Mount Wilkinson

Not to be confused with Wilkinson Peaks.

Mount Wilkinson
Mount Wilkinson in 2015
Highest point
Elevation	981 ft (299 m)
Coordinates	33°52′11″N 84°28′06″W
Geography
Mount Wilkinson Cobb County, Georgia, U.S.
Parent range	Appalachian Mountains
Topo map	USGS Northwest Atlanta

Mount Wilkinson is a low mountain immediately north-northwest of and directly overlooking downtown Vinings, in southeast Cobb County, Georgia, USA. Although it rises significantly from the surrounding terrain, it is actually at or slightly below the average elevation for the region, as it is in the Chattahoochee River valley. Formerly called Signal Mountain, today it is commonly known as Vinings Mountain.

It is said that in 1864, U.S. Army General William T. Sherman got his first look at the church spires of Atlanta from the summit of Vinings Mountain.

The mountain, left only partly forested, is now topped with high-rise office towers, part of the Cumberland/Galleria edge city of metro Atlanta. Among these buildings lies a small, private cemetery in which Hardy Pace (1785–1864), a founder of Vinings and operator of Pace's Ferry, is buried.

Namesake

Mount Wilkinson was named in honor of Mell B. Wilkinson, co-founder and first president of the Atlanta Scout Council. The mountain was once the location of the Bert Adams Scout Camp (now located near Covington, Georgia).

The Atlanta Rotary Club contributed one half of the $5,000 cost of the mountain and the other half was quickly made up by smaller gifts.

The camp also included land that was sold to build the present day Cumberland Mall and surrounding office complexes and apartments. Streets in the immediate vicinity are still named for the camp (e.g. Bert Adams Road) and the mountain (e.g. Mt. Wilkinson Parkway).

References

Sources

• "Walk Through Historic Vinings". Vinings Historic Preservation Society. Archived from the original on 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
• Golden, Randy (2008). 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Atlanta. Menasha Ridge Press. p. 50.