Ardmore Park History
The land comprising the Ardmore Park neighborhood was originally owned by the Collier family, one of Atlanta’s early pioneering families who arrived in Atlanta in 1823. Specifically, Andrew Jackson Collier—for whom Anjaco Road is named (the first two letters of his first, middle, and last names)—owned 202.5 acres of land off Peachtree that his heirs subdivided in the 1920s, leading to the development of the Ardmore Park neighborhood.
Collier operated an antebellum grist mill off Tanyard Creek in the area of the current Ardmore and Tanyard Creek Parks. The area is also known for being the site of some of the most hostile and bloody combat during the Civil War, as Confederate forces desperately attacked the armies commanded by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman that were closing in on Atlanta in July 1864. Historical markers dot both Ardmore Park and Tanyard Creek Park, recounting this history.
The development of the neighborhood started in the early 1920s. At the time of initial development, the neighborhood consisted of 28th Street to just past Wycliff Road, Wycliff Anjaco Road, and Collier Road. The development of Anjaco began soon after in the 1930s, and the western half of 28th Street and Ardmore Road was developed next, largely in the 40s and 50s, coinciding with the development of the park for which the neighborhood is now named.
In 2002, with financial support from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the Ardmore Park Neighborhood Association led an effort to protect and preserve the land now known as Ardmore and Tanyard Creek Parks . In May of 2010, the first segment, the Atlanta Beltline’s Northside trail, was completed connecting Ardmore Park to Bobby Jones Golf Course by way of Tanyard Creek. In May of 2022, the Atlanta Beltline announced its intent to extend the beltline through the neighborhood. The route would connect Huff Road and Ardmore Park/Tanyard Creek Park via Blandtown and Loring Heights/Berkeley Park. It would run past the Hemphill Waterworks and cross I-75 with an underpass bridge. A bridge-like segment along a channelized portion of Tanyard Creek is also a possibility.
In 2022, CSX Railway replaced the iconic wooden rail bridge in Ardmore Park because it reached the end of its life. The project began in the Spring of 2022, and the bridge was completed in January of 2023, with the park restoration carrying into Spring of 2023. During the project, the Beltline trail between Tanyard and Ardmore was closed. At the end of 2022, the Ardmore Park Neighborhood Association (APNA) applied for and received a $17,500 matching grant from Park Pride. These dollars, as well as matching dollars contributed by CSX and neighbors, were used to purchase and install new benches, tables, and garbage cans made of durable, durable, long-lasting materials and creation of bike parking spaces.
