City of Lithonia

The community got its unusual name, according to locals, when in the 1840's a teacher instructing Greek in a local school, combined the Greek words Litho meaning rock and Onia meaning place to create Lithonia. Considering that East Dekalb area contains an abundance of Gneiss granite Lithonia was aptly named. The nearby granite dome, Stone Mountain, is composed largely of a rock called Lithonia gneiss.