Prior to the arrival of American colonists, the area had been dominated by the Creek Native American people. The Sandtown-Flat Shoals Trail existed along high ground as part of a trade route system between the Chattahoochee River and the coast. This trail would eventually become Flat Shoals Avenue. After the forcible removal of the Creek in the 1820s, American citizens began acquiring land in the area through the Georgia land lotteries.