Sams Crossing, story behind the name

I am often curious about the history behind road names. Sams Crossing and Sams Street in Decatur are along one of my regular routes and I presumed there was a family named Sams, but wanted to know more about them. At the end of this article you will see that I communicated with a Sams family member back in 2006, but just recently made the connection.

Marion Washington Sams came to Georgia from Greenville, South Carolina in 1870. Sams and his wife Mary Lucia Duncan Sams lived temporarily with his uncle J. H. Nash on Church Street. (DeKalb News Sun, Vivian Price, 7/22/1981)

Sams then purchased property along with a three- or four-bedroom home from Thomas Little. The property was located where Railroad Avenue (today’s College Avenue), Covington Road and Sycamore Street met.

Augustine Sams, grandson of Marion and Mary Sams, was an attorney and later a member of the Georgia general assembly representing DeKalb County. During WWI, Augustine Sams was stationed at Camp Gordon. He is buried at Decatur Cemetery with a marker that indicates he was born in 1893 and died 1978. The marker also recognizes his WWI service as a Captain in the U. S. Army.

When Vivian Price wrote about the Sams family in 1981 a marker had recently been placed by MARTA, naming the overhead crossing Sams Crossing, dedicated to the memory of Marion Washington Sams.

The Sams Crossing marker at MARTA’s Avondale Station reads, "This construction is located near the original 1870 home site of Marion Washington Sams, who settled in this area with his wife, Mary Lucia Duncan, and children, Hansford Dade Duncan, Lewis Reeve, Marion Washington, Jr., Mary Lucia, Joseph Augustine and Miles Stanhope. The rail crossing at this road junction immediately became known as ‘Sams Crossing’.”

Over on the east side of E. College Avenue, a stones throw from Sams Crossing, is Sams Street, named for the same family.

What became Sams Crossing was called Covington Road Crossing back then. The home of the Sams family was called Violet Cottage. There was a large bed of violets planted around a giant magnolia tree in the yard.

Price says “The only thing that is left of the Sams settlement area in 1981 is the plaque in the MARTA Station. Marion Sams at the dedication ceremony, said “So we see now that the first generation traveled by horse and buggy, the second generation primarily by train, the third generation by the old south Decatur Trolley and now the fourth generation will travel primarily by MARTA.”

Back in 2006, I wrote an article about WWI Camp Gordon in Chamblee for the Dunwoody Crier Newspaper. I received emails from a few readers, including one from Joseph Augustine Sams Bond. He shared the followed recollections with me.

This photograph of the J. A. Sams home on College Avenue from 3/4/1927 is from the archives of the DeKalb History Center and appears to be the home that Joseph Augustine Sams Bond describes as his mother’s childhood home.

“My Mother's childhood home was the large Victorian structure that stood where the Sams Crossing MARTA Station south parking lot is today. She was a Sams. Many times I heard my Mother and/or her sister or brother discuss the long, bumpy and dusty wagon rides that they endured traveling from Decatur to Camp Gordon for a dance or other function. Often just to see a friend in the service. My family and friends occasionally enjoy eating at Downwind (restaurant) while the grandchildren watch the runway activity. As I sit there, I often remember the many buildings that once stood on that site and those that served at Camp Gordon as well as Naval Air Station Atlanta.”

Sams went on to tell me that his Uncle Augustine Sams had been at Camp Gordon and his cousins Marion A. Sams and Richard H. Sams were at Naval Air Station Atlanta in the early 1950s. Joseph Augustine Sams Bond died in 2020.

 

Ice Storm of 1973, major power outages around Atlanta

These below freezing days we have been having recently in Atlanta bring my mind back to the ice and snow storms from years past. Everyone knows these storms can bring our city to a halt. It happens so rarely, which means many of us have little experience driving in snow or ice.

The ice storm that struck Atlanta in 1973 is a memorable one for those who lived here. My family moved to a new home off Briarcliff Road in 1972. The ranch home had a fireplace, unlike our previous house. The fireplace was very useful during the ice storm, but I don’t remember exactly how many days we were without power.

A few years ago, I asked some people who were living in Dunwoody at the time about their experience. Time without power ranged from four days to two weeks. Trees and power lines had a thick coating of ice. Kathy Florence remembers pine trees bent over from the weight of the ice and the constant sound of trees snapping.

Lynne Byrd lived on Spalding Drive in the Branches neighborhood in 1973 and was without power for four days. She needed to get to her job at Piedmont Hospital. Lynne says she was able to get up her driveway in her small Volkswagen and drive on to work by not taking her foot off the gas until she got to the office.

Jeff Glaze was in the eighth grade at Peachtree High School and his family was without power for about ten days. Jeff’s uncle owned Glaze’s Hardware at the intersection of Winters Chapel Road and Peeler Road. The recently opened Winn Dixie across the road couldn’t operate because they had electric cash registers, but Uncle Glaze kept ringing up groceries because his older model electric cash register also had a hand crank.

The family lived near high tension lines that were coated with about an inch of ice. Jeff remembers, “…days when temperatures started to rise a bit, the ice would break off those lines and fall to the ground one hundred feet below. Sometimes they would hit the ground vertically and ‘spear’ the ground... it was pretty amazing to see and scary to consider what might happen if you were under them when the ice broke free.”

The January 3, 1973 Atlanta Journal reported that DeKalb police estimated 90% of residents were without power. Police and fire departments were inundated with calls about fallen trees, fallen power lines, and power outages.

I’ve been talking with people that lived in Atlanta during our past ice and snow storms about their experiences. The ones I remember are 1973, 1982, 1993, and then more recent ones. Apparently there was a big one in Georgia in 1935 and 1940, as well as the early 1960s. I was around in the early 1960s, but don’t remember that one. Look for my recent article in the Dunwoody Crier for more memories of Georgia ice and snow storms.

If you live in another state and are thinking those silly Georgians and their reactions to snow and ice, plus their inability to drive, you are right and we know it. Besides, it can be fun to miss work or school just because less than an inch of snow is falling!




Robert Ratonyi at Atlanta WW2 Round Table, "A Holocaust Childhood: Wounds that Never Heal"

As a survivor of the Holocaust, Ratonyi now shares his story with groups of middle and high school children, as well as adult audiences. He has presented at The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum and other venues. He wrote a book about his life experiences, “From Darkness into Light: My Journey through Nazism, Fascism, and Communism to Freedom,” published January 12, 2022.

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Chamblee High School photo 1928

This week, I’m sharing a 1928 photo of Chamblee High School graduates. Kathryne Carpenter is in the center of the back row and the photo was shared with me by the Anderson family, descendants of the Carpenters. The Carpenter family lived in Dunwoody, but Chamblee was the only high school in north DeKalb County at the time. Students living in Dunwoody, Doraville, Brookhaven and Chamblee attended Chamblee High School.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. I’ll return with a new history post next week.

If you have a relative in this photo send me a message!

Swanton House and New Hope Cemetery in need of preservation assistance

As we approach the end of 2023, I want to share with you two local historic sites that are fund raising to assist with ongoing preservation. They are two very different places. One is Swanton House, a circa 1825 home in Decatur. The other is a historic cemetery in Dunwoody. Below is information about each of these efforts, links to read more about the history, and links to donate.

The following information comes from Marissa Howard, Programs and Membership Coordinator of DeKalb History Center. You can read more about the history of Swanton House here.

For this year’s End of Year fundraiser, the DeKalb History Center is focusing on the Swanton House, one of the oldest remaining structures in Decatur.

Early in the year, a massive tree smashed through the Swanton House’s roof causing extensive damage. This uprooted tree presented an opportunity to see what else we could do to preserve this cornerstone piece of DeKalb’s history. We were able to repair the damage, but now we need your help! Not only to replenish our reserves but also to help us keep the lights on and maintain the structure for future generations!

The average annual cost of maintaining the Swanton House, Biffle Cabin, and Thomas Barber Cabin is $20,400. This includes landscaping, utilities (at commercial – not home prices), maintenance, and services such as pest, rodent, and termite control.

As stewards of the Swanton House, we have maintained it since 1970 when it was moved to 720 West Trinity in Decatur to ensure its preservation for Decatur and DeKalb. Over the past 53 years, we have worked diligently to provide necessary maintenance to keep the Swanton House healthy and usable for future generations. The cost of maintaining it is expensive and we would appreciate any help you can provide in preserving this cornerstone piece of DeKalb’s history. Tap the link below to donate.

https://dekalb-history-center.square.site/

Dunwoody Preservation Trust is working to raise money to maintain and restore three historic cemeteries in Dunwoody. New Hope Cemetery, located on Chamblee Dunwoody Road behind KinderCare; Stephen Martin Cemetery, behind the Perimeter Expo shopping center; and Woodall Cemetery, barely accessible and between two Dunwoody neighborhoods. They have already begun restoration of fallen and broken headstones at New Hope Cemetery with the help of experts from Oakland Cemetery. This is an ongoing effort with many challenges.

Fallen headstones at New Hope Cemetery.

A repaired and restored marker at New Hope Cemetery.


Visit the Dunwoody Preservation Trust website and click on Donate to help with this effort.

Read more about New Hope Cemetery and the work of Dunwoody Preservation Trust to preserve Dunwoody’s historic cemeteries in an article I recently wrote for the Dunwoody Crier newspaper, titled “Taking Care of Dunwoody’s Historic Cemeteries.”

I have volunteered with both of these fantastic organizations and am currently on the Board of DeKalb History Center. I served ten years on the Board of Dunwoody Preservation Trust.

Thank you for reading Past Tense GA and Happy Holidays!




Icehouses in Chamblee and Doraville

New posts every Monday.

This post was updated on December 18, 2023 with additional information about Goree Ice Company.

5441 Peachtree Road in Chamblee was once the local icehouse. Today, it is home to the Chamblee location of AR Workshop, the DIY business begun by Maureen Anders and Adria Ruff.

Chamblee’s historic icehouse is now home to AR Workshop. Next door is the Frosty Caboose ice cream store and behind the former icehouse is the railroad and MARTA.

I haven’t found much history in my research of Chamblee’s icehouse. I’m sure having an icehouse nearby was helpful to the many dairies in the area. Chamblee had 33 dairies in 1939, plus there were dairies in nearby Doraville, Dunwoody and Brookhaven.

The Pierce Certified Dairy, W. O. Pierce Dairy, and P. E. Pierce Dairy were located on both sides of North Peachtree Road, between North Shallowford Road and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. Irvindale (previously P. E. Hyde Dairy) and Chatham Dairies were located across from the railroad tracks.  A dairy on Hardee Avenue served WWI Camp Gordon and was known as Camp Gordon Dairy. 

The Wright Dairy was located along Briarwood Road near Buford Highway and N. Druid Hills. Ice was delivered every day to the dairy, likely from the Chamblee icehouse.

This photo of the icehouse appears in “Chamblee, GA-A Centennial Portrait, 1908-2008” and indicates the icehouse is still standing in 2008. However, the photo itself is not dated.

The Goree Ice Company of Doraville opened on Buford Highway in 1946. In 1967, in addition to an ice store, Goree’s was a convenience store, gas station, and bait and fishing supply store known as Angler’s Corner. The ice plant sold block ice to restaurants and hotels for ice carvings. The plant was nonautomated and produced 17 tons of ice every two days.(“Images of America: Doraville” by Bob Kelley)

An article was written in the July 26, 1983 Atlanta Constitution about Goree’s titled“The coolest guys are on the block.”. In 1983, the business supplied ice to Allied Concrete to cool its mortar, but it also did a good business selling crushed and snow ice to afternoon picnickers. It was the only block ice business in metro Atlanta in 1983.

If you have memories of the Chamblee Icehouse or of Goree Ice Company, write to me at pasttensega@gmail.com so I can share these memories in a later blog post.

Ina Evans runs for District 55 House seat 1972

New post every Monday.

Sometimes when I’m looking through a newspaper archive, there will be an article, photo, or even an advertisement that catches my interest. Ina Evans caught my interest and I wanted to know more about her life.

The pages of the August 3, 1972, DeKalb New Era newspaper features ads and articles on various local political candidates at the time. One of those candidates was Ina C. Evans and the article is titled “Ina Evans Offers for House Post.”

This photograph of Ina C. Evans appeared with the 1972 article announcing her as a candidate for House seat 55. (The DeKalb New Era, August 3, 1972)

Ina C. Evans was running for the District 55 House seat. Her platform included better health facilities, tax reform and better educational facilities in DeKalb County. She and her campaign team went door to door talking to voters and distributing material.

Evans spoke to The DeKalb News Sun about her campaign, “We are hoping that voters will decide on the basis of qualifications. I firmly believe that office holders are elected to voice the needs and concerns of the community. Win or lose, I’ll be right here next year and the year after battling to put this community up front in DeKalb.”

Evans lost the race, which went to a runoff between Betty J. Clark and Sherman S. Barge. Betty Clark won the runoff, and as a Democrat who was unopposed, she won the seat.

Ina Evans was born in Gallatin, Tennessee in 1935. She graduated with honors from Mississippi Valley State College. Her resume included working as a poll monitor in the Democratic primary in 1968 and during the presidential election that year.

In 1969, she was campaign manager in the Kirkwood area for H. E. Tate, the first Black candidate for Mayor of Atlanta. Evans also worked as area coordinator for the Committee for Sensible Rapid Transit.

Evans was secretary for the Georgia Shirley Chisholm Fund when Chisholm ran for President in 1972. She was an alternate delegate for the 1972 National Democratic Convention.

Evans would later serve 14 years on the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education. She worked with Maynard Jackson, first Black Mayor of Atlanta, and civil rights leader and activist Rev. Hosea Williams, founder of “Hosea Feed the Hungry.” Later, she would work in the office of Governor Jimmy Carter. (meadowsmortuary.com)

She was married to John Evans for 30 years. He was President of the DeKalb County chapter of the NAACP for sixteen years before retiring in 2016. According to a 2012 oral history with John Evans in the archives of DeKalb History Center, he was appointed to the DeKalb County Executive Committee in 1968, on recommendation of Maynard Jackson. He also worked on the Shirley Chisholm 1972 Presidential campaign.

In the 1970s, Ina Evans operated the Loving Care Day Care Center in Kirkwood.

She passed away June 30, 2021.

The Moving Pictures in Atlanta

The first moving pictures in Atlanta were shown at the Cotton States and International Exposition of Georgia, held in 1895 at Piedmont Park.  A movie theater was constructed along an area called Midway Heights on 10th Street. The attraction was called “Living Pictures,” where the newly developed vitascope projector was demonstrated. It wasn’t very popular at the exposition so visitors were allowed to enter for free.  People made use of the opportunity to step inside the small theater and rest for a few minutes. It may have been destined to close due to lack of attendance, but never had to because a fire destroyed the theater space. (“Atlanta and Environs Volume II”, by Franklin Garrett)

The first movie house opened in Atlanta in 1904.  It was called The Star and was located at 36 Decatur Street.  It was successful enough for a second movie house called The Eldorado to open soon after at 146 Marietta Street.

By 1907, fourteen theaters were listed in the Atlanta directory.  They were known as “electric” theaters and were usually small store front buildings with chairs nailed together to form a row. The early films lasted about fifteen minutes. 

The Montgomery Theatre at 87 Peachtree Street opened in August of 1911, advertising a small balcony for vocal performers, an organ and an orchestra.  This was the beginning of longer films with an actual story line.  The theatre was later known as Georgian, Odeon and Tudor Theatre.

Talking movies came to Atlanta in 1928 with The Jazz Singer showing at the Metropolitan Theatre.  The Metropolitan first opened in 1911 and was located at the intersection of Luckie Street and Broad Street.  By 1929, several talking movies were shown around Atlanta, including The Virginian, starring Gary Cooper at the Paramount Theatre.  The Paramount, located at 169 Peachtree Street, originally opened as a live theatre in 1920 and was known as Howard Theatre. 

Gone with the Wind premiered at Loews Grand Theatre in 1939 with much fanfare and stars of the film attending.  The building was originally the home of DeGive’s Grand Opera House built in 1893.  In 1972, a fire burned the Loews Grand Theatre.

Other theatres included the Rialto on Forsyth Street, Buckhead Theatre on Roswell Road, Temple Theatre in Grant Park and Center Theatre (later Central) on Whitehall Street.  The old Rhodes Theatre was located on Peachtree Road next to Rhodes Hall. 

It wasn’t necessary to go downtown in the 1930’s and 1940’s to see a movie.  Theaters just outside of Atlanta included Brookhaven Theater opening in 1938, Avondale Theater in Avondale Estates opening in 1938 and Decatur Theater opening in 1940. 

The movies we associate with Christmas now did not necessarily premiere or show during the holiday season. Meet Me in St. Louis played at Rhodes Theatre in 1945, Christmas in Connecticut played at the Buckhead, Temple and Center Theatres in 1945, Miracle on 34th Street was showing at the Brookhaven Theatre in 1947, and White Christmas was featured at the Fox Theatre in 1954.   

Fred Donaldson, who was born at Donaldson-Bannister Farm in Dunwoody, grew up going to the movies in Brookhaven, Buckhead or downtown Atlanta.  He and his friends would either catch a ride or walk to Brookhaven and then if they decided to head to Buckhead or to the Paramount or Fox Theatre downtown, they would catch the trolley from Brookhaven. 

Joe Greear recalls that the first movie he saw was The Fly at Brookhaven Theatre. He describes the location. “Across Peachtree Street from the Building Supply and A & P was another cluster of businesses including a post office and a movie theater. The Brookhaven Theatre was where I saw my first scary movie-the original version of ‘The Fly’ starring Vincent Price. I was about six or seven and I remember being so scared that I couldn’t watch the end and left my seat to wait in the lobby for my brother to emerge. The Brookhaven Theatre was not an elaborate movie house like The Fox, and had only a few embellishments. Despite its simplicity it was a nice place to watch a movie and I always loved the smell of the popcorn in the lobby.” (From “Growing up on the Edges,” by Joe Greear, held in the archives of DeKalb History Center)

1965 Atlanta newspapers advertise the film The Sound of Music at Martin’s Cinerama at 583 Peachtree Street.  This theater was built in 1927 and was originally a live playhouse called Erlanger Theatre.  In the 1950’s it began showing movies and was called Tower Theatre, later becoming Martin’s Cinerama, Atlanta Theatre and then Columbia Theatre.  It was demolished to make way for a parking lot in 1995. 


Some memories and thoughts on Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving just a couple of days away, I enjoy thinking back to the holiday during my childhood years. Since I grew up in Atlanta, we had a southern traditional meal with turkey, sweet potatoes, dressing, other side dishes and of course pie. My mom sometimes baked a cream cheese pound cake, two kinds of pie, and some chocolate chip cookies when she became a grandmother.

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D'Youville Academy is part of Fischer Mansion history

In 1945, Fischer sold the house and gardens to John W. and Frania Lee. John Lee died in 1951, but Frania continued to live there until 1959. Mrs. Lee then sold close to 50 acres to the Atlanta Diocese of the Catholic Church for $10. The home became D’Youville Academy, a convent and school for girls.  The name D’Youville came from the founder of the Sisters of Charity or Gray Nuns of Montreal, Marie Marguerite d’Youville.

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General Motors among Doraville history, DeKalb History Center Archives

Today I’m focusing on photos and documents related to the General Motors assembly plant in Doraville. On opening day, June 15, 1948, assembly line workers had a big surprise when a 1909 Buick came down the line. Jesse Lee Smith of Lawrenceville drove the vintage car that had been bought by his father and was still running just fine. Smith was a new employee of the plant, working in the chassis department. (The Eagle, Tucker Federal newsletter, March-April 1984)

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The Forbes effect on local nature preserves

John Ripley Forbes set up nature and science centers in over 30 states and 200 communities across the United States. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell and Dunwoody Nature Center. He is responsible for the John Ripley Forbes Big Trees Forest Preserve on Roswell Road next door to North Fulton Service Center in Sandy Springs.

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Murphey Candler baseball began as Buckhead Little League

The Brookhaven Little League played their games at Murphey Candler Park and started out with four major teams and six minor teams.  The President of the League in 1959 was Wilbur Sanders.  For $.15 in 1961, you could get a hot dog at the park.  The park started out with one field, but had three by 1969.   Nearby Keswick park was used on occasion for a game as the number of children grew. 

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