A D Williams Creek: stream, 1.6 km (1 mi) long; located in the City of Atlanta, heads just to the NW of A D Williams Elementary School at 33°47'14"N, 84°28'52"W, flows NNW to enter Proctor Creek just E of I-285; named for Adam Daniel Williams (1861-1931), African-American social pioneer and maternal grandfather of Martin Luther King, Jr.; Fulton County, Georgia; 33°47'57"N, 84°29'10"W; Map – Northwest Atlanta 1:24,000.
Proposal: new commemorative name for an unnamed feature
Topographic Map: Northwest Atlanta 1:24,000
Proponent: Birgit Bolton; Atlanta, GA
Administrative area: None
Previous BGN Action: None
Names associated with feature:
GNIS: No record
Local Usage: None found
Published: A D Williams Creek (Clean Water Atlanta website, 2004; Rivers Alive website, 2005)
Case Summary: This proposal was submitted by the Programs Coordinator for the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeepers, a preservation group based in Atlanta. This group, along with many area residents, recently participated in a stream clean-up project, at which time it was suggested that the 1.6 km (1 mi) long tributary of Proctor Creek should be named. The proposed name A D Williams Creek would honor Adam Daniel Williams (1861-1931), a prominent Baptist preacher in Atlanta, and the maternal grandfather of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Reverend Williams was born in Greene County, the son of slaves, but following his father's death in 1874, he moved to Atlanta, where he became a pastor at the newly established Ebenezer Baptist Church. He came to be regarded as "one of the pioneers of a distinctive African-American version of the social gospel," with "an emphasis on black business development and civil rights activism" (Martin Luther King Papers Project, 2002). In 1899,
Williams' daughter married Martin Luther King, Sr. In 1917, Williams became involved in an effort to organize a local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

The stream proposed to be named A D Williams Creek flows past A D Williams Elementary School. Following the clean-up effort in late 2004, the proposed name has appeared at the website of Rivers Alive, a stream preservation effort sponsored by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The proponent reports that a petition is support of the proposal includes the signatures of the Mayor of Atlanta, as well as representatives of the West Atlanta
Watershed Alliance, the National Wildlife Federation, BFI/Allied Waste, and A D Williams Elementary School.

The Director of the Georgia Division of Archives and History, who serves as the State Geographic Names Authority (SNA), has also recommended approval of the name. The SNA found no evidence that the stream had ever been named on any of its maps dating back to 1867, and suggests naming the stream in association with the nearby school is appropriate.

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