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.

Those who lived in or near the path of the April 9, 1998 tornado that crossed Dunwoody just after midnight remember well the sight of snapped trees in the days following. There were many fallen trees, but the sight of the snapped pine trees made a indelible impression.

The tornado went right through the campus of what was then DeKalb College (now part of Georgia State University) at the intersection of Womack and Tilly Mill Roads.