The oldest home in Dunwoody is in Sellars Farms Subdivision. Originally it would have been on what is now Roberts Drive, but today the address is 5660 Glenrich Drive in Dunwoody. There is a historical marker which identifies the house as the Larkin-Martin home, circa 1840.
The historical markers you see around Dunwoody identify older homes, but they do not protect the homes from change or demolition. Lynne Byrd gathered information about older homes in Dunwoody and parts of Sandy Springs in 1994 and had the signs commissioned.
The house blends in with other homes in the neighborhood, so it is not easily recognizable as an older home aside from a stone chimney. Through the years, it has gone through many changes.
The house was originally built by Larkin Martin, who owned more than three hundred acres. He was one of the first deacons at Ebenezer Primitive Baptist Church, when it was first organized in 1829. Ebenezer Church is located on the corner where Spalding Drive, Dunwoody Club Drive, and Roberts Drive meet. Other Martins listed as deacons include Reuben, Milly, Catherine, and Nancy.
A few years ago, the current owner researched the property records and discovered that Larkin Martin only owned the property for two years. Other owners through the years include Copeland, Jordan, Peevy, Neely, and Titus.
In the early years, the home faced Roberts Drive with no other homes in sight. There was a porch on the front, kitchen and well at the back of the home. Later, the front porch area was enclosed and the north side of the home became the front. A pump house, including a large water storage tank and electric pump were built just off the kitchen.
Richard W. Titus and family bought the home and eight acres in 1950. He purchased additional adjacent land through the years to bring that number up to fourteen and a half acres. In 1955, he added on to the home, with Amacher Construction Company of Dunwoody completing the work. The home went from two bedrooms to four bedrooms, the kitchen was moved and a dining area was added.
One unusual feature of the Larkin-Martin home is a porthole in the wall that is now the back of the home. It came from the whaling ship USN Atlantic, which Anne Skidmore Titus’ great grandfather, Theodore Lewis sailed on as ship doctor in the mid 1800s. Lewis kept journals of the voyages and two of them are at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut.
Land originally owned by Larkin Martin was sold over the years for the development of Titus Farms, which became the Sellars Farm and Mill Glen subdivisions.
Many historic details remain in the home, including three working fireplaces, exterior board and batten walls incorporated into the home, and wood floors throughout including some with original pine flooring. It is a spacious home with a finished attic space and basement with garage addition. This is not just any house, but a historic gem in the heart of Dunwoody.
Former owner Richard W. Titus wrote a book about his days in Dunwoody called “Dunwoody Isn’t Bucolic Anymore: Vignettes, Anecdotes and Miscellaneous Ramblings of the 1950s and 1960s.” There is much detail in the book about his renovations and the family’s life in mid-century Dunwoody. The opening line of Richard Titus’ book is “Moving to the country. That’s what Dunwoody was in September 1950.”
Titus’ children attended Dunwoody Elementary School during the 1950’s and he tells of driving his farm trailer, filled with straw and pulled by a farm tractor, to the school at Halloween for a hay ride for the children. The tractor traveled up Roberts Drive and Chamblee-Dunwoody Road to the school at four miles per hour.
Thank you to Phillip Green who allowed myself and two other representatives of Dunwoody Preservation Trust to tour the home when he had it up for sale as owner and agent in 2017.