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404.897.5558 office 800.711.6930 toll free 404.277.5515 cell  Home Current Listings Morningside Profile |
 The Neighborhood Known as Morningside - A Perspective The first non-Indian settlers came to the rolling countryside that is now known as Morningside in the 1820s. These few families who owned and worked the land grew corn and cotton, so it was important that they be near a creek that would operate the mill needed to grind the corn. The first mill was known as Walker's Gin and Grist Mill and it was located about where Caribou Coffee now sits on Piedmont Road across from Ansley Mall, adjacent to the Clear Creek Center. From the first few families who grew prosperous, a settlement was established and it was called Easton. Soon the log cabin school on Montgomery Ferry was no longer adequate, so some of the prominent landholders donated land and organized a new school at the Rock Spring School House, located at the intersection of Morningside Drive and East Rock Springs Road. Two years later the Rock Spring Presbyterian Church was organized and held its first services in the little school house. The charter members were the major landholders who eventually gave their names to streets and parks that still exist, Cheshire, Johnson, Reeder, Plaster, Luckie. During the following years the school house was enlarged and used as a "manse" for the pastor. In 1876 the Air-Line Belle, a crack commuter train from Toccoa to Atlanta was sweeping into the sleepy Presbyterian township of Easton and soon transformed it into bustling hub where about 100 families lived. In 1888 Easton boasted of a church, a school house, a railroad depot, and a post office, all located near WalkerĖs Gin and Grist Mill. By 1911 nearby Ansley Park and Virginia-Highlands were being developed and the major road, Plaster Bridge Road that ran in front of Walker's Mill was paved and renamed Piedmont Road. The coming of age of the automobile spurred the development of Atlanta's first suburbs. James Smith and M. S. Rankin, successful real agents, conceived Morningside Park, Incorporated. The peaceful, but prosperous atmosphere coupled with continued migration of families from the northern states assured the success of Morningside Park. Rankin and Smith conceived a neighborhood based on the English townships, that would feature homes built around green spaces, imitating the village green. The Tudor-style bungalow complete with steep-pitched gables, cross-paned windows and the exterior finishes of stone and brick was part of the concept. By 1925 Morningside was annexed to the City of Atlanta. The commercial district of Morningside began to grow rapidly in the area just north of Walker's Mill. The commercial district consisted of a florist, grocery store, hardware store, an electric supply store and a beauty salon and were located in the strip of shops that still exists today south of the Cowtippers Restaurant. Like so many other developments geared to the affluent home-buying market, Morningside Park suffered a severe setback during the Depression. New construction ground to a halt. Oddly enough development was flourishing in Lenox Park, an area just north of Rock Springs Road between Morningside and Druid Hills. Eventually these two neighborhoods merged. With the end of the Depression more and more families with young children moved in and in 1934 Morningside School was opened on East Rock Springs Road and a loosely knit civic association turned its attention to those things which still interest the neighborhood - parks, beautification, and neighborhood involvement in the school. Many of the crepe myrtles and dogwoods that line the streets are the result of that earlier attention. And today, that same interest in beautification has resulted in maples being planted along sidewalks, even on our busiest streets. As the automobile and housing shortage began to shape the outlying suburbs, the State Department of Transportation began to plan for the increasing traffic from downtown Atlanta to the suburbs. Five potential plans existed for Interstate 485, which was considered to be the solution to the choking traffic. The straight line path, which bisected Morningside was chosen. And in 1966 the DOT began tearing down homes in the path of the Interstate. In the summer of 1967 the five in-town neighborhoods which had been affected by this proposed highway formed a coalition called Bass Organization for Neighborhood Development (BOND) that was prepared to fight this highway encroachment. At the time no one thought the highway could be defeated. With the decreasing property values, due to the proposed highway which would bisect and divide the neighborhoods, young college-educated, politically-savvy, and ideologically-liberal families began to buy homes and move in, These new Morningsiders did not shrink from opposing the system. They didnĖt want a more palatable I-485, they wanted to stop it! And stop it they did, with the help of their fellow neighborhood associations - Virginia/Highlands, Lake Claire, Candler Park, Inman Park, Druid Hills. In 1973 Interstate-485 was dead and the City of Atlanta had a new entity to contend with , the neighborhood association. It led to an ordinance which established Neighborhood Planning Units (NPUs) whose representatives coordinate with city planners in developing long-range plans and establishing and maintaining the standards which help to preserve the integrity of the neighborhoods. Today the result of those long-ago efforts of the sturdy families that made the township of Easton grow and prosper, the vision of Rankin/Smith developers of Morningside Park, and the battle by young and politically-active families to save a neighborhood and defeat a highway, can be seen when you drive down almost any street in Morningside/Lenox Park. It glows from the beautification of its streets and traffic islands, its parks are maintained by neighbors, and its schools excel from neighborhood involvement. It remains a place of peaceful beauty, full of young active families, living in the lovely renovated homes of diverse architecture but characterized by the Tudor bungalow of English townships in the vision of its developers. Today Morningside/Lenox Park Association thrives and remains one of the more politically active neighborhood associations in the city. Today in Morningside most homes have been renovated from top to bottom but retain the original architectural features. A drive down any street looks like an English village with a park not very far away. The lawns are landscaped, the trees are old and stately, the sidewalks in use by kids on bikes and mothers with strollers. Shops and boutiques are close by and the neighborhood association has its own quarterly newsletter. Currently, home prices range from $300,000 to $1,000,000 and sell rapidly. The sense of belonging to a place, a neighborhood, attracts those relocating from other cities as well as those who have tried the suburbs and want that "neighborhood" feel. The forefathers of Morningside would be proud as are the current residents.  1531 Piedmont Road Atlanta, Ga. 30324
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