Morrow's beginnings can be heard in the roar of a train rumbling down a track. Now a city with approximately 5000 residents, a booming retail industry and a thriving university, Morrow started out simply as Morrow Station, a stop on the line between Jonesboro and Atlanta back in 1846.

Georgia Governor William Lumpkin - later called by historians "the father of Georgia's intricate rail system" began in the 1820's his push to build lines throughout Georgia. In the 1830's the Georgia legislature chartered three companies to build lines from Savannah to Macon, Augusta to Athens and Macon to Forsyth.  The Monroe Railroad Company built the line from Macon to Forsyth. The company, restructured as The Monroe Railroad and Banking Company in 1836 to extend the line northwest, completed the line to what is now Jonesboro in 1845, just before going bankrupt. An adventurous financier named Daniel Tyler bought out the franchise and stock. In December of 1845, he chartered a new company, the Macon and Western Railroad Company. Tyler extended the railroad further north into Atlanta, through what is now the City of Morrow. The depot there was called Morrow Station, after Radford E. Morrow. Service on the new line began on August 19, 1846.

Morrow Station was a farming community. The train would stop for several hours in Morrow Station, while workers loaded agricultural products, mostly cotton and tobacco, into the train cars.

Radford E. Morrow owned a plantation of more than 1,000 acres with a large, two-story, 12-room mansion. His home stood regally on what is now the corner of Morrow Road and Highway 54, the very spot where the municipal complex bearing his name stands today. He also owned a mill on what is now Lake Harbin Road and a tannery in Jonesboro. The tannery produced leather goods for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Morrow's home was burned by Union forces in Sherman's "March to the Sea.".

Morrow Station was originally part of Henry County. Clayton County was created by a legislative act in 1858 from parts of Henry and Fayette counties, including Morrow Station. The county was named for Augustin Smith Clayton, a Virginia native who brought his young family to Georgia in the late 1700s so that he could attend the University of Georgia. He later compiled the statutes for the state, served as a judge, member of the electoral college, and as a U.S. Representative.

Morrow was "put on the map" in 1941 when a twin-engine DC-3 crashed in the still-unincorporated town on its way to Candler Field (now Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport). Seven people died. The crash was especially big news across the country because famous World War I Ace and President of Eastern Airlines, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, was on board. He was one of eight survivors.

Two years later, Morrow became a city, largely in response to an Atlanta newspaper's depiction of the city as "the whistle stop" south of Atlanta.  The Georgia Legislature granted the charter on March 2, 1943. The construction of Conley Quartermaster Depot, now Ft. Gillem, in 1941 brought many new families to the area. The old-timers decided they needed to incorporate their city, so they could maintain a voice in civic affairs. The first mayor was James B. DeFoor. The population of Morrow, still a community of sprawling farmland, was fewer than 300 people.

The population in Morrow grew slowly at first, hitting 580 in 1960. Then, the growth picked up speed as the city was transformed from a farming community to a center for business and retail. By 1980, the population was 4,028.

In December 1976, the city's municipal offices moved into the Morrow Municipal Complex, a renovated building that once housed a drug store and grocery store. The city was operating out of two house trailers, city hall and police department, and a one bay fire station. The renovated building housed all city services until 1998, when the city moved its police department to the old Clayton County Water Authority building on Lake Harbin Road. 

In 1968, Clayton Junior College opened within the city. It later received senior college status in 1986, and was renamed Clayton State College.  Now known as Clayton College and State University, the institution now offers many career training courses and community service activities in addition to four year degrees in a variety programs. Clayton College and State University, where all students began using laptop computers in January 1998, is known for its innovative uses of technology in higher education.   The City of Morrow has been a partner with the university and continues to be very supportive of the institution's effort to bring student housing to the commuter campus.

The first student housing opened in the Fall of 1999, as part of a district  known as the "Community-University Planned District,(CUPD)."  The district was jointly planned by the  President of Clayton College and State University and City of Morrow officials, in an effort to attract quality students from all over the world.  The student housing accommodates remote technologies, so as to provide connectivity with major universities and other learning centers everywhere.

Growth has not slowed in the City of  Morrow, now home to about 5000 residents. Concurrent with this increase in residential growth, the city has developed an industrial and commercial base for the city, including Morrow Industrial Park, Southlake Mall and a string of new retail and restaurant developments along Mt. Zion Road. All of these operations are within the city limits, considered by many to be the economic engine for the Southern Crescent. The commercial and retail base generates considerable sales tax revenue.

The City of Morrow has remained committed to the concept of quality growth, taking necessary steps to maintain the city's residential character, while also attracting clean, non-polluting industrial development. Morrow's strictly enforced zoning plans, thoroughfare plans and inspection system help ensure a balanced, planned approach to economic development.