Our heritage began with Central Gwinnett-Lawrenceville High School that originally housed the seventh and eighth grades, sixth grade was housed at the elementary schools. In 1970 the seventh and eighth grades were moved “on the hill” at the corner of Oak and Perry Streets in Lawrenceville to begin transitioning to the middle school concept. On January 7, 1972 students moved into the building on Hi Hope Road to form Lawrenceville Middle School. The sixth grades moved from the elementary schools and were added to the middle school in 1974. The student population through the years continued to grow and eventually needed a new building.
The fall of 1994 the former Lawrenceville Middle School joined the Collins Hill cluster and construction began on the new school building. In the spring of 1996 the community of the former Lawrenceville Middle School had the task of selecting a name for the replacement middle school in our cluster. A committee was formed consisting of Dr. Ed Hampton from the county office, Mrs. Joan Akin the principal, our school board member, two officers of our PTA, and a representative from our business partner.
The first task was to survey parents, teachers, and students to see if they wanted to retain our original name or choose a new one. It was decided to choose a new name since the school would be part of the Collins Hill cluster and no longer associated with the city of Lawrenceville. The Student Council asked for suggested names from our school student body and the community. Student volunteers (Adam Deli, Frank Jenkins, Meredith McElhanon, Theresa Sung, Candice Williams, and Kelli Wynn) from the gifted education program under the direction of Dr. Johnson researched the names for historical significance and narrowed the field to three names.
Creekland was not one of the original names submitted it was found on an older geographic map at the Gwinnett Historic Society during the research. The site where the school was to be built was named Creekland Cove. Not only was there evidence the Creek Indians had dwelled on this land, several creeks joined or passed close to this location in an area known as Creekland Cove. The creeks were Crystal, Ivy, Suwanee, Wildcat, Winding, and Wolf. It was decided the name would be shortened from Creekland Cove to Creekland and submitted with the other names. The names were presented to the previously mentioned committee and voted on, Creekland was chosen as the most suitable name for our cluster area.
Central Gwinnett-Lawrenceville High School’s mascot was known as the Knights. When the seventh and eighth grades were moved to form Lawrenceville Middle School on January 1972 they chose to continue the medieval theme and be known as the Crusaders. The Crusaders took eagles into battle with them. These magnificent birds were used to symbolize might and courage. An eagle in the front of the battle meant complete faith in victory. Through history the eagle has also symbolized power and independence, it is not surprising why the eagle was chosen as a symbol of victory.
The Eagle was adopted as the new mascot in fall of 1994 when Lawrenceville Middle School became part of the Collins Hill cluster. In fall of 1996 the school officially became Creekland Middle spreading our wings and moving to a different location, leaving behind a building we had occupied for 24 years. Our school community had complete faith this would be a victory in the education of our students. Through our mascot the Eagle we are reminded of the heritage of our school and the possibility of new beginnings everyday.
By Dr. Sharon Emerson Johnson
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