The name New Hope comes from the church that was once next door to this cemetery. The church was New Hope Presbyterian. It was the third church to be established in Dunwoody, after Ebenezer Primitive Baptist Church and Providence Baptist Church.

John Hardigree, born in 1844, came to Dunwoody from Coweta County, Georgia in the late 1800’s. He began working as a carpenter. There he met Catherine Elizabeth Dalrymple and they were soon married. For a while, they lived in her parents’ home on what is still known as Dalrymple Road in Sandy Springs. Then they moved to a home of their own on what is now Lake Hearn Drive, in the district of DeKalb County known as Cross Keys.

Many families came to Georgia at that time from South Carolina and other states in search of land. Stephen and Elizabeth Martin and their children were one of those families. The Stephen Martin Cemetery in Dunwoody is named for this early pioneer who traveled from South Carolina to Dunwoody around 1830. The cemetery is located between Hammond Drive and I-285, behind a shopping center. Dunwoody Preservation Trust has been caring for the cemetery for several years, including keeping the grass cut and maintaining a kiosk with information and a guest log book.