Before Murphey Candler Park

In the early 1950s, the Kiwanis Club of North DeKalb spearheaded a project to provide North DeKalb County with a park. The 165-acre property was donated by M. A. and Cora Quinn Long and Fred B. Wilson for the construction of a park in 1953. That park would become Murphey Candler Park, which is now located in the city of Brookhaven. “Deeds for the transfer of the park property were signed Monday at the home of Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Long on Chamblee Dunwoody.”

A groundbreaking was planned for 1/31/1954, with Scott Candler Sr. and Jim Cherry invited to celebrate the occasion. (Atlanta Constitution, Sept. 23, 1953, “Candler Park Awaits Shift of Equipment”)

Road clearing in preparation for Murphey-Candler Park. Photo courtesy of Shane Day Boyer.

The Long family owned and operated a Chamblee Supermarket. Fred. B. Wilson operated the Oglethorpe Apartments on Ashford Dunwoody Road, where Blackburn Park is today. He sold the 1,000-unit apartment complex two years later for $7,500.000. (Atlanta Journal, Jan. 17, 1955, “Oglethorpe Apartments sold to Virginian in $7 million deal”)

Going back further in history, the land where Murphey Candler Park is located was likely owned by Salathiel Adams in the mid 19th century. A historic cemetery for Adams and his family is located along Oconee Pass.

North Atlanta approved $1 million in bond funds for the park in 1957 after door-to-door contributions were not sufficient to support construction. Early promises were for a completed park by 1954, but that promise would fall to the wayside.

Fred Wilson picked the park name. He requested it be named for his friend Scott Candler, Sr. and Candler’s father, Charles Murphey Candler. Scott Candler, Jr. was commissioner of DeKalb County. The lake was named Candler Lake.  

The first baseball teams were in 1958 and called Brookhaven Little League. The name Murphey Candler Little League came later.

From the mid-1950s until the 1980s, there was a caretaker of the park. Melvin Farrell and his family lived in a house moved from where Cherokee Plaza is located today to the park. That house was recently demolished to add parking to Murphey Candler Park.

Former caretaker’s home and later Sea Scout Hut at Murphey Candler Park.

To read more about Murphey Candler Park and all its amenities, visit the City of Brookhaven page for the park. My only promise was to share history of the park and land!