Wylie H. Chamblee

In 2021, local historian Michael Hitt shared with me the history he found in his research of Wylie H. Chamblee, the namesake of Chamblee, Georgia. While looking through newspaper articles about Camp Gordon, Michael Hitt read a 1917 Atlanta Constitution article which included the history of the name Chamblee. The article is confirmation that the town was named for Wylie H. Chamblee, a Black man who was one of the petitioners for the post office. The article also reveals that Wylie Chamblee was last known to be in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

This plaque, located in the lobby of Chamblee City Hall, commemorates the namesake of Chamblee, Wylie H. Chamblee. (Photo by Valerie Biggerstaff)

Hitt has researched many topics of local history, including Roswell, Roswell Railroad, Native Americans, Civil War in Roswell, Chamblee, and World War I Camp Gordon, just to name a few. He pursues every history topic with a resolve to learn everything possible.

A September 1888 Atlanta Constitution article reported that the area known as Roswell Junction would change its name to match the post office name of Chamblee. The name Roswell Junction caused confusion due to the nearby Roswell depot and post office. Chamblee was on the Charlotte and Atlanta Railroad and the Roswell Railroad.

The post office application, dated September 10, 1881, is completed by James Monroe Bentley and George N. Flowers. Flowers was the current postmaster of Doraville. Other information for the prospective post office includes a population of one hundred people and a location 1 ½ miles from the Doraville post office and 2 miles from the Cross Keys post office. (National Archives Records of the Post Office Department, 1773-1971)

In the space that says, “proposed office to be called” the name Edna is written and scratched through. Then the name Chamblee is written next in the same space.  Why the name Edna was initially suggested for the post office in unknown. 

Looking through census records, Hitt found that Wylie H. Chamblee was born about 1855 in Georgia. Chamblee does not appear in the 1860 census, indicating he could have been born into slavery.  He cannot be found in the 1870 census either but is listed in the 1880 census living in Suwanee with wife Roberta and working as a wood chopper.   

In 1888, Chamblee is a fireman with the Roswell Railroad. Hitt believes Chamblee may have been working for the Roswell Railroad as early as 1881 and that the 1888 newspaper article may have been reprinted from 1881. 

Atlanta city directories show Chamblee working for the Georgia Pacific Railroad in 1889 and as a porter with the P. P. Car Company in 1891. 

The 1910 census indicates Chamblee lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Park Avenue. He was married to Mattie Chamblee. Daughter Emily Spruce and granddaughter Rosa Lee Spruce lived with Wylie and Mattie. That same year, Wylie H. Chamblee died from dropsy (edema) and was buried in the Hamilton County cemetery.

Michael Hitt traveled to Chattanooga to visit the Hamilton County Cemetery, speaking with local officials to find the location. Hitt was able to locate the cemetery, hidden away in a ravine and in appalling condition. There is a movement now in the county and the city of Chattanooga to clean up this forgotten cemetery.

In 2025, Hitt shared the history he learned in a short video for the city of Chamblee and a plaque was dedicated August 17, 2025 and is now on display in the lobby of Chamblee City Hall.