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. Some of the stories have been passed down through the generations and are difficult to verify.

The story of Major Charles Archibald Alexander Dunwody has been passed down through generations of pioneer families of Dunwoody.  It has been told many times and is in the local history book, “The Story of Dunwoody.”  Dunwody applied for a post office for the community in 1881 and in the process an extra o was added to the name.  That spelling error affected not only the name of the city, but many street names.   

After the Civil War, Major Charles Dunwody established a farm where today’s Redfield Subdivision is located.  Dunwoody became a city in 2009. In recent research by historian Dr. Lynn Tinley, the two spelling versions are found in records going back to the days of Major Dunwody.

In 1885, a group of citizens petitioned for a post office in Chamblee, Georgia.  The railroad depot was known as Roswell Junction, so it seemed like a logical choice for the town name.  However, the name was declined because there was already a Roswell a few miles north and this would have been confusing.  The name selected from the list of post office petitioners was Chamblee and belonged to a Black railroad worker.  The city of Chamblee incorporated in 1908.

When I hear the name Doraville, I think of the 1974 Atlanta Rhythm Section song.  Doraville was incorporated in 1871.  The most widely accepted theory on how Doraville got its name is that the name came from Dora Jack, the daughter of the railroad station master. (Images of America:  Doraville, by Robert Kelly) 

Sandy Springs is named for the sandy spring, a natural spring and meeting place for the people of the area. Native Americans, travelers, and citizens gathered and camped there. The Methodist church was built nearby, and camp meeting was held close to the spring for many years.  Many people from Dunwoody would travel to Sandy Springs for camp meeting every year. The land for the church was owned by Mr. W. E. Spruill and included an easement which led to the spring.

Today, the spring is still at the center of history with Heritage Sandy Springs and the Williams Payne Museum located on either side.  Sandy Springs went from becoming a general area to a well-defined city within Fulton County in 2005.

Roswell has been a city since 1854.  The name Roswell comes from Roswell King, who traveled from Darien to explore the area and ended up settling there.  He built a dam and mill along the banks of Vickery Creek near the Chattahoochee River.  Other families moving from Darien to Roswell included the Dunwodys, Bullochs, Pratts and Smiths. 

Before the Civil War, construction of the Roswell Railroad began with the purpose of delivering products from Roswell Manufacturing Company to Atlanta and beyond.  The railroad line was not completed until after the war and the railroad became operational in 1881.  A bridge over the Chattahoochee River for the railroad track was planned, but never completed.  Therefore, the Roswell Depot was in what is known today as Sandy Springs. 

The name Brookhaven first appears after the Brookhaven Country Club (later known as Capital City Country Club) and the neighborhood of Brookhaven Estates were developed.  The headline for a 1914 article in the Atlanta Constitution reads “Brookhaven Estates Has Come into Its Own as one of Atlanta’s Country Resident Places.”

Another theory mentioned involves a family named Brooks.  The 1880 census shows a family named Brooks living in the area, but the timing of when the name became commonly used fits in with the previous theory.  Before it was Brookhaven, the area was known as Cross Keys, and from 1924 to 1963 it was North Atlanta.  Brookhaven incorporated in 2012.