Jonathan Norcross (April 18, 1808 – December 18, 1898) was elected in 1850 as the fourth Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, serving the customary term at the time of one year.

Dubbed the "Father of Atlanta" and "hard fighter of everything" by publisher Henry W. Grady, he followed three mayors elected from the Free and Rowdy Party.

March 2, 1816), who married Moses M. Swan of Augusta, Maine;[5] Maria (b. February 1818), and Louisa Norcross (b. October 1823).

[6] Their paternal immigrant ancestor was Jeremiah Norcross from England, who settled in Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638.

While attending lectures in mechanics at the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Norcross principally studied arts and sciences.

Norcross commented that many decisions were made in haste: "[t]he reason why the streets are so crooked is that every man built on his land just to suit himself.

Norcross unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 1848, in the town's first election, when fewer than 225 white men voted (women and free blacks did not have the franchise).

Norcross won as a "temperance man who hated civic disturbances"; he presented a choice between civilian law and order and the bellicose Rowdies.

The 40 drinking establishments and thriving red light district of Slabtown offended the mores of evangelicals and they believed this contributed to problems for families in the railroad town.

Norcross's political platform suggested that the Moral Party could be viewed as "American statesmen defend[-ing] their principles of 'classical republicanism', with arguments drawn from Aristotle, Publius, and Cicero".

[15] As a businessman, Norcross supported railroad construction to link Atlanta to other cities and coastal ports.

After Norcross gained a bond commitment from the city of Atlanta, Lemuel Grant joined the list of adversaries supporting a different route (Georgia Western Railway).

In 1865, then aged in his late 50s, he was one of the Committee of Citizens (with William Markham) who surrendered the town to Union General Henry Slocum.

He finally settled in Lowell, Massachusetts, also an area for lumber, as well as textile mills that became increasingly important to the economy.

His daughter Caroline married Charles Wesley Saunders, who also became known in the local lumber industry and in politics.

[8] This article incorporates text from the public domain 1902 book Atlanta And Its Builders by Thomas H. Martin Media related to Jonathan Norcross at Wikimedia Commons a — acting Mayor