Georgia Natural Wonder #261- Constitution Lakes Doll's Head Trail-DeKalb Co. (Part 9)

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #261 - Doll’s Head Trail Constitution Lakes Park

If you’re looking for a more unique trail-going experience, consider the Doll’s Head Trail. Located at Constitution Lakes Park, the Doll’s Head Trail offers all you’d expect from a scenic nature trail – lush forest paths, a wooden bridge, wetlands and lakes populated with wildlife.



With the added whimsy of folk art in the form of works made with found parts from children’s dolls. The trail itself is multi-use, with both paved and unpaved paths, boardwalks and trails winding through the forest. 



Perfect for nature and art-lovers, alike.

Our TRD scrolling Nugget is what else, Little Doll, by The Stooges.


Iggy Pop & Ron Ashton.

Atlanta Trails

Explore Constitution Lakes Park, hiking nature preserve boardwalks to glassy lake views and exploring whimsical displays of found-object artwork on the park’s memorable Doll’s Head Trail.


All these images today came from TRD's hike with his hiking daughter and her friends this last Sunday. The trash cans are full from all the hikers recently at starting parking lot.

Scenic, artistic, and a bit unusual: it’s one of Atlanta’s most unique hiking adventures. This multi-trail adventure at Constitution Lakes Park crosses paved paths, unpaved trails, and boardwalks through scenic, wildlife-filled wetlands, catching views of several small, marshy lakes. The Doll’s Head Trail, a short loop in the middle of this adventure, is an ultra-unique experience, a short hike through displays of bricks, toys, and tiles found at the park. The trail winds through the forest and exploring collections of found objects, washed from the banks of the nearby South River, now artfully and whimsically arranged in displays of folk art and culture.


Let's go!

Now an urban nature preserve, this park was once the site of a 19th-century brick company that excavated Georgia’s famous red clay. The excavation pits, now filled with water, comprise the duo of the Constitution Lakes. This easy, gently rolling, just-under-two-mile loop explores nature habitats on the two lakes via long boardwalks, and a variety of creative, weird, and sometimes slightly creepy works of art.


Paved trail trough thick South DeKalb County Swamp.

If you go, snakes seem to thrive in the wetlands, so be on the lookout – you’ll likely see a few. Early mornings can be a particularly beautiful time to visit when the blankets of fog cover the lakes. And remember to watch for wildlife: waterfowl can often be spotted in the marsh.

Constitution Lakes Park Doll’s Head Loop: the hike

The hike begins at the Constitution Lakes Park trailhead (view maps and driving directions), following the paved trail eastbound to hike the loop clockwise. The trail’s first quarter mile is paved, leading to the first of several extended boardwalks and the beginning of the Doll’s Head Loop.

 

The hike reaches the boardwalk at .4 mile and veers right to an overlook over the marshy lake. Departing the overlook, the adventure resumes its eastbound journey.



After reaching the end of the boardwalk, the hike nears the Doll’s Head trailhead, a charming little doll arm pointing you in the right direction (right). The hike continues along the red pebble path until reaching another sign ushering you to the left, where the Doll’s Head Trail begins. The trail features creative works of art found at the park, the vision of Atlanta resident Joel Slaton.


Constitution lakes, can see Blue Heron.

Signs encourage hikers to contribute their own art to the trail – but ask that you only use items found in the park. The art installations combine black Sharpie marker ink with an eclectic, eccentric collection of found art, ranging from bits of vintage children’s toys and fishing gear to antique bricks and railroad artifacts.



Reaching the southern end of the Doll’s Head Trail, the hike hangs a right and then a quick left at two intersections, following a bowling pin sign to the boardwalk. At 1 mile, reaching the boardwalk and exiting the forest, a beautiful view opens of the glassy wetland waters of Constitution Lakes. 

Looping back to the trailhead

The hike strolls across the boardwalk, connecting through a shady forest to the Seven Bridges Trail, this loop hike’s second half. Nearing the trail’s end at 1.5 miles, the hike follows a sign to the creatively named “Sweetwater Goak” tree, a large, double-trunked Sweetgum and Water Oak hybrid. The trail reaches the Constitution Lakes Park trailhead and parking area at 1.6 miles, completing the fun-filled adventure.



Rails To Trails Conservancy

It began as kind of a dark joke, all told, but the Doll’s Head Trail—a name that doesn’t quite sum up the 2.5-mile whimsical (and sometimes creepy) trail-turned-art exhibit tucked away in DeKalb, County’s Constitution Lakes Park in Atlanta, Georgia—has evolved into a regional and national attraction since its inception a decade ago.



We chatted with the trail’s creator, Joel Slaton, who discussed the unique trail’s origins and its evolution into an asset that’s inspiring local preservation efforts.



“I have a desire to build,” said Slaton, a self-employed carpenter, who first began to create the trail in February 2011. “The recession hit in 2008, and in 2010 it really started to settle in; my son was 20 and was building his own life …. I was barely making it by when I read about Constitution Lakes Park in the paper.”



Slaton hadn’t been aware of the park’s existence despite having grown up just a few miles away. With little else to do, he started exploring the space, eventually making his way to the far eastern end of the park, which at that time was used only by a few locals and birdwatchers there to get a glimpse of the dozens of bird species that nest in the 125-acre natural area.



It was in that remote section that he started finding doll parts—“mostly heads, arms and legs, no torsos”—he affirmed, as well as other items such as discarded parts of appliances, old bicycle parts, bottles and clay tiles from the site’s industrial days. More on that below.



“Initially, I just had an urge to build something and keep my hands busy,” said Slaton, whose first vignette was built from an old electric stove and pieces of a washing machine.



He kept building, with dismembered doll parts and other items around the park, including the old brickwork that remained from a quarry that hadn’t been active for a century. “I said, ‘if DeKalb County doesn’t approve, I’ll just take it down.’ But the leader of the park system, Dave Butler, fell in love with it and gave his tacit approval, knighting it formally in 2012. I started meeting with people, and people started building their own vignettes.”



And so the trail grew, in popularity and local support.

A Brief History of the South River Brickworks

The Doll’s Head Trail is located on the former site of the South River Brick Company, which was created in the late 1800s, and went under in 1907. According to a 2014 story on the trail by WABE—Atlanta’s local NPR affiliate—the brickworks served as a major quarry operation, making bricks for Atlanta’s sewers, the Candler Building, and buildings and sidewalks throughout the Southeast. “The chug and wail of the CSX train that echoes through the trees as it rolls past every half-hour is an eerie reminder of the rail line that was once essential to South River Brick’s operation.”



“Brickmaking was a wasteful process at the time,” said Slaton, adding that in a kiln, roughly half of any load of bricks might be either overcooked or undercooked, forcing them to be dumped. Other companies in Atlanta began paying the South River Brick Company money to dump their excess brick as well.



The clay pits were eventually filled in by water, creating lakes, and after the quarry closed, a homestead was built, which—in the absence of available garbage service—also used a portion of the property as a dumping ground.



That’s where Slaton found the doll parts.


Follow the signs.

Flooding from the adjacent South River further serves to regularly bring trash and debris into the area.



Whimsical Art Encourages Visitors to Help Clean Up the Open Space.



When looking at images of the folk art that lines the trail, one might consider many of the exhibits both whimsical or spooky, depending on the mood. But, as Slaton confirmed, while there are six or seven intact doll vignettes, most of the estimated 100 pieces you’ll find in the 1-acre space aren’t dolls, but creations made with other things around the property.



And if Slaton’s adage—that the “perfect park is history, nature and art” is true, then the Doll’s Head Trail fits the bill, as a unique attraction that is not just bringing people into the park, but encouraging them—within a larger beautiful natural setting—to leave it better than they found it.



While the county collects trash along the boardwalk and the main park parking lot, Slaton and volunteers are responsible for collecting and hauling trash out of the Doll’s Head Trail area. But Slaton says people who visit the trail are heeding their own call—not only by repurposing discarded items and litter into art, but by helping to clean up and maintain the surrounding area.



“For every piece that’s on the trail—we’ve taken 100 pieces of garbage out,” said Slaton. “People are helping to maintain the trail and collect trash. The South River comes out of Atlanta; every time there’s a big rain all this plastic debris is lodged into the undergrowth. People pick it up. People have pulled tires out of the river and stacked them out [on their own]. People see what needs to be done out there, and they do it.”


Then you came to the end of the Doll's Head Trail and head left to the South Boardwalk. It was about here my daughter's friends said they were heading back to car, so I was on my own at the South Boardwalk.

As Slaton looks to his eventual retirement from his role as the trail’s curator, he is hoping to engage a new fresh generation of volunteers for years to come.



But he’s quick to give credit to those who have supported the trail and its evolution thus far: friend Hunter Franklin, who he met when Franklin was creating his “bottles with faces,” and who maintains the Doll’s Head Trail Facebook Page; and local artists Joe Peery, Kyle Brooks and Dee Claiborne, for their time and contributions to the trail.



And while the trail sees occasional individuals who attempt to bring extra items into the park to create a vignette (that’s a no-no; all vignettes must be created by discarded items or trash found inside the park property) … volunteers who are monitoring the site say that for the most part, the trail has served to invoke a sense of curiosity and stewardship among visitors.



In the meantime, Slaton appreciates the evolution of the trail—from something meant to be fun, and occupy his extra time, to something inspiring to others.



“It’s encouraging people to get outside and see the park [who may not otherwise]—and see that regardless of the Doll’s Head Trail, it’s a beautiful park,” he said. “It’s inspiring people to be outdoors.”

 

The Doll’s Head Trail is located in the 125-acre Constitution Lake Park in Atlanta, Georgia.



Note: Please do not attempt to locate the trail using GPS coordinates.



The trail is accessible via the official parking lot for Constitution Lakes Park—located at 1305 South River Industrial Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30316 (at Moreland Ave./Highway 2342). 



You’ll take a 10-minute paved trail/concrete sidewalk to a boardwalk and large pond, which leads to the Doll’s Head Trail.


The secret is to keep moving. Man, the bugs swarmed me as I stopped to take these flower images.


No paved trail on loop back to car. Last little walk over swamp next to parking lot. What a spot folks, DeKalb County is bringing it.

A second TRD Scrolling Nugget is the Baby Doll imagery from the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, the girl from Smoke Rise.



DeKalb County (Part 9)

We continue our tangent on DeKalb County covering the communities.

Census-designated places

Belvedere Park

The population was 15,113 at the 2020 census. HistoryBelvedere Park emerged beginning in 1952 as a planned community with schools, parks, and a shopping center. It continued to grow and expand throughout the decade. In 1958, the Atlanta Journal advertised houses in Belvedere Park for between $11,000 and $14,800. A majority of homes in Belvedere Park are one-story and while some are traditional red brick ranch homes, contemporary style houses were also built. Homes were built by the Embry Brothers.


Columbia Drive and Belvedere Park.

The Belvedere Motel, operated by the renowned Dinkler Hotel Corporation, opened with telephones and large screen televisions in every room. In 1959, the second branch of Rich's Department Store was opened in the Belvedere Shopping Center (the first branch was opened at Lenox Square Mall). Rich's added an air of metropolitan living to the suburbs.
    
Candler-McAfee

The population was 22,468 in 2020. The Belvedere Park is to the north and Panthersville is to the south. East Lake Golf Club is on the northern boundary of Candler-McAfee.


Hwy. 155 down through Candler McAfee.
    
Druid Hills

The CDP's population was 14,568 at the 2010 census. 

History

The planned community was initially conceived by Joel Hurt, and developed with the effort of Atlanta's leading families, including Coca-Cola founder Asa Candler. It contains some of Atlanta's historic mansions from the late 19th and early 20th century. Druid Hills includes the main campus of Emory University, which relocated to Atlanta in 1914.


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters.

Druid Hills was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and was one of his last commissions. A showpiece of the design was the string of parks along Ponce de Leon Avenue, which was designated as Druid Hills Parks and Parkways and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 1975. The remainder of the development was listed on the Register as the Druid Hills Historic District on October 25, 1979. Later the Park and Parkways district was consolidated into the Druid Hills Historic District.


St. John's Chrysostom Melkite Church along in Druid Hills, Atlanta, 2012, formerly the mansion of Asa Griggs Candler (Senior).


Briarcliff, the Asa G. Candler, Jr. Mansion, 2012. Callanwolde Fine Arts Center (Charles Howard Candler mansion). Lullwater, home of Walter Turner Candler.

The City of Atlanta annexed Emory's campus effective January 1, 2018, a part of its largest annexation within a period of 65 years. Commercial areas include Emory Village, a small node first developed in the 1920s at the terminus of the streetcar line to Emory. A revitalization of the area was completed in 2011 with new sidewalks, street furniture and two new roundabouts.


Emory Village then and now.
    
Gresham Park

The population was 7,700 at the 2020 census. 


Gresham Park Neighborhood.

South of I-20, east of East Atlanta, west of Flat Shoals.
   
North Decatur

The population was 18,511 in 2020.


North Decatur and Clairmont. My favorite used record store Wuxtry's.

History

An early settler in this part of DeKalb County was Chapman Powell, whose "Medicine House" cabin was built near 1218 Clairmont Road. (It has been preserved and relocated to Stone Mountain Park.) 


Dr. Powell (1798-1870) owned most of the land in the Candler Lake and South Fork Peachtree Creek area during his lifetime. His land was later purchased by Walter Candler.

 
Ezekiel Mason built a mill on the east side of Clairmont Road on Burnt Fork Creek. DeKalb County's Mason Mill Park (GNW #255), as well as local eatery Mason Tavern, are named after Ezekiel Mason.


North Decatur primarily consists of 1950s and 1960s-era ranch homes, although condominiums are increasingly being developed in this community.
   
North Druid Hills (also known as Briarcliff or Toco Hills)

The population was 20,385 in 2020. The commercial center of the area is the Toco Hill Shopping Center, located near the intersection of North Druid Hills Road and LaVista Road.



Toco Hills, a commercial center for several CDPs north of the city of Decatur, has grown from a country store in 1950, with a single gas pump and a pot-bellied stove, to multiple shopping centers, coffee houses, houses of worship and townhouses. Some sources claim that the developer chose the name Toco because it was the Brazilian Indian word for "good luck." Other sources claim Toco is an informal abbreviation of "top of the County." In any case, the shopping center was developed on what was a hill, and the name gradually changed to "Toco Hills."


The area is home to a large Orthodox Jewish population, and marked by wooded subdivisions featuring mostly ranch homes surrounding the commercial area.

History

Major Washington Jackson Houston owned land on the north side of the South Fork of Peachtree Creek, in what is now Briarcliff. Visitors used to visit Major Houston to buy ground cornmeal produced by his 1876 gristmill or to attend social gatherings held on his property. Major Houston converted the mill into an early hydroelectric plant circa 1900. Atlanta contractor Harry J. Carr bought Houston's land in the 1920s and constructed the fieldstone and wrought iron home now known as the  Houston Mill House. Emory University purchased the home in the 1960s and renovated it. Houston Mill House, located at 849 Houston Mill Road, is now open for dining and special events.


Houston Mill today and Houston Mill House wedding.

After World War II and continuing into the 1950s, many Jews moved out of Washington-Rawson, where Turner Field now stands, and the Old Fourth Ward into North Druid Hills and Morningside/Lenox Park. Congregation Beth Jacob, an orthodox synagogue, moved to LaVista Road in 1962, and the neighborhood has since become a hub of Orthodox Judaism for the Atlanta area with three Jewish schools, six congregations and a mikveh located along or near LaVista Road.


Congregation Beth Jacob.

The North Druid Hills CDP remained rural until 1965, when Executive Park was constructed on a former dairy farm as the first suburban office park in metropolitan Atlanta. Following the completion of Executive Park, the area boomed with suburban development. The 19-story Executive Park Motor Hotel, built in the 1970s at the southeast corner of I-85 and North Druid Hills Road and which later served as a BellSouth training center, was a modernist landmark until its demolition in November 2014 after being purchased by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for $9.6 million in January 2013.


Executive Park Motor Hotel is now Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

Panthersville

The population was 11,237 in 2020, up from 9,749 in 2010.

History

The community most likely was named after a Cherokee Indian sub-tribe.The Candler-McAfee CDP is to the north and Gresham Park CDP is to the west.


When I think of Panthersville, I think of Panthersville Stadium, now called Buck Godfrey Stadium who coached SW DeKalb all those years and gave us Quincy Carter.
   
Redan

As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a total population of 31,749. It is a predominantly African American community in eastern DeKalb County, and is a suburb of Atlanta. According to tradition, the name "Redan" is an amalgamation of the names of two early settlers: N. M. Reid and Annie Alford.


TRD had a tasty girlfriend from Hidden Hills. Redan High School gave us College Football Hall Famer Kevin Butler, State Champ DB.
   
Scottdale

The population was 10,698 in 2020.


Steel LLC maintains a large steel fabrication and distribution facility in Scottdale, near the intersection of North Clarendon Avenue and East Ponce de Leon Avenue.

History

Scottdale is named for Colonel George Washington Scott, who founded the Scottdale Cotton Mill in the late 1800s. Colonel Scott arrived in DeKalb County from Florida, where he had previously owned a plantation, served in the Confederate Army, and unsuccessfully run for governor. Col. Scott was also a benefactor of the female seminary that became Agnes Scott College.


Highway Department map of Scottdale from 1940

The Scottdale Cotton Mill development included the mill and nearby housing for workers. From the 1920s through the 1940s, Scottdale Manufacturing Company even supported a baseball team. The mill shut down in 1982, and workers found jobs elsewhere in metro Atlanta. Philanthropist Tobie Grant donated several acres of property to disenfranchised, unemployed African-Americans and created a community known as Tobie Grant. This community continues to house low-income African Americans. Oak Forest Apartments was also opened under this theme in 1968.

 
Mill back in day. TRD basketball team was undefeated in our DeKalb County league but we played an exhibition against Tobie Grant and lost 82-12. TRD stands in front of his pop Head Coach on left. Scored 2 points on free throws in mop up duty that Tobie Grant game.



The commercial district in Scottdale is focused on East Ponce de Leon Avenue, which bisects the community from the southwest to the northeast. Your DeKalb Farmers Market and antique shops are located on this road, along with several auto body shops and industrial buildings. Efforts to rehabilitate East Ponce de Leon Avenue commenced in 2007.


DeKalb Farmers Market.

Unincorporated communities

Buford Highway

Buford Highway (also Buford Highway Corridor), a.k.a. the DeKalb International Corridor, and in the 1990–2000's as the DeKalb County International Village district, is a community northeast of the city of Atlanta, celebrated for its ethnic diversity and spanning multiple counties including Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett counties.



Community

Buford Highway is an ethnically diverse, linear community made up of apartment complexes, suburban neighborhoods and shopping centers. Similar to other sun belt cities, immigrants who relocated to Atlanta in the 20th and 21st centuries went straight to the suburbs, where residential and commercial real estate was affordable and where many second-generation immigrant communities were already established. Along Buford Highway, there are few wholly distinct ethnic areas. The more than 1,000 immigrant-owned businesses are owned by and patronized by a wide variety of ethnic groups, notably Korean, Mexican, Chinese, and Vietnamese, and also Indian, Bangladeshi, Central American, Somali, and Ethiopian. The DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce calls the area the "International Corridor."


The interior of the Buford Highway Farmer's Market

The Buford Highway community is home to one of the highest concentration of foreign-born residents in the country, notably Mexican, Central American, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. The area attracted many Latino workers during the construction boom that preceded the 1996 Olympic Games. Asian business owners were attracted to the stretch of highway by cheap leases and reliable traffic flow.



In 2017, the man who came up with the idea for the BeltLine ring of trails around Atlanta, Ryan Gravel, announced that he would turn his attention to Buford Highway. His new non-profit named "Generator" would partner with another non-profit, We Love BuHi, to find ways to celebrate the diversity of the community and preserve its culture, with the aim of coming with realistic civic proposals around issues such as gentrification, transit and affordability.

History

Buford Highway originated as a non-descript state roadway connecting Atlanta and points northeast, including the then-railroad towns of Chamblee and Doraville, as well as points farther north. The towns of Doraville, Chamblee and Norcross had long been home to a blue collar, largely white, lower middle-class population. 



The highway was characterized by strip mall development, and apartment complexes sprouted up in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1976 the first ethnic restaurant opened, the Havana Sandwich Shop. In the 1980s, immigrants settled in the area due to affordable housing, available public transportation, and proximity to construction jobs in growing Gwinnett County. The area attracted many Latino workers during the construction boom that preceded the 1996 Olympic Games. Asian business owners were attracted to the stretch of highway by cheap leases and reliable traffic flow.

Plaza Fiesta.

During the 1996 Olympics, Chamblee embraced the growing international character of Buford Highway, while more conservative Doraville resisted it.

In popular culture

The city of Chamblee, in which part of the Buford Highway community is located, is sometimes referred to as "Chambodia" due to its high East Asian population and the concentration of East Asian restaurants along Buford Highway in Chamblee. A chapter of Tom Wolfe's novel A Man in Full is titled "Chambodia".


   
Collinsville

History

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the place in 1887 as the "Town of Collinsville". It is unknown why the name "Collinsville" was applied to this community.


Vulcan Quarry Collinsville.
  
Conley (partly)

It is at Atlanta's southeast corner, 7.98 miles from downtown. The population was 6,680 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.

History

Originally known as Moccasin Gap, the unincorporated community was officially named "Conley" in 1867 after the family who owned the land. The community was home to many farms, however now it is known for its manufacturing industry.



Driving down Georgia’s highway 675, you may not notice this temple on one of the corners of the highway—trees block it from view part of the year. But this brightly-colored and gold-trimmed building is Wat Lao Buddha Phothisaram, which loosely translates to Laotian Buddhist temple under the Bodhi trees.



The temple is located just a few miles from the Atlanta airport in the suburb of Conley. Construction started in 1998. It was carried by a group of Laotian elders after they acquired the land with support from the local community. Much of the work was completed in 2006, but the temple continues to expand and improve as funds allow. 


Wat Lao Buddha Phothisaram is one of four Lao Buddhist Temples in the Atlanta area.
    
Ellenwood (partly)

Ellenwood is an unincorporated community in Clayton, Henry, Rockdale and DeKalb counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The community is a southeast suburb of Atlanta and is located along Interstate 675 and Georgia State Route 42. With a population of 46,967 and ten constituent neighborhoods, Ellenwood is the 19th largest community in Georgia.

History

Ellenwood was first inhabited in 1830 by freed slaves from Henry County. It was incorporated in 1966 and its name is derived from the Ellenwood Plantation, which was settled in the 19th century and was owned by Colonel John H. Ellenwood. The plantation was one of the largest in the area, but was destroyed during the civil war by union troops, being rebuilt by the family later on.


The Atlanta Federal Records Center of the National Archives is in Ellenwood. Most of us remember the Archives in downtown Atlanta until it was imploded in 2017.
    
Embry Hills

History

In the mid-1950s, three sibling developers (Jack, James and Neal Embry, for whom the neighborhood is named) purchased 600 acres of farmland east of what is now I-85. Starting in 1957, the Embrys built the 700-800 homes in the neighborhood. They also built several apartment complexes on the acreage. The Embry Hills Club was built in 1958. 

Embry Hills Club.

The land was bisected by I-285 in the 1960s. In 1963, the first phase of the Embry Hills retail district was built. The Embry National Bank (now United Community Bank) soon followed. DeKalb County Public Library recently constructed the new Embry Hills Library, replacing the neighborhood branch that opened in 1990.


Embry Hills is home to the Big Green Egg HQ and Spaghetti Junction.

Lenox Park (neighborhood in Brookhaven)

Lenox Park is located in the "Y" formed by Roxboro Road on the west and North Druid Hills Road on the east. The westernmost portion is located in the Pine Hills neighborhood of Atlanta's Buckhead district. The Brookhaven Heights neighborhood borders Lenox Park on the north.


ATT Mobility Lenox Park.

Park and homes

The actual park for which the neighborhood is named is a 22-acre greenspace now known as Central Park. In 2000, the population of Lenox Park, excluding the small portion in Fulton County, was 1,727.



History

The Standard Club, a Jewish country club, opened on what is now Lenox Park in 1940 and was located there until 1983, when it moved to Johns Creek.


Apartments where Standard Club was.
   
Northlake

Northlake is home to a large amount of office space, retail options, and residential housing. Similar to its edge city neighbor north of Atlanta, Perimeter Center, Northlake's history began with the construction of a shopping mall, Northlake Mall, in 1971. Both the area and mall are named after North Lake, an actual lake within the community. Three private colleges make Northlake their home, including Mercer University's Atlanta campus.


Northlake was my go to mall growing up in Tucker, not so much today.
    
Pittsburg

Pittsburg was named after Newton J. Pitts, the original owner of a small, concrete block country store at the intersection of Tucker-Norcross Road and Chamblee-Tucker Road, now known as the community of Pittsburg.  It also is on the Eastern Continental Divide, between the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf Of Mexico. The Divide takes a turn north here, towards Norcross GA.


   
Smoke Rise

Located northeast of Atlanta in the City of Tucker, incorporated in 2016. It is located north of the city of Stone Mountain on the eastern side of the city of Tucker. Burt Reynolds lived with Sally Fields for 10 years here.


TRD went to many Tucker High School house party's in Smoke Rise. 18 was the drinking limit in 1978. And one night was the best of my life up to that point. I still love you Bambi, if your reading this. I don't even remember her last name, just Bambi with short blonde hair, perhaps the inspiration for my second Scrolling Nugget.
    
Snapfinger

History

A post office called Snapfinger was established in 1881, and remained in operation until 1901. The community takes its name from nearby Snapfinger Creek.

Snapfinger Creek is a stream in DeKalb County, Georgia. Another DeKalb waterway, Barbashela Creek, flows into Snapfinger, which flows into the South River.

Snapfinger Creek looks slippery.

Some say Snapfinger Creek was so named because an incident in which a surveyor broke or "snapped" his finger bone while crossing the creek caused this name to be selected.

Ghost town

Constitution

Constitution was a pre-Civil War community south of Atlanta. A prison was located there. 



Currently, Metro State Prison is located near the old abandoned prison. 



The city had a circular city limit and half of it was in Fulton County and half of it was in DeKalb County. When Atlanta annexed the Thomasville area in 1952, it took up half of what was left of Constitution, which predated everything around it.

Today's GNW Women are real Dolls for the Doll's Head Trail.