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| 1. |
The Railroad- Vinings
originally known as Vinings’s Station, was named for
the civil engineer who worked for the Western and Atlantic
Railroad. He surveyed
the area and supervised the laying of the tracks which served
to connect Atlanta and Chattanooga. The train station building
was renovated for use as a bakery in the 1970s at which time
the train car was moved on site. Today the site is shared
by
a restaurant and dry cleaners. |
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| 2. |
The Vest-Hodge House- This house was built circa
1980. From the late 1950s until the early 1970s it housed the
Vinings Post Office. A memorable photo of this building appeared
in the July 1988 article on Atlanta in the National Geographic
magazine. Today, it is a floral and gift shop. |
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| 3. |
The Forty-Forty Building- This building was
originally a general store built by Mr. Reuben F. Hill circa
1890. On the main floor was a seed and feed room and the site
of the village post office (the mail slot can still be seen
to the right the front door.) The corner building property changed
hands several times in the 1900s. It was eventually purchased
and renovated by Ruth Carted Vanneman. She added the second
floor, creating the Forty-Forty Apartments (the size for the
property being 40’x 40’.) The building has more
recently been the site of antiques and gift shops and The Old
Vinings Inn Bar before it became The Vinings Inn, a trendy restaurant
and jazz bar. |
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| 4. |
The Pace House- During the
summer of 1864, July 5 to July 17, Federal Commander William
T. Sherman moved into
Vinings where he and his troops planned their campaign to siege
Atlanta. Vinings became headquarters for the Federal army.
It
served as a railroad, supply depot, ammunition dump, and hospital
site. General O. Howard occupied the Pace House. On July 5,
the Federal troops crossed the Chattahoochee River and met
with
great resistance. The wounded were brought to the Pace home
which became a Federal hospital. So many arrived that they
were
treated in tents surrounding the house. One Captain George
Pepper described “the horrors of the hospital, the floors and
tables covered with blood.” Vinings continued to be a
center for the Union Forces until the fall of Atlanta in September
1864.
After the war, the Pace children returned to find their
seventeen-room
antebellum home burned to the ground. Two devoted slaves,
Fannie and Albert, stayed and helped the family get settled
in a small slave cabin left standing in the yard. The current
Pace House was built using doors, windows, and remnants from
the slave cabins on the premises. The stone steps, which
remain,
are all that is left of the original home.
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| 5. |
The Pavilion- Moved to the
current site in early spring 1996, the Pavilion was originally
built on the corner
of Mountain Street and Ranch Road in 1874. It was one of five
such recreation halls built during reconstruction days by
the
Western and Atlantic Railroad (W&A RR) to encourage train
excursions from Atlanta. It is the only one to remain. In
the
late 1880s on through the turn of the century, Atlantans would
ride out to Vinings by train or carriage for all day picnicking
and dancing. Originally an open-air structure, windows were
added to the building in the mid-1940s when it was purchased
by Hardy Pace’s great-great granddaughter, Earle Carter-Smith.
Antique shops were housed in the Pavilion from that time until
1995, when it was moved to the Pace House grounds. The structure
is under renovation by the Vinings Historic Preservation Society
in hopes it will once again be a gathering place for Atlantans
and their guests. |
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| 6. |
Vinings United Methodist Church- A
Methodist congregation has worshipped in Vinings since organizing
in 1872
in the center of the Hardy Pace plantation. The site of the
first church was near the Vinings Village (now the parking
lot
of Starbuck’s Coffee.) That structure was built circa
1900, but was destroyed by fire in 1941. The present site
was
the former home of the Vinings Public School building, purchased
by the church in 1951. |
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| 7. |
The Earle Carter Smith Fountain Memorial- The
fountain and garden were established in 1977 by the Vinings
Civic Club in honor of the “First Lady of Vinings”,
Mrs. Earle Carter Smith, great-great-granddaughter of Hardy
Pace. Mrs. Smith owned and cherished much of the land and properties
in Vinings village. She died in 1973. |
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| 8. |
Yarbrough House- (Vinings Center) Built
around 1880, this cornerstone house was originally the home
of Samuel
and Ella (Pace) Yarbrough. Ella was the daughter of Solomon
Pace, one of two sons of Hardy Pace, and his wife Penelope
Glass-Pace.
The house was purchased by Ruth Carter Vanneman and leased
for use as a restaurant. Front and side porches were enclosed
and
a kitchen was added to the original two-room house. The Old
Vinings Inn had a loyal following during the 1980s. The restaurant
closed in 1993 after the death of Ruth Vanneman. The house
was purchased by Piedmont hospital and deeded to the Vinings
Historic
Preservation Society. Today, it serves as a focal point for
the preservation of historic Vinings Village. |
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| 9. |
Vinings Library- Opened in
August 1990, this building was designed to complement the
historic feel of Vinings.
The library maintains a file on historic Vinings and is available
for viewing upon request. The heritage of Vinings is visually
represented by the Vinings Quilt, which hangs in the lower
floor foyer. Twenty hand quilted fabric panels depicting the
history
of Vinings were lovingly stitched by members of the Vinings
Village Womens Club. The quilt, started in 1978, was completed
in 1982. |
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| 10. |
Vinings First Baptist Church- The
Vinings First Baptist Church was an outgrowth of a tent revival
held in July 1948 in Vinings. The property was bought from
Grady Robinson
in 1949 for the sum of $100.00. The church membership began
with 17 members. By 1993, the congregation had outgrown the
physical structure and moved to larger quarters on South Cobb
Drive. In 1996, the building was remodeled and is now home
to
the neighborhood restaurants: La Paz Restaurante Cantina and
Mellow Mushroom. |
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| 11. |
Stillhouse Road- Take a walk
down this lane and feel transported to the North Georgia Mountains.
Stand on
the bridge and take in the sight of mountain laurel, deeply
shaded foliage, and massive rock outcroppings. Listen to the
gurgle of the mountain brook. There’s history here too.
Beside the larger stream, the South Fork of Little Nancy Creek,
a distillery was built by Mr. Rufus Rose in the late 1860s.
You may recognize the name of his product, “Four Roses”
named for four generations of men in the Rose family. (Seagrams
now owns this recipe and trademark.) The site of the distillery
is approximately 3311 Stillhouse Road. To follow this road
around the bend and up the steep hill will take you to Cumberland
Mall.
The road was cut-off to vehicular traffic in the 1980s to insulate
the area from the congestion of the malls and office parks. |
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| 12. |
Vinings Mountain (Mt. Wilkinson)- Officially,
it is listed as Mt. Wilkenson, but to most, it is known as Vinings
Mountain. It was from Vinings Mountain, in 1864, that General
Sherman got his first look at the church spires of Atlanta.
The mountain was a signal point throughout the battle of Atlanta;
semaphore flags and torches were used.
On the top of the mountain is the private family cemetery
for the Pace and
Robinson families. Hardy Pace was buried here after his death
on December 6, 1864. Until the mid 1980s, the road leading
to the top of the mountain was open so anyone could drive
up to enjoy the view. Several historic plaques marked the
significances of the mountain. However, the site was closed
to the public having been abused by revelers who left behind
litter and refuse. The plaques were removed after being damaged
by vandals. Today, the best view of Atlanta is to be found
from the top of the parking deck of the Overlook III office
building, just below Vinings Mountain.
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| 13. |
Site of the Nellie Mae Rowe House-A commemorative plaque and large shade tree in front of the Hotel makre the former site of the Nellie Mae Rowe House. Her paintings now are acclaimed by folk art critics and hand in museums and private are collections.
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| 14. |
The Old Bridge at Paces Ferry- Approximately
one mile down Paces Ferry Road from the heart of historic
Vinings
is the Chattahoochee River crossing where Hardy Pace operated
his ferry business in the early 1830s. Pace had moved to this
area from North Carolina, by way of Putnam County, Georgia.
By 1839, he had acquired a vast land holding in and around
the
Vinings area. One story suggests that he owned 10,000 acres
from Buckhead to Smyrna. It is fact that his name is now attached
to one of Northwest Atlanta’s most famous streets…address
of the Governor’s Mansion and other homes of distinction.
The site of the ferry is thought to be about fifty feet
upstream from the old bridge, which was built in 1904. The
one-way iron truss wooden-planked bridge functioned until
it was replaced for vehicular traffic in the early 1970s.
The old bridge was preserved for pedestrians. This location
was also significant in Civil War times, as both Confederate
and Union forces on their way to Atlanta, crossed the river
on pontoon bridges at this point. Walk across the bridge to
the Atlanta side of the river to see the historic marker in
the Lovett School drive. |
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| 15. |
Robinson's Tropical Garden- The
commercial complex on Paces Ferry Road at the Chattahoochee
was first the site
of Robinson's Tropical Garden, housed in a Quonset hut type
structure built in the 1940s. This supper club had a colorful
history of good food, big parties, show bands, and big name
entertainment. Today it is the location of nationally acclaimed
Canoe restaurant. Photographs of past fun and fame at the Tropical
Gardens are on display in the restaurant lobby. |
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| 16. |
Chattahoochee National Recreation Area- Approximately
one mile from Vinings Center, down Paces Mill Road and south
on Cobb Parkway, will bring the rewards of a visit to this
extensive river park system operated by the National Park
Service on
the Chattahoochee River. Enjoy picnic, rafting service, trout
fishing, sunbathing, and jogging trails. |
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| 17. |
Vinings Jubilee Specialty Center- Located
in the heart of historic Vinings, this painstakingly conceived
and constructed specialty center recalls Vinings Village as
it might have been at the turn-of-the-century. Home to carefully
selected merchants and restaurants, this red brick and white
clapboard shopping village offers the best of today's wares
presented with old-fashioned elegance and dedication to service. |
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