A small country store once sat at Jett Ferry Road and Mount Vernon Road. Later, the country store included a gas station, with the typical Coca-Cola sign painted on one side. It was built and run by Joe Kelly. Next owners of the store were Georgia Carpenter Anderson and husband Offalee Anderson. Georgia grew up at her family’s home just down Mount Vernon Road, built by her father, Cicero Carpenter.
Read moreIdalakers, Summer home of William and Ida King Akers
William Akers and Ida King Akers built a country home along Spalding Drive in what was considered Dunwoody around 1935. The name Idalakers evolved from Ida Akers name and from the idea of many “idle acres” surrounding the home. The property included forty-five acres on a hill with lovely views of hills and valleys all around.
Read moreKenstone Cottage: One of the Summer Homes of Sandy Springs
Update: Katherine Geffcken was recently interviewed by Victoria Lemos on her December 3, 2021 podcast, Archive Atlanta. The summer home in Dunwoody which I write about below is briefly mentioned and it is nice to hear Ms. Geffcken talk about growing up in Atlanta and her experience at Girls High School, Agnes Scott College, and Bryn Mawr College.
A home on West Peachtree Road and a summer cottage off Spalding Drive may sound strange today, but it was not unusual in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The historic house at 8059 Kenstone Court was just such a cottage and there were several others in the area along Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Spalding Drive.
Katherine Geffcken, one of Dr. William and Elizabeth Geffcken’s daughters, shared her memories of the home and area when she visited her former home.
Read moreHightower (Etowah) Trail and other Native American trails of the Atlanta area
1940’s map still indicates a section of the Hightower Trail.
Michael Hitt pointed out that the history of indigenous people goes much further back, before the Creek and Cherokee were in this area. A Georgia Department of Natural Resources chart shows the Archaic period as 8000 BC to 1000 BC. During this time, people would have used natural shelters, such as the the rock overhangs along the paths of the Island Ford Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Sandy Springs.
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