of the giant mass of granite, first named Rock Mountain. In 1825, the Rev. Adel Sherwood, of Mercer University, Macon, renamed it Stone Mountain. The town located at the base of the mountain was incorporated in 1839 and named New Gibraltar. It wasn't until 1947 that the Georgia Legislature changed the name of the town to Stone Mountain.