HISTORY

A Heritage of Tradition, Recreation, and Family Ties

Mention that you live in Horseshoe Bend to any long-time Atlanta native, and chances are, he’ll claim to remember when Holcomb Bridge was a dirt road. Times have certainly changed, and the neighborhood of Horseshoe Bend has thrived, carving out its own identity and charm amidst the northern suburbs of Atlanta.

Horseshoe Bend gets it name from its location in a bend of the Chattahoochee River, where pioneers once farmed. Owned by John Wayt, Sr. in the 1960s, the land was described as “good for cotton and good for racing. ” It was here that the first Atlanta Hunt Meeting and Steeplechase was run in March 1966. About 9,000 spectators came to watch the steeplechasers vie for time and leap over brush hurdles for the benefit of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. For five years, picnickers and tailgaters enjoyed the springtime ritual of enjoying the warmer weather, gourmet food, and eclectic dress traditions of the Atlanta Steeplechase. In 1971, the Atlanta Steeplechase moved forty miles north to another property owned by John Wayt, Seven Branches Farm.

During the 1960s, developer Lowell Womack began to develop neighborhoods in Dunwoody, and he soon expanded his development efforts across the Chattahoochee River to Horseshoe Bend. Womack Properties was responsible for developing the original clubhouse and golf course, designed by John Lee, at Horseshoe Bend Country Club, which opened in 1974.

In 1978, Wommack Properties sold its interests in Horseshoe Bend to Mobil Development Company. Mobil developed the master plan for the community and its roads. In 1983, Tattersall Development Company assumed responsibility for the club and the ongoing development of the neighborhood. In 1988, with many of the available lots built out with homes, the ongoing maintenance and governance of the neighborhood and its common areas were turned over to Horseshoe Bend Community Association.

In the early 1990s, the Horseshoe Bend Country Club and community hosted several major golf and tennis championships, including the AT&T Challenge, Senior PGA Championship, and the American Junior Golf Association Tournament of Champions. These events brought professionals, including Andre Agassi, Mats Wilander, Jimmy Connors, Phil Mickelson, and many other well-known athletes to our neighborhood.

Horseshoe Bend played a special role in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as well, as several homeowners offered their homes to host athletic teams from around the world.

In recent years, Horseshoe Bend is enjoying a time of revitalization that coincides with the renovation and improvements at Horseshoe Bend Country Club, purchased by businessman Ben Kenny in 2011. The expansive swim and tennis center, opening in fall 2014, promises to further enhance the experience of living in the community.

In the east Roswell area that surrounds us, new commercial development, excellent schools, major business and retail centers, and diverse opportunities for cultural and recreational activities make Horseshoe Bend a welcoming neighborhood that is attracting new homebuyers to a place that many folks already enjoy calling their home.

Thousands of families have lived in Horseshoe Bend over the last four decades; several current homeowners grew up in the neighborhood and have returned here to raise their own families. In fact, some lucky grandparents have more than one of their children living in the neighborhood with their own young families.

We look forward to seeing these traditions, old and new, continue for years to come.

Editor’s note: this historical overview is a work in progress; residents are invited to share additional details of the neighborhood’s history.