Blandtown is named for Samuel Bland, the freed slave who bought the land in Fulton County lot number 188 on October 2, 1872. Eight years later, the 1880 US Census referred to the area as "Blandtown." 

 

But racism eventually stole much of what the Bland family had helped build. The Atlanta City Council rezoned Blandtown in 1956 to disenfranchise its voters, and the intended immediate and generational consequences resulted. By 2002, so many families had been forced to leave their homes that the city closed the area's last remaining high school. 
 

Today, Blandtown is in transition again. The area is known for its distinctive stores, restaurants, and residences!

 

For more info on Blandtown's history, see an article published by the Upper Westside CID here.