Dunwoody Village Area 1966

 Here's a rare find - an original map from DeKalb 1966.

Note the large "R-150" in the bottom left.  This was zoned residential and is now home to Dunwoody Methodist church.

The Dunwoody Village (Walgreens, Barn, etc.) was just zoned for commercial use.  

Nearly all of Chamblee Dunwoody Rd and Mount Vernon Road was residential.  Single family homes.

The map shows parcels of OI (office / industrial) and C-1 and C-2 (commercial use).  

Dunwoody Village Pkwy was not yet built, and Vernon North and Chestnut Ridge neighborhoods were small farms and undeveloped lots.

Origin of Dunwoody Name

 Dunwoody Name Comes From Coastal Georgia Family

By Sidney B. Horne
Reprinted from May 21, 1981
At the time of the founding of DeKalb County in 1822, the town of Darien on Georgia’s coast was the banking capital of the South. From there a few…
years later would go out adventurous men in search of gold and who would eventually be responsible for the founding of our community, Dunwoody. Darien is today a sleepy fishing village. Shrimp boats bobble in the tidal river waters and…
Known by residents as “The Chimney,” this 100-year-old structure was spared from destruction in 1985 by a local power company decided that saving a piece of rural history was beneficial to the community…
new community Roswell. with hill to his new home in Roswell and established them in Mimosa Hall, a landmark until today. His son Charles grew up there and went off to war with other young confederates in 1860. He returned a few years later, beaten but not defeated.
Major Charles Dunwoody owned land across the river in DeKalb County, and it was there he moved after the war. The area was in need of rebuilding following its devastation in the war, and Dunwoody set out to do just that. He did his job so well that sixteen years later, in 1881, the community would take his name as its own. It is a name that has worn well for the past 107 years.
There is little hint that large plantation owners once operated such a powerful banking institution there, but that was the situation in 1828 when gold was discovered in North Georgia’s Lumpkin County. “Auraria,” a Latin word meaning “gold,” was the name given the boom town which sprang up there as the gold fever attracted a motley crowd. A poem by the time recorded of those who came to Auraria:
And as for people they’re so thick. You might stir them with a stick. Of people we have every hue, Some white, red, yaller, black and blue. Other, with dirt so covered well, What color they, I could not tell.”
Two of those who went in search of the yellow ore are Roswell King, Darien banker, and his friend, John Dunwoody, from Liberty County. It is not recorded how they fared in the gold mines, but we know they discovered a site on the Chattahoochee River as ideal for cotton and wool mills. They built two such mills and beautiful homes and they called their…

The Starbucks Chimney, Saved by a Developer

Years ago there was a false flag raised about a chimney in Dunwoody.  The chimney was allegedly part of a Spruill farmhouse along Ashford Dunwoody Road.  Here's an article from 2011, with quotes from the legendary Kathy Z.  Today, this chimney is at the Starbucks across from Perimeter Mall. 

According to Hines, the developer of Ravinia, the chimney was built post World War II. But some long-time Dunwoody residents believe the chimney dates back to the late 1800s.

Tom Reilly, who moved to Dunwoody in 1953, said the chimney is the last of its kind in this area. He remembers seeing it when the area was mostly woods and farm land.

Kathy Zickert, an attorney representing Hines, said many people in the area incorrectly believe that the chimney belonged to the Spruill’s farmhouse. “The chimney has no historic significance whatsoever,” Zickert said. “Ironically, we tried to have it declared an historical site when we were developing, but were not successful. … It would have been a branding mechanism for Ravinia. We would have been tickled pink to do that.”

“Hines saved this chimney back in 1981 when we purchased this property from the Spruills. As it was at risk due to the DOT expansion plans in its original location, by our own volition and at considerable cost and effort, we relocated it in 1984 and created a special place for it in its current location,” Mehra said. “We always intended to preserve it to let the community to enjoy it.”

The true irony is that a developer, not a Spruill, that cared enough to save the chimney.

DHA Zoning Alert 1988

 Here's a DHA zoning alert mailed to all members in 1988.  The zoning battle was to protect homeowners in Dunwoody Station area and Valley View.  The DHA lost this battle and now we have a Harbor Freight. And of course Cowart was involved. 

The Fund for the Defense of Dunwoody

 An interesting discussion on MARTA from 1989.  

The DHA had "over 1100" members in April 1989.

Also mention of the Georgia Retardation Center (now Brook Run Park)

Dunwoody DHA 1989 Notes

 The DHA had 1,600 members in 1989.

Top issues were recycling, zoning, illegal signs, and schools.  Not much has changed in 35 years.

First Baptist Atlanta Buys Avon HQ 1989

 Avon (the cosmetic company) had its southeast headquarters and distribution center in Dunwoody until the late 1980's.  It is now home to the First Baptist Church - Atlanta. In addition to the Avon parcel, the church also bought what was then Fountain Square apartments.  The apartment complex had a fire and was an eyesore. First Baptist bought the property in October 1988, leased it back to Avon, and held its first service in north DeKalb (now Dunwoody) in April 1992. In 2022 the City of Dunwoody planned to confiscate five acres of the church's property for its own use.

The DHA August 1989 newsletter mentions the purchase.  The newsletter (mailed to all DHA members) also discusses MARTA, recycling, taxes, and the DeKalb Comprehensive Land Use plan.

Dunwoody 1987/88 Flashback with the DHA

Last night the Dunwoody City Council put an end (temporarily) to a planned subsidized housing project in Dunwoody.  The location of the proposed low-income housing project was between the high-density of the PCID and the single-family homes areas of Dunwoody.  If we did not have two challengers in the city council races, we believe this vote would have have been 4-3 in favor.  

Who fought against these types of projects prior to Dunwoody becoming a city?  It was the Dunwoody Homeowner's Association - the same volunteer group that brings you Light Up Dunwoody (sans the mention of a "Christmas" tree, much to the chagrin of the Gentiles), and the Independence Day parade (referred to as the July 4th parade to appease the authoritarians).

The notes from the 1988 annual meeting were drafted by two local legends - Bob Lundsten and Don Converse.  These two guys were awesome.  Miss them both.

In the annual meeting notes there is mention of a lawsuit brought by the DHA against a developer for a project in "the buffer" area between the Perimeter and the neighborhoods.  You can see notes here on that lawsuit.  In the 1980's the DHA was very active, using funds for lawsuits.  The DHA, from its beginning and up until about 15 years ago, used lawyers and the court system to protect Dunwoody homeowners.  Since cityhood, the DHA has morphed into a community chest for other local non-profits.  The DHA was not created to give the local school PTA $500 grants for gardens.  It was created to have a war chest to fight government and developers.  For the DHA to again become more than a parade organizer and provider of electricity for a Menorah and a holiday tree, it needs to fight for homeowners. 

 

Stage Door Players Promotion 1980's

 1984 or 1986 promotional flier for Stage Door Players

DHA versus Cowart 1984 Dunwoody

 

In 1984 the Dunwoody Homeowners Association was in a fight against Cowart and Powell over 72 acres of land in Dunwoody.  The plan was to build thousands of apartments.  Then the plan was for Publix supermarket and mixed-use.  DHA won this one, but Cowart would continue his quest to urbanize Dunwoody.