Page 27 - Dunwoody NCG 2021_Flipbook

Stephen Spruill Homeplace

Some of the edifices of those early days
still stand, and the citizens of Dunwoody Another preserved architectural restoration work was completed in 2018.
are fiercely protective of them. A favorite treasure is the circa 1870 Donaldson- The house is available for special events.
way of preserving these buildings is Bannister Farm, now part of a beautifully
to repurpose them in a way that more landscaped public park. The last family to
people can enjoy them. live in the house sold it to DeKalb County The 1869 Stephen Spruill Homeplace,
in 2005. Hopes that the County would now used by the Spruill Center for the
One example is the Cheek-Spruill House, care for the house were not realized, Arts, is yet another lovingly preserved
sometimes known as the Dunwoody however; the house sat neglected. When Dunwoody farmhouse. Once the home of
Farmhouse. Featured on the City’s Dunwoody became a city in 2008, the Dunwoody pioneer Stephen Spruill and
official seal, the carefully restored, home and surrounding property became his family, the building started as a log
two-story, 1906 house was saved from part of the City’s Parks and Recreation home and was turned into a Victorian
possible destruction when the Dunwoody farmhouse in the early 1900s. The house
Preservation Trust and Dunwoody Department. The Dunwoody Preservation features a century’s worth of phases and
Homeowners Association persuaded Trust offered to manage the renovation
the new owners, Guardian Savings and and operation of the historic home and styles of Southern folk architecture. It is
Loan of Houston, Texas, to donate the home today to the Spruill Gallery, which
home and one-half acre of land to the showcases emerging and established
Dunwoody Preservation Trust in 1998. artists with six exhibitions each year and
one of the best locally-made artists’ gift
On the corner of heavily traveled Mt. shops in metro Atlanta.
Vernon and Chamblee Dunwoody
roads, the Cheek-Spruill House is the There are many other architectural and
geographical and emotional heart of historic gems in Dunwoody, some like
Dunwoody. It is the location for many
community events, including July 4 these used in public capacities, others
festivities and “Light Up Dunwoody” still private homes. While office towers
during the holidays. The building hosts a are going up around Perimeter Mall, these
History Room that is open to the public, Donaldson-Bannister Farm House special places ensure that Dunwoody’s
and also rents out office space. past as a rural crossroads is not forgotten.

Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber | perimeterchamber.com | 678.244.9700 Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber | perimeterchamber.com | 678.244.9700 23