The corridor between Dunwoody Club Drive and the Chattahoochee River, long considered part of Dunwoody but now part of Sandy Springs, was primarily an area of small farms in the 1930s and 1940s. However, it was also a popular area for summer homes. These summer homes were owned by people who lived in Atlanta.
One of the summer homes along Spalding Drive was that of Judge Samuel D. Hewlett, Sr. Hewlett Road is named for him and the lodge he built on the Chattahoochee River is headquarters for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, located within Island Ford Park.
Samuel D. Hewlett received a law degree from the University of Georgia in 1901 and began his law career in Macon. He was an Associate Justice of Georgia Supreme Court from 1925 until 1955.
The National Parks Service nominated Judge Hewlett’s lodge for the National Register of Historic Places in 2016 and were able to receive that distinction. Built in 1935, the building was recognized within the state as an example of a rare rustic style building. It took five years to complete construction of the lodge.
Hewlett used cypress logs from property he owned in the Okefenokee Swamp. A spur from the old Roswell Railroad was built to deliver the logs to his home site. Stone for the property came from a quarry located on the property.
Before Samuel Hewlett built his summer lodge, the land was owned by Jackson Gregory (pre-1860), William Kimberly (1860-1863), Ambry Martin (1863-1913), and W. A. Morgan (1913-1925).
Samuel Hewlett sold the property to Buckhead Century Club in 1950. This was a private dinner and entertainment club of which he was a member. He reserved the right to use a two-room apartment in the lodge. The club closed in 1955 and the property was sold to the Atlanta Baptist Assembly. At that time, Hewlett gave up his rights to use the apartment.
The Atlanta Baptist Assembly used the property for almost two decades as a retreat and camp facility. A gym and a two-story dormitory were built on the property. There was a swimming pool and horseback riding. Some who lived in Dunwoody at that time recall the Baptist retreat.
In 1978, the National Park Service took over the property. Rehabilitation of the lodge took place in the early 1980’s. The lodge and scenic land with trails, bridges and ancient rock outcroppings is part of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
Although Hewlett Road runs off Spalding Drive and that was how Hewlett reached the property, today Island Ford Park and Judge Hewlett’s lodge are accessible from Roberts Drive on the west side of 400.
