Editor’s note: The pioneering developer of the residential and commercial centers of Dunwoody has been eager to tell his story of how what is now Perimeter Mall almost became a corridor of apartments resembling Buford Highway. We were happy he spent some time with our reporter.

Dunwoody, Chamblee, Doraville, Sandy Springs, Roswell, and Brookhaven.  These neighboring communities north of Atlanta each have a unique story (or stories) for how their names came about. 

Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, stars of Hollywood traveled around the United States to promote the sale of war bonds. One of those stars was actress Dorothy Lamour, who came to Decatur and Atlanta in May of 1942 for bond rally events.

This is the story of two soldiers stationed at Camp Gordon in Chamblee, Georgia during World War I. They are Julius Lombardi of New York City and Edward Mauney of Blairsville, Georgia. Thank you to their families for sharing this history.

Julius Lombardi’s granddaughter shared his journey. He first came to New York City from San Marino with his family in 1907, at the age of fourteen. Ten years later, he was drafted and sent to New York’s Camp Upton and soon after to Camp Gordon.

Frank and Hortense Smith, along with their children Frank, Jr. and Bonnie moved into the 1870 home at the corner of Vermack Road and Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody in 1956. Bonnie Smith Nichols has returned to the home and property in recent years to share her memories of the family’s time there. 

William R. Wallace and his two brothers came to DeKalb County not long after the Civil War. They were all Confederate veterans and they all built mills in the county. Wallace bought his land along what is now Chamblee Dunwoody Road, along Nancy Creek and including where Chamblee United Methodist Church, The Preserve at Fischer Mansion and D’Youville Condimiums are located today.

What do Dr. C. C. Hart, Dr. J. Cheston King, Veterans Hospital #48, DeKalb Services Center and Brookhaven Park all have in common? At one time or another, they all were located on the southwest corner of Peachtree Road and Osborne Road. DeKalb Services Center and Brookhaven Park are located there today.

When World War II came to an end, Henry Ogden wanted to experience country and farm life, so he purchased a farm in Dunwoody, Georgia.  Leila Harris Ogden was less enthusiastic about this adventure into country life.  The farm was at 4831 Chamblee Dunwoody Road and is now Donaldson-Bannister Farm, a Dunwoody Park, owned by the city of Dunwoody and rehabilitated and managed by Dunwoody Preservation Trust. 

Men between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-one across the United States registered at their local draft board on June 5, 1917 and those who turned twenty-one after the first draft registered on June 5, 1918. Mabry Lunceford, a farmer from Camp Hill, Alabama turned twenty-one December 8, 1917.

George Shevenock was part of Company C, 326th Infantry, 82nd Division.  From Camp Dix he was sent to Camp Gordon and on March 15, 1918 he was promoted to Corporal.  He departed the U. S. along with the 326th on April 29, 1918 from New York headed to Southampton, England and then to LeHavre, France and eventually Toul, France on June 25, 1918.

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.

On September 29, 1918, The Atlanta Constitution reported that 1,893 cases of Spanish Flu had been reported at Camp Gordon. 962 soldiers were sent to the camp hospital.

“I can hardly stand the separation, but then I think what it is all about and then I realize that when the war is over we will both see that it has all been for the best, even if I have to go across to France.”   These are the words of my grandfather, James T. Mathis, writing home to his new wife in Fitzgerald, Georgia.  The year was 1918, and he was one of thousands of soldiers who trained at Camp Gordon, along Dresden Drive and Clairmont Road in Chamblee. 

For many years, Dunwoody Preservation Trust believed the farm transferred from Lois Bannister to Charles R. Roberts briefly, and that the Roberts family never lived there.  Two pieces of information came to light to clear up this misconception.

This article is the second in a series about the owners of Donaldson-Bannister Farm, as we celebrate one hundred fifty years for the farm.  Last time, I shared history of the Donaldson family.  The next owner is Bannister, Lois Pattillo Bannister.

2020 marks one hundred fifty years for the historic Donaldson-Bannister Farm, located at 4831 Chamblee Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody.  I’ll be sharing the history of the six families who lived on the farm in this blog.  The first family is the one that built the house, raised a family and for whom farming was a way of life.  This was the Donaldson family; however, the story really begins with a family named Adams.