In 1851, Wilson Spruill donated five acres (two hectares) of land for the founding of the Sandy Springs United Methodist Church near the sandy spring for which the city is named. Later, in 1905 the Hammond School was built at Johnson Ferry Road and Mt. Vernon Highway, across the street from the church. After World War II, Sandy Springs experienced a housing boom, bringing new residents and major land development. In the 1960s and 1970s Georgia 400 and Interstate 285 connected Sandy Springs to metro Atlanta.

Debate over incorporation began in the 1970s when the city of Atlanta attempted to use a state law to force annexation of Sandy Springs. (Buckhead had joined in 1952.) The attempt failed when the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the law was unconstitutional. In response, the Committee for Sandy Springs was formed in 1975. Since 1989 the Committee for Sandy Springs has introduced a bill into the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) to authorize a referendum on incorporation. Legislators representing the city of Atlanta and southwestern Fulton County, which feared for the tax revenue that would be lost, used the legislative requirement that all local legislation be approved first by a delegation of representatives from the affected area to block the bills.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 85,781 people, 39,288 households, and 19,683 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 878.1/km2 (2,274.1/mi2). There were 42,794 housing units at an average density of 438.0/km2 (1,134.5/mi2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 77.55% White, 12.04% African American, 0.18% Native American, 3.29% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.94% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races. 9.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 39,288 households out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.9% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.87. In the CDP the population was spread out with 17.8% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 40.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $60,428, and the median income for a family was $85,146. Males had a median income of $51,002 versus $36,493 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $45,494. 6.5% of the population and 3.9% of families were below the poverty line. 6.6% of those under the age of 18 and 6.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Source: Wikipedia