Back in 2007, Money Magazine selected Suwanee, GA as one of the Top 10 Best Places to Live.  And it is a great place.  Situated between Duluth to the south Buford to the north, it sits along the banks of the Chattahoochee at Suwanee Creek.  While mostly in Gwinnett County, parts of the Suwanee mailing address are also in Forsyth and Fulton Counties.

1838…

That was when the US Government gave Suwanee a Post Office, but it was 1949 before Suwanee incorporated.  Even though it was incorporated, it remained a sleppy little agricultural town until the 1970s.  In 1970, there were only 615 people living here.  In 2000, there were over 8700.  The 2007 estimate is over 11,000.  And the 30024 ZIP code, which is the Suwanee mailing address has an estimated 41,088 people (2007).

Before the early 1800s, the area was inhabited by the Cherokee and Creek Indians.  Some think that the name Suwanee derives from the Shawnee Indians, who inhabited the area before the Cherokee and Creek.  In 1817/1818, the area tribe ceded the land to the US government.

In 1869, the Georgia Airline Railroad bought a right of way, and the village grew around the depot constructed there.  It was the transfer spot from the Lawrenceville-Suwanee Narrow Gauge Railroad to the Southern Railroad.  From there, passengers could ride into Atlanta.

Not just an old town… there is Old Town… and Town Center.

Suwanee recently completed a large portion of its Town Center project.  In addition to Town Center Park, home to festivals, free concerts and movies, there is a new City Hall complex, shops, townhomes, condos, single family homes and offices.  It sits at the corner of Buford Highway and Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road.

Suwanee’s Old Town is just across Buford Highway.  It encompasses a few more shops, as well as the Suwanee Branch of the Gwinnett County Library and PlayTown Suwanee.  Suwanee’s downtown revitalization efforts have earned it accreditation from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Program.

And there are parks…  Adjacent to Town Center is the Suwanee Creek Greenway.  It is a four mile hard surface trail that winds from Suwanee Creek Park to George Pierce Park.  It winds along Suwanee Creek, with a wooden boardwalk from the Greenway to the Town Center area.  It is available for walking, jogging and biking along the creek.

But wait, there’s more…

Suwanee, with its proximity to I-85 and Peachtree Industrial Blvd, is very convenient to the Mall of Georgia, Discover Mills and numerous other shopping and recreational opportunities…  The Gwinnett Braves and Gwinnett Gladiators both play nearby.  The Arena at Gwinnett Center hosts concerts and other events, as well.

It is pretty easy to see why Money Magazine likes this place…