creekside again

an amazing array of trails and relatively undisturbed woodland are scattered around the city --- the herbert taylor/daniel johnson nature preserve on the south fork of peachtree creek is a great little 26 acres --- city champion silver maple and black cherry and above-average woodland that probably hasn't been logged since the nineteenth century --- nice trails all along rock creek, which has some nice little cascades

rumors are that the mysterious mound along rock creek is native american, but i'm betting it has something to do with the old quarry a few hundred yards up the creek ---

daniel johnson (1800-1894), a son of a scottish father who immigrated from scotland in the 1770s, was one of the original white pioneers in what is now morningside, lenox park, and johnson estates in northeast atlanta in the 1820s --- he married a daughter of abraham chandler, another early pioneer who had a blacksmith shop near what is now lavista and cheshire bridge roads --- the johnsons lived near what is now lenox and johnson roads --- they moved the family cemetery in 1928 as their children or grandchildren began development of johnson estates on the old farm --- 

herbert taylor (1895-1987) was a son of jewish immigrants who fled the russian pogroms in the 1880s and married in atlanta around 1890 --- by his mid-twenties, herbert taylor owned a drug store that had one of the first 24-hour pharmacies anywhere  --- he went on to found the famous plaza drugs on ponce de leon at highland avenue in 1939 --- he was also the developer of west end mall in 1973 --- he and the missus are buried at greenwood cemetery

i'm not sure how, but it must have begun with decisions of the johnson family, especially of dr. daniel noble johnson (1851-1944), that ensured preservation of that acreage --- the 16 noble is my favorite bus line, even though i never use it ---

it's purty great that these sons of immigrants left us this legacy