A creek in the city has been renamed to honor the legacy of a beloved resident.
Nelson Williams, who most notably served on the city’s Council and Downtown Development Authority, will have a creek named after him that runs near the Greenway Trail behind Northside Medical Center.
Williams Creek flows east, then southeast to Big Haynes Creek.
“My dad, Nelson Williams, was a native of Snellville and he and my mother, Marilyn, were lifelong residents,” said Williams’ daughter Kathy Bass. “He was active in community affairs in Snellville and served on the City Council as well as many committees during the years. He loved his city and seldom missed a council meeting and was an active advocate for residents of Snellville. Our family is pleased with this recognition of his many hours of volunteer service to the residents of the City of Snellville.”
Williams died in August of 2018. He was 85. He also served on Urban Redevelopment Agency and the Development Authority of Snellville.
The naming of the creek was administered by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The BGN is a federal body created in 1890 and established in its present form by Public Law in 1947 to maintain uniform geographic name usage throughout the Federal Government, according to federal documents. The BGN comprises representatives of federal agencies concerned with geographic information, population, ecology, and management of public lands. Sharing its responsibilities with the Secretary of the Interior, the BGN promulgates official geographic feature names with locative attributes as well as principles, policies, and procedures governing the use of domestic names, foreign names, Antarctic names, and undersea feature names.