Early Settlement And Founding History
Originally inhabited by Creek Indians, the land became part of an early 1800s plantation established by John Leroy Evins along Nancy Creek. Following the 1821 Indian Springs Treaty, ownership transitioned in the 1830s to Solomon and Harris Goodwin, who maintained a 600-acre farm. The Goodwin home in the 3900 block of Peachtree Road later served as a passenger train stop along the Atlanta and Charlotte Airline Railway. By the late nineteenth century, most of the property was acquired by Salson Stovall. Prominent Atlantans began constructing summer cottages in the area around 1900 because daily commutes to Atlanta were not yet feasible. In 1910, investors from the Mechanical and Manufacturers Club acquired the property to establish Brookhaven Estates and incorporated the Brookhaven Country Club.
Golf Course Origins And Subdivisions
Long Island golf professional Herbert H. Barker laid out the initial nine holes in 1911, designing Brookhaven as Georgia's earliest planned golf club community. When the Brookhaven Country Club opened in January 1912, it served as Atlanta's second golf course following East Lake. The Capital City Club leased the course in 1913 and purchased it in 1915, expanding the grounds to an 18-hole layout. A distinctive Norman Revival clubhouse was constructed on the grounds between 1927 and 1928 to anchor the golf course. Samuel Stovall platted and sold residential parcels along Club Drive and Stovall Boulevard through the 1920s. The surrounding subdivisions of Country Club Estates and the Carleton Operating Company land on Bellaire Drive were subsequently established in 1929 and 1936.
Architectural Styles And Neighborhood Terrain
Residences across the Brookhaven Historic District consist of one- and two-story structures built from wood, brick, stucco, and stone. Colonial Revival and Georgian Revival styles represent the most prevalent home designs across the neighborhood. Additional residential architecture includes Tudor Revival, Dutch Colonial Revival, Spanish Revival, and American Small house varieties. Prominent Atlanta architectural firms including Hentz, Reid, and Adler, Pringle and Smith, and Edwards and Goodwyne designed many of the pre-war homes. Early development preserved mature pine trees and shade trees across the neighborhood's distinctive hilly terrain. Most pre-war homes in Country Club Estates and Bellaire Drive were completed during the Depression era prior to 1942.