Peachtree Heights East Duck Pond

From the air

The pond is already in the 1940 aerial, and it sits behind a road-top dam. The dam's crest is barely above the water, but its downstream face drops about 19 feet.

First seen

Already present in the earliest aerial, 1940; the documented 1922 build date is consistent with that.

Dam in the lidar

Lakeview Drive runs along an embankment at the south end that acts as the dam. Its top is only about 0.3 to 1.5 feet above the pond. The steepest face drops about 19 feet to the old stream channel, though part of that may be a natural drop. A dip in the road at about pool level is probably the outlet. No breach was found.

Read from aerial photos taken between 1940 and 2026 and from USGS 3DEP lidar, then checked by a second reading. How the photos were read.

History

The Duck Pond was not part of the original 1909 lot sales in Peachtree Heights East. The neighborhood's 1922 Community Club minutes credit two residents with building the 'lake', and the 2015 marker says resident club members added it that year. After developer Eretus Rivers died in 1932, his widow Una deeded the 7.35-acre park to a perpetual trust for residents. A 1999 capital campaign raised $440,000 (goal $500,000) for a restoration finished in 2001, which drained and dredged the pond. About two acres of water, fed by two streams and springs, sit behind a dam that supports Lakeview. Residents pay for upkeep; the park is privately owned but open under posted rules. 1234

Who built it

Not in the 1909 subdivision plan. The neighborhood association says the 1922 Peachtree Heights Community Club minutes give credit to two residents for building the 'lake' and beautifying the area; the park overview page names them as Henry Jacobs and Nat Sage. The 2015 marker says the Duck Pond 'as it is known today' was added in 1922 by resident members of the Community Club, which the association says was formed as a social club in 1922. The pond is fed by two streams and springs; a realtor blog says its water ends up in Peachtree Creek. Purpose is not stated; it reads as a neighborhood amenity. Whether they dug a new basin or dammed an existing stream is not documented. 1234

Timeline

1. 1906Eretus 'Petie' Rivers and Frank C. Owens (president of Southern Land Co.) buy the 'wooded, wild land' that becomes Peachtree Heights East, per the neighborhood's 2015 historical marker. 4
2. July 19, 1909First lots are auctioned; the marker credits the neighborhood design to the New York firm Carrere and Hastings. 4
3. 1920The neighborhood's western boundary is extended to Acorn Avenue, per the marker. 4
4. 1922The Peachtree Heights Community Club is formed as a social club. Its minutes credit two residents with building the 'lake'; the park page names Henry Jacobs and Nat Sage, and the marker says club members added the Duck Pond. 1234
5. 1932Eretus Rivers dies. The association's history page and the marker place the gift of the pond and park after his death; the marker names Una Rivers as donor. 14
6. 1932 or 1933Una Rivers deeds 7.35 acres of pond and park to residents in perpetual trust. The marker and history page say 1932; the organizations page says 1933. 134
7. 1952The Community Club is revived, mainly because the Duck Pond Park was in bad condition and the trustees lacked funds for improvements. 3
8. 1974The Ladies of the Lake Garden Club is formally organized; the association says a 'Ladies Club' or 'Lake Club' existed at least since the 1930s. 3
9. 1986The then-trustees form a Georgia nonprofit, Peachtree Heights Park, Inc., to hold title to the parks; the trust agreement calls for five trustees. 3
10. 1999-2001Neighbors run the Duck Pond Century Plan capital campaign (goal $500,000; $440,000 raised from over 400 contributions). The restoration, finished in 2001, drained and dredged the pond and added silt ponds, retaining walls and bridges. 12
11. 2002The Peachtree Heights East Neighborhood Association, which took that name around 1990, is incorporated with the Georgia Secretary of State. 3
12. 2015The Peachtree Heights East Centennial Committee erects a historical marker at Lakeview and Potomac Avenues. 4

Names

Duck Pond

Everyday and association name; the neighborhood calls the surrounding grounds Duck Pond Park. 256

Duck Pond Park

Name used by the neighborhood association for the 7.35-acre park (Duck Pond Park, Middle Park and Lower Park). 26

Peachtree Heights Park / Peachtree Heights East park pond

Used in the trustees' corporate name (Peachtree Heights Park, Inc.); an unverified scout note lists it as an alternate. Not confirmed as a name for the pond itself. 3

the 'lake'

The word used for the pond in the 1922 Community Club minutes, as quoted by the neighborhood association. 1

The dam

The park overview says the pond 'is held by a dam that supports Lakeview Drive' (the marker calls the street Lakeview Avenue), and that a spillway under Lakeview creates a creek flowing through the Middle and Lower Parks. No height, construction date, or engineer is published in the sources found. No National Inventory of Dams or Georgia Safe Dams record was confirmed. The 2001 work included draining and dredging, new silt ponds, retaining walls and bridges; the association says two silt ponds are dredged every other year. 12

Around the lake

Water

Fed by two streams and springs; a realtor blog says its water ends up in Peachtree Creek. The streams carry silt that collects in the pond and needs regular dredging. The specific creek branch is not identified in the sources found.

Before 1861

The marker dates the land purchase to 1906 and the first lot auction to July 19, 1909; a realtor blog says the neighborhood sits on land that once belonged to Leontine Chisholm Andrews (single-source). Older roads and mills are not covered in the sources found.

Visiting

Getting there

The association says the park is privately owned by the neighborhood, and everyone is welcome if the posted rules are observed. The park closes at dark; no boating, swimming, bikes or scooters, or touching or feeding wildlife; dogs on leash. Fishing is restricted to PHENA and Friends of the Park members current on dues, in marked zones, catch and release. All events must be reserved in advance.

What you can see

About two acres of water with resident ducks and geese, two stone bridges, rustic stone benches, streams, silt ponds, open lawns, a perennial garden and wooded areas. The 2015 historical marker stands at Lakeview and Potomac Avenues. The dam carries Lakeview.

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

• Was the deed 1932 or 1933? The neighborhood's own pages give both.
• Who were Henry Jacobs and Nat Sage, and did they build the pond by hand, by hired crew, or by damming an existing spring branch?
• What is the dam's height, and is it state-regulated? No NID or Safe Dams record was confirmed.
• Which Peachtree Creek tributary do the two streams belong to, and did a stream or spring pond exist here before 1922?
• Who designed and built the 2001 restoration, and how much of the current dam is original?
• What did the 1909 Carrere and Hastings plan show for this ground, and did early deeds carry racial covenants? Nothing was found either way.

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

Where to look next

• Peachtree Heights Community Club minutes, 1922, quoted on the association's history page (Peachtree Heights East Neighborhood Association (PHENA) or Peachtree Heights Park, Inc. trustees; ask about the original minute books)
• 'A History of Peachtree Heights East' (2000) by Bill Bell, a neighborhood history to 1950 cited by the association (Neighborhood association; local libraries and Atlanta History Center)
• 1909 subdivision plat and Carrere and Hastings plan for Peachtree Heights East (Fulton County Superior Court plat books; Digital Library of Georgia and Atlanta History Center map collections)
• Deed from Una Rivers to the park trust (1932 or 1933) (Fulton County Clerk of Superior Court deed records)
• Historic aerial view of the pond area before and after 1922 (1949 Georgia State University Atlanta aerial collection; earlier USGS Atlanta topographic sheets)
• Newspaper coverage of the 1999-2001 Duck Pond Century Plan restoration and the park's 1952 revival (Atlanta Journal-Constitution archives; Georgia Historic Newspapers)
• Neighborhood marker text and 2015 centennial materials (Historical Marker Database entry for Peachtree Heights East)

Sources

1. Peachtree Heights East Neighborhood Association: Duck Pond history Peachtree Heights East Neighborhood Association
2. Peachtree Heights East: Park and Duck Pond overview Peachtree Heights East Neighborhood Association
3. Neighborhood organizations (Trustees, PHENA, Ladies of the Lake) Peachtree Heights East Neighborhood Association
4. Peachtree Heights East historical marker Historical Marker Database
5. Duck Pond Park rules Peachtree Heights East Neighborhood Association
6. Duck Pond Park special events policy Peachtree Heights East Neighborhood Association