East Lake Country Club

From the air

East Lake's main pool has kept the same outline from 1949 to 2026, but the 2023-24 golf course renovation filled most of the long west pond beside the clubhouse.

First seen

Already fully formed in the 1949 aerial, with a clubhouse and footbridges; the 1940 photo is blank over the lake.

Dam in the lidar

The dam is the road embankment across the south end. County lidar puts the crest at about 959 feet and the creek bed below at about 935 feet, so it stands roughly 24 to 25 feet tall. No breach. The length cannot be measured from the lidar. A small notch at the east end is the likely outlet, but that is uncertain.

Read from aerial photos taken between 1940 and 2026 and from DeKalb County 2024 lidar, then checked by a second reading. How the photos were read.

Depth

Modeled from the shoreline shape and the dam inventory’s average depth: deepest point about 18 ft. Treat it as an estimate; no survey of the lake bottom was found. How depth is estimated.

History

East Lake is a 24-acre lake on Doolittle Creek, held by a 25-foot-high, 470-foot-long earth dam that the National Inventory of Dams rates high hazard and lists as completed in 1903. In the 1890s the East Lake Land Company's streetcar suburb had lakefront attractions here: a beach, a penny arcade and a steamboat. The Atlanta Athletic Club bought the grounds in 1904 and opened its golf course in 1908. It sold East Lake in 1968, and a foundation led by Tom Cousins bought the club in 1993. It is private today. Who built the dam, and when, is not documented in the sources found. 123456

Who built it

The lake existed before the golf club. The East Lake Land Company was chartered in 1892 to sell home sites, and Wikipedia describes cottage lots 'around the lake' and a streetcar line to the area. The lake was the centerpiece of an 1890s amusement park. The sources found do not say who built the dam or dug the lake, and NID lists the designer as unknown. The NID date of 1903 falls after the park era and just before the Atlanta Athletic Club's 1904 purchase, so it may reflect a rebuild or an estimate. The impounded stream is Doolittle Creek (NID). 7821

Timeline

1. 1892East Lake Land Company is chartered; land is divided into residential lots for a streetcar suburb east of Atlanta, described as offering lakefront attractions. Likely 782
2. 1893A streetcar line down a right of way now called East Lake Drive begins running, with cars every 20 minutes, according to Wikipedia. Likely 7
3. 1890sThe park at the lake offers a swimming beach, picnic tables, snack stands, a penny arcade and a steamboat that runs the narrow lake. Period newspapers were not checked. Likely 32
4. 1896-c. 1900Wikipedia says the development fails in the 1896 recession and that the covered pavilion and beach served as an amusement park up to about 1900. Likely 7
5. 1903Year the National Inventory of Dams lists the dam as completed. The year is not tied to any construction record found. Uncertain 1
6. 1904The Atlanta Athletic Club buys the former amusement park and lake from club member Henry Atkinson to build a country club. Sources give 178 acres (club history), 187 or 280 acres. 4512713
7. July 4, 1908The grand opening of the 18-hole course and clubhouse takes place under the Atlanta Athletic Club. 5414
8. 1908Wikipedia says East Lake is incorporated as a town this year. Likely 7
9. 1928East Lake is annexed into the City of Atlanta, according to Wikipedia. Likely 7
10. 1958The club adds a swimming pool and expands the clubhouse and tennis courts. 4
11. 1968After a club-wide vote the Atlanta Athletic Club sells East Lake. A group of members (25, per Wikipedia) buys the original course and clubhouse as East Lake Country Club. 456
12. 1970East Lake Meadows, a 650-unit public housing project, is built in the neighborhood; Wikipedia places it on the site of the No. 2 golf course. 1562
13. 1993A foundation headed by Tom Cousins buys East Lake to restore the club as a tribute to Bobby Jones and to revitalize the community. 56
14. 1995Tom Cousins, Atlanta Housing officials and residents found the East Lake Foundation; the Meadows is later razed and replaced by the mixed-income Villages of East Lake. 2715
15. 1998Rees Jones redesigns East Lake's old No. 2 course as the Charlie Yates Golf Course. 16
16. Date unconfirmedA Golf Digest archive piece by Marcia Chambers lists East Lake, called a corporate club, among elite private clubs that have accepted Black members. It gives no year for the change. Uncertain 17
17. 2023-2024Andrew Green's renovation begins right after the 2023 Tour Championship. Golf Digest's preview said the inlet on the 18th would be filled; NBC's later report says the lake was expanded. 101118

Names

East Lake (the lake at East Lake Golf Club)

Name used by the club, the neighborhood and the map for the water itself; the neighborhood takes its name from the lake. 23

East Lake Country Club Dam

The National Inventory of Dams listing, named for the club that operated the course from 1968; the Atlanta Athletic Club ran it as East Lake Country Club from 1904 to 1968. 145

Frog Pond

Nickname for a small pond on a small Atlanta Athletic Club plot along Doolittle Creek, noted by the DeKalb History Center. It is not clearly the same water body as the golf-course lake. 19

The dam

NID lists East Lake Country Club Dam as an earth dam, 25 ft high and 470 ft long, impounding 24 surface acres and 242 acre-feet of storage on Doolittle Creek. It is privately owned, used for recreation, with an uncontrolled spillway, hazard class High, condition Satisfactory, an emergency action plan prepared, and a last inspection dated March 19, 2019 (2-year inspection frequency). NID's designer field is UNKNOWN, and its owner field lists the club together with 'DeKalb County Roads & Drainage' without explanation. Year completed is given as 1903, with no construction record found. NID's 595 sq mi drainage area cannot be right for a creek this small and is not used. At 25 ft the dam meets Georgia's height threshold for a regulated dam (25 ft or more, or 100 acre-feet or more of storage). Georgia regulates Category I dams, where failure would probably cost lives, and requires a state permit and owner-arranged inspections by private engineers. No rebuild dates or state permit file were found. A 2023-24 golf-course renovation changed the lake's shape, and the sources conflict on how. 191011

Year in the inventory

1903

Dam height

25 ft

Surface

24 acres

Stream

Doolittle Creek

Owner type

Private

Figures from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ National Inventory of Dams. Its “year” is often a rebuild or survey date, and average depth is storage divided by area.

Around the lake

Water

Impounds Doolittle Creek (NID stream name). Frog Pond, a small Atlanta Athletic Club pond on the creek, is noted by the DeKalb History Center.

Segregation

Sourced pieces only: neighborhood decline is tied to white flight (Atlanta Magazine); East Lake Meadows opened in 1970; and a Golf Digest archive article lists East Lake among clubs that had accepted Black members (its exact date could not be confirmed). Whether the AAC-era club excluded Black members, and when that ended, is not documented in the sources found.

Before 1861

Robert Alston owned the roughly 300-acre East Lake section that included the future golf course. He died in 1879 and his widow in 1884, and the property was later divided and sold, per the DeKalb History Center. The East Lake Land Company subdivided the area in 1892.

Visiting

Getting there

Private. East Lake Golf Club is a members' club. The public can attend the Tour Championship, which the club has hosted each late summer (check current-year dates). The separate Charlie Yates Golf Course, built in 1998 on the old No. 2 course land, is described by Wikipedia as a public executive course; confirm its current status before visiting.

What you can see

The course is private, and no public access to the lake or dam is documented. During tournament week, spectators walk the course, where the lake crosses the par-5 18th hole.

Look, don’t dig. Parks, cemeteries and preserves are off limits to digging and collecting, and private land needs the owner’s permission to enter.

Open questions

• Who built the dam, and when? NID says 1903, but the lake was already an amusement-park lake in the 1890s.
• Was the lake ever rebuilt, drawn down or breached, and when did the state first permit it as a Category I dam?
• Did the Atlanta Athletic Club or the land company add any part of the dam or spillway?
• Were Black golfers or members excluded before the 1990s, and when did that change?
• What did the 2023-24 renovation actually do to the lake near the 18th hole? Golf Digest's preview said an inlet would be filled, while NBC reported the lake was expanded.
• Is Frog Pond the same water as the golf-course lake or a separate pond?
• Why does the NID owner field also name DeKalb County Roads & Drainage?

Know something? Write to hello@historyunderfoot.org. Family papers, photos and deeds often settle these.

Where to look next

• Atlanta History Center photograph of East Lake Country Club, 1909, from the Atlanta History Photograph Collection (Digital Library of Georgia, record geh_athpc_972)
• 1949 aerial photograph that Golf Digest says inspired Andrew Green's 2023-24 restoration; other 1949 aerials of Atlanta may show the lake outline (not confirmed) (East Lake Golf Club archives; Georgia State University Library aerial collection)
• UGA 1938-40 aerial photographs, if they cover this part of DeKalb, to check the shoreline before the 1958 pool and 1970 housing (coverage not confirmed) (UGA Map and Government Information Library aerials)
• USGS Atlanta topographic quadrangles from the 1890s to the 1950s to trace the lake outline and dam (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (topoView))
• East Lake Land Company plats and deeds of 1892-1904, including the 1904 AAC purchase from member Henry Atkinson (DeKalb County Superior Court plat and deed records)
• Newspaper coverage of the 1890s park, the steamboat, and the AAC purchase, in the Atlanta Constitution and Atlanta Georgian (Georgia Historic Newspapers)
• Atlanta Athletic Club records and East Lake material (Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center)
• Dam permit and inspection file for GA01318 (state ID 044-006-00069); request through open records (Georgia EPD Safe Dams Program)

Sources

1. USACE National Inventory of Dams, record GA01318 East Lake Country Club Dam (national CSV, data last updated 2026-09-23; this record last updated 04/20/2021) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
2. 5 Reasons to love East Lake Atlanta Magazine
3. About East Lake (1890s amusement park, beach, arcade, steamboat) Bobby Jones Classic
4. History (Atlanta Athletic Club timeline) Atlanta Athletic Club
5. East Lake Golf Club, History East Lake Golf Club
6. Atlanta Athletic Club and East Lake Golf Club Wikipedia
7. East Lake, Atlanta Wikipedia
8. A hole in one: Your neighborhood guide to East Lake Atlanta Journal-Constitution
9. Safe Dams Program Frequently Asked Questions Georgia EPD
10. East Lake will undergo significant historical renovation by golf's new hottest architect Golf Digest
11. Welcome to the new East Lake Golf Club: 5 takeaways from the restoration NBC Sports
12. About Us (East Lake course description: 187-acre former amusement park and lake bought in 1904) East Lake agronomy blog
13. 1898 (Atlanta Athletic Club founding; 1904 East Lake Country Club) East Lake Golf Club
14. East Lake Country Club (photograph, 1909) Digital Library of Georgia / Atlanta History Center
15. East Lake Meadows (photograph, March 1973) Digital Library of Georgia / Atlanta History Center
16. History, The Charlie Yates Golf Course at East Lake Charlie Yates Golf Course
17. From the archives: Marcia Chambers, The Changing Face of Private Clubs Golf Digest
18. The week after the TOUR Championship, one of golf's hottest architects will begin a dramatic East Lake renovation PGA TOUR
19. East Lake Park and the Zaban Recreation Center DeKalb History Center