Cascade Springs

The Healing Waters: A History of Cascade Springs Nature Preserve

Introduction: The Oasis in the City

Urban landscapes are defined by what they build, but they are equally defined by what they choose to save. Hidden within the dense, rolling topography of Southwest Atlanta, the Cascade Springs Nature Preserve stands as a 135-acre primeval sanctuary. Visitors who navigate its winding, unpaved trails are enveloped by a towering canopy of hardwoods, ancient boulder formations, and the rushing waters of Utoy Creek, culminating in the only natural waterfall inside the Atlanta city limits. However, a rigorous historical examination reveals that this pristine wilderness is not untouched. The ground upon which the preserve rests is a heavily layered historical text. It has served as an ancient indigenous settlement, a blood-soaked Civil War battlefield, a lucrative commercial bottling operation, a roaring twenties urban resort, a refuge for the destitute during the Great Depression, and the target of high-density developers. By analyzing Fulton County deed records, early twentieth-century geological surveys, and an exhaustive sweep of over a century of archival newspaper dispatches, a comprehensive, unabridged history emerges. It is the definitive story of a natural wonder that was commodified by the white elite for over half a century, only to be ultimately rescued, preserved, and fiercely protected by the civic vigilance of Atlanta’s Black middle class.¹

Chapter 1: Paleo Indians to the Scars of Utoy Creek

The topographical history of Cascade Springs extends back millennia. Archaeological assessments by city officials have determined that the land surrounding the springs was the home of a Paleo Indian civilization dating back to 6000 B.C.² Much of this specific archaeological footprint was preserved thanks to Dr. James Emory Chapman and his wife Jean, who purchased a tract of the land in 1951 for their first home and later donated eleven acres of it to the city in 1992 to ensure its protection.³

By the nineteenth century, the area was located along the original Sandtown Trail, and the springs served as a major source of water for the Creek Indians who frequently traveled the route in the 1820s.⁴ Following the forced expulsion of the indigenous population, the land was designated as Fulton County Land Lot 216.⁵

The first recorded pioneer of the property was Dr. William Gilbert, who settled on Sandtown Road at what is now Cascade Springs during the middle 1830s.⁶ The property later served as a refuge for his relative, Dr. Joshua Gilbert, Atlanta’s first permanent physician and a member of the city’s first board of health. Dr. Joshua Gilbert practiced medicine by riding horseback or traveling in a small sulky, carrying his meager equipment in a pair of saddlebags. A whistle was an important accouterment for the doctor, blown as he traveled about to let prospective patients know that he was available and would probably not pass that way again that day. During the Civil War, he moved to the old family home at Cascade Springs, where he spent the remainder of his life.⁷

In the late summer of 1864, these quiet woodlands became a critical theater in Major General William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. Seeking to sever Confederate supply lines at East Point, Sherman shifted two army corps to his right flank, the 14th Corps commanded by John M. Palmer and the 23rd Corps under John M. Schofield. This maneuver resulted in the Battle of Utoy Creek, which raged across the springs from August 4 to August 7, 1864.⁸

The Union assault was severely delayed by a bitter command dispute. Palmer, believing himself to be Schofield’s senior, bluntly refused to take orders from him. The argument lasted all day and into the night, ultimately terminating in Palmer’s resignation and his replacement by Brevet Major General Jefferson C. Davis.⁹ On August 5, Schofield threw up entrenched lines on both sides of Sewell Road. Facing them was Bate’s division of Hardee’s Confederate corps, who occupied a ridge south of the Sandtown Road in a triangular area bounded by Willis Mill Road and the south fork of Utoy Creek.¹⁰ On August 6, Schofield’s corps, consisting of Cox’s and Hascall’s divisions, charged across the Sandtown Road. However, they repeatedly failed to break through Bate’s fortified entanglements, absorbing heavy artillery fire and bloodshed in the dense timber surrounding the waterfalls and springs.¹¹

The local pioneers were caught directly in the crossfire. The Willis family, who operated a nearby grist mill, survived the intense artillery barrages by huddling in a fifteen-by-six-foot subterranean bombproof shelter they had dug in their backyard.¹² Meanwhile, the nearby Utoy Primitive Baptist Church and Cemetery, located roughly a mile and a half east at what is now Venetian and Cahaba Drives, was commandeered as a military field hospital. Dr. Joshua Gilbert served as the primary surgeon at the church, treating the horrific wounds of both Confederate defenders and captured Union soldiers carried from the frontlines along the creek.¹³

Following the death of Dr. William Gilbert in 1864 and Dr. Joshua Gilbert shortly thereafter, the estate came under the control of the surviving family, who subdivided most of the area. By the late 1880s, a distinct, rural community of yeoman settlers had developed around the springs. In 1893, William Zachry became the first postmaster of the Cascade, Georgia post office. The small community supported a one-room schoolhouse and the Fulton County Tannery, which produced horse collars and harnesses for the city’s transportation needs until it closed around 1910.¹⁴ During this era, the springs served primarily as a local water supply for the few residents who inhabited the wooded fringe of the city.¹⁵

Chapter 2: The Water Business and Early Excursions (1909 to 1916)

The commercialization of the springs began in late 1908 or early 1909, driven by the health concerns and business acumen of John H. Zaring Sr.¹⁶ Born in rural Kentucky in 1867, Zaring was the son of a Civil War veteran. He attended a small business college before taking a position teaching penmanship and bookkeeping in Douglas, Georgia. It was during a teaching stint in Coffee County that Zaring first observed the popularity of Gaskin Spring, an experience that sparked his lifelong belief in the medicinal efficacy of natural mineral water.¹⁷

Zaring later moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he worked as a bookkeeper for Glen St. Mary’s Nursery. He eventually formed the Weston-Zaring Lumber Company, a successful venture that purchased several ocean-going schooners to export timber.¹⁸ In 1890, he married Ruth Elizabeth Sherman, a niece of Union General William T. Sherman.¹⁹ Following his wife’s death shortly after the turn of the century, and facing his own developing symptoms of tuberculosis, Zaring relocated to Atlanta in 1909. He hoped the higher altitude and cooler climate would arrest his disease.²⁰

On October 5, 1909, Zaring purchased the Cascade Springs property at a public auction held by the Fulton County sheriff for exactly $5,100.²¹ Recognizing the immense commercial potential of the free-flowing spring, Zaring abandoned a smaller spring on the property and concentrated his efforts on Spring Number Two.²² In 1910, he constructed an indigenous stone springhouse over the water source. A few concrete steps led down to a solid concrete basin encased by the stone structure, utilizing a valve-flow system to back up the spring so the water could be easily bottled. Capped with an arched concrete roof and undulating stone retaining walls, the spring took on a solid, classical appearance.²³

The area quickly became a destination for outdoor enthusiasts. On October 16, 1910, a troop of Atlanta Boy Scouts made a grueling six-mile practice march from Fort McPherson directly to Cascade Springs to practice camp cooking and outdoor survival. Commanded by Robert S. Cherry of Company C, Seventeenth Infantry, the young scouts included Adjutant Kenneth Mahon, Patrol Leaders Ralph Barker and Edward Jones, Secretary Edwin McCormick, and acting Hospital Surgeon Herbert Bacon. The scouting party left the fort at 8:30 a.m., reached the springs at 11:30 a.m., and successfully marched back in just one hour.²⁴

Rather than operate the delivery business himself, Zaring leased the exclusive commercial water rights to Charles H. Darby in September 1910. Darby paid $3,500 for a five-year lease, taking control of one international automobile delivery water wagon, 13 coolers, 35 five-gallon bottles, 64 delivery cases, 3 glass half-gallon bottles, and sundry other items.²⁵ Operating under the name Cascade Springs Water Company, Darby aggressively marketed the water throughout Atlanta. The marketing capitalized on the poor quality of Atlanta’s municipal water system, billing Cascade Springs water as “Nature’s Pure Water” and “For the Healing of the Nations.”²⁶ A 1913 Georgia State Geological Survey confirmed the water’s purity, classifying it as a neutral spring with about 2.5 grains of solids per gallon, noting it flowed at five gallons per minute and was kept in excellent sanitary condition.²⁷

Recognizing the commercial potential of the foot traffic, Zaring briefly sold 78 acres of the property in February 1912 to A.M. Gammage and an investment group for $25,000.²⁸ The purchasers announced grand plans to convert the old springs into an ideal park for automobile tourists, featuring a Los Angeles-style roadhouse, pavilions, golf links, and tennis courts. The plan included tearing down an existing eleven-room house and two cottages, and subdividing the remaining 68 acres into exclusive 5-acre villa sites.²⁹

To support this anticipated boom, the local infrastructure was heavily upgraded. In February 1912, The Atlanta Constitution reported that convict labor was actively at work cherting or paving with crushed stone the Cascade Springs Road to connect it with the Adamsville road. A network of wealthy property owners, including C.H. Meador, I.N. Ragsdale, J. Regenstein, Harry G. Poole, T.O. Poole, the Nichols Contracting Company, the T.H. Pitts Cigar Company, and A.M. Verner, actively lobbied to have the circuit road completed to serve their handsome new residences.³⁰

While Gammage’s specific villa plans shifted and the property reverted back to Zaring, the springs had firmly established themselves as a destination for the working and middle classes. On September 4, 1916, the organized labor unions of Atlanta held a massive Labor Day celebration. Following a downtown parade and the laying of the cornerstone for the new Labor Temple by Jerome Jones, thousands of citizens flocked to Cascade Springs to spend the rest of the day in frolicking and having a genuine old-fashioned good time, with dances and games at the parks.³¹

Chapter 3: The Roaring Twenties Resort Era

Zaring was a relentless entrepreneur with far-ranging interests. In 1915, he traveled to San Diego to operate the Exposition Motor Chair Company at the Panama-California Exposition, presenting an exhibit called Neptune’s Wonderland and renting wicker-covered electric motor carts to tourists. He also investigated speculative gold mining claims in Arizona before returning to Georgia to concentrate on his Atlanta springs.³²

The Zaring family’s horticultural prestige was mirrored by other industry leaders at the time, such as legacy horticulturist Eugene M. Rumph, a veteran of the famous Georgia peach family who established an expert landscape service in Atlanta during the late 1920s.³³ By 1917, Zaring partnered with investor W.D. Gresham to transform the property into a full-scale urban resort. They refurbished the existing two-story house atop a hill overlooking the waterfalls, officially naming it the Cascade Inn. The inn featured four bedrooms on each floor, a large dining room, and a single bathroom supplied by water pumped directly from the spring below. The inn offered breakfast for thirty-five cents, luncheon for fifty cents, and special old-fashioned fried chicken dinners for seventy-five cents.³⁴

Below the waterfalls, the partners constructed a large wooden dance pavilion with a shingled roof and a hardwood floor directly over the cascading stream. They also built a series of bungalow tents along the water to house campers. These twelve-by-twelve-foot rustic structures featured wooden floors and tent-like walls made of wire screens and canvas.³⁵ Furnished bungalows included two double-iron couches with mattresses, a table, chairs, a mirror, and a bowl and pitcher.³⁶ To ensure accessibility, Gresham established an Auto Bus Line shuttle service. For ten cents, visitors could catch a ride from the West End trolley terminus at Beecher Street and be transported over three miles of picturesque roads directly to the resort.³⁷

The resort era, however, was not without its dark moments. In March 1918, county policemen discovered an illicit still operating in a farmhouse near the springs, arresting P.E. Slaton and confiscating thirty gallons of liquor. The local press had to issue a correction the next day to clarify that the still was not located inside Zaring’s respectable hotel, noting that the Cascade Springs hotel was one of the most properly conducted and delightful places to stay for many miles around.³⁸

Tragedy struck in December 1919 when an automobile driven by Julius McIntyre plunged off a bridge into the freezing waters of Cascade Springs road. The accident prompted a massive recovery effort. A squad of county convicts under Warden W.F. Collier was brought to the scene, grappling with long hooks in the freezing water through the night. The bodies of Mrs. Irene Lawrence and J.C. Clements were recovered, while the search for a third victim, Mrs. Ray Wilson, continued for days. County Police Lieutenant J.D. Oliver and Officer Gordon later revealed that McIntyre had recklessly driven over red lanterns and physical obstructions they had placed across the road specifically to prevent such a tragedy.³⁹ The following summer, in August 1920, H.J. Smith, the proprietor of a jitney bus line that ferried passengers to the springs, was shot in his vehicle by his separated wife in a sudden attack of jealousy just as he reached the resort.⁴⁰

The Zaring family’s personal life at the springs occasionally spilled into the public eye as well. In March 1921, Zaring’s second wife, Dahlia Cason Zaring, entered a suit for divorce on the grounds of cruelty. The first hearing resulted in a mistrial, and she ultimately withdrew the appeal in December 1921, keeping the family and the estate intact.⁴¹

Despite these incidents, the resort thrived as a social destination. By July 1921, Cascade Springs was officially listed as a key destination on Route No. 1 of the newly published Constitution Tours, a 35-mile scenic automobile drive for Atlanta motorists.⁴² Throughout the early 1920s, the springs hosted a continuous social calendar. In July 1922, the Braerian Society of Georgia Tech held a massive picnic-dance at the springs, chaperoned by Major and Mrs. A.L. Pendleton, Mr. and Mrs. R.B. Logan, Mr. and Mrs. O. Donehoo, Mr. and Mrs. E.A. Ryder, and Captain Autrey.⁴³ The following month, Bowling’s orchestra sponsored a series of special dances at the pavilion. The August 15, 1922 dance was chaperoned by Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Martin, Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Puckett, Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Bowling, and Mr. and Mrs. Gresham.⁴⁴ In October 1923, over 200 employees of the F.J. Cooledge and Sons Company gathered for an annual barbecue, entertained by the Cast Iron quartet of the Elks’ Troubadours.⁴⁵

When the Georgia Railway and Electric Company refused to install power lines through the sparsely populated area in the early 1920s, Zaring and his neighbors pooled their resources to organize the Cascade Mutual Utilities Corporation. They purchased poles, cross arms, and wires, erecting 11,000 feet of transmission lines along Cascade Road and Pitts Road. They constructed an electric transformer station and purchased electricity wholesale. The grassroots utility provided power to the resort for five years until the stockholders dissolved the corporation and sold the infrastructure to the Georgia Railway and Electric Company in 1925 for $3,000.⁴⁶

To legally shield his expanding operations, Zaring completely reorganized his business in 1924 by chartering the Cascade Spring Company. With his trusted friend S.E. Scoggins serving as president, the corporation was capitalized with 100 shares worth $10,000. The new entity was legally empowered to bottle water, manufacture soft drinks, conduct nurseries, and operate pleasure resorts. The charter even allowed for experiments in producing a specialized ginger ale, though it never went into production.⁴⁷

Chapter 4: The Depression and the Decline

The evolution of automobility in Atlanta radically changed the function of Cascade Springs. By the late 1920s, middle-class Atlantans possessed the economic resources and mobility to reach more distant, grandiose resorts. The demand for a rustic, nearby retreat began to wane.⁴⁸

In 1927, Zaring contracted with a new lessee, Marvin L. Dunton, who attempted to modernize the operations. Dunton ceased the commercial operation of the Cascade Inn, moving his own family into the large house. He constructed a small restaurant at the spring where picnic parties could purchase boxed chicken dinners. To attract a new generation of visitors, Dunton built a miniature golf course along the stream and constructed a packed, cottonseed-hull tennis court with wisteria-covered fencing. He also installed a penny Dixie Cup dispenser attached directly to the springhouse.⁴⁹

Dunton also revolutionized the commercial water distribution. He constructed a new bottling house adjacent to the spring and established a meticulous assembly line. Workers thoroughly cleaned five-gallon glass bottles by hand and doused the rims with chlorine. After filling the bottles at a tap, workers hammered in reusable corks that had been stored in chlorine, sealing them with waxed paper and rubber bands. The heavy bottles were manually lifted onto an A-frame truck equipped with slots for fifty bottles and transported daily to a downtown warehouse. From there, delivery routes supplied offices, hotels, and restaurants throughout the central business district.⁵⁰

The onslaught of the Great Depression in the 1930s brought changes that severely undermined the commercial viability of the resort. New Deal relief programs significantly improved Atlanta’s municipal water and sanitation systems, drastically reducing the demand for bottled spring water. Furthermore, the proliferation of city-funded recreation facilities, such as the nearby Adams Park, provided free public amenities that eclipsed Dunton’s modest offerings.⁵¹

Realizing the impact of the economic collapse, Dunton relinquished his lease in 1933. Zaring immediately leased the water rights to J.S. Gibson, who had lost his job and his home in nearby Cascade Heights. Gibson moved his entire family into the former Cascade Inn. In a reflection of the era, Zaring refurbished the old camping bungalows and rented them as dwellings to other local residents who had lost their homes to the Depression.⁵²

The commercial water business continued to struggle. In 1937, Zaring leased the spring water rights to R.J. Spiller, president of Fountain of Youth, Inc. Spiller distributed the water through the early years of World War II but found the business increasingly unprofitable due to wartime gasoline rationing and limited distribution capabilities. In a February 15, 1942 letter to Zaring, Spiller lamented the state of the industry, writing that he had not sold enough to pay expenses in five months.⁵³ Spiller relinquished his lease to the Pura Water Company in 1943, which bottled the water for a few more years before going out of business. By the early 1950s, the commercial bottling of Cascade Spring water ceased permanently.⁵⁴

The transition from a rural resort to a modern suburb was fraught with tension. As residential developers began eyeing the corridor in the late 1930s, intense zoning battles erupted. In October 1938, John H. Zaring Jr., operating as a prominent florist and nurseryman, filed a petition in Fulton County Superior Court to fight a zoning ordinance that sought to restrict Cascade Road strictly to residential development. Zaring specifically attacked County Commissioner Dr. Charles R. Adams, charging that Adams lived only one-fourth of a mile from the Zaring property and was personally interested in the zoning proposal, which Zaring believed should disqualify him from the vote.⁵⁵ The original residential petition had been filed by George L. Wilson, the developer who was preparing to fundamentally alter the landscape. Zaring, fighting to protect his family’s 50-acre commercial greenhouse operation and its 2,000 feet of road frontage, argued the residential zoning would destroy his business expansion. This legal clash illustrated the friction between the old commercial resort operators and the new suburban visionaries.⁵⁶

Chapter 5: The Threat of Development (1960s to 1970s)

The post-World War II era brought massive suburban expansion to Southwest Atlanta. In 1952, under the municipal Plan of Improvement, the previously unincorporated area was officially annexed into the City of Atlanta. In 1953, John Zaring Sr. turned the greenhouse business completely over to his son, John Zaring Jr.⁵⁷

The elder Zaring died four years later in November 1957 at age 90. His widow, Dahlia Cason Zaring, a member of Beecher Hills Baptist Church, remained at the family residence at 2852 Cascade Road until her death in May 1969 at age 88.⁵⁸ The younger Zaring initiated a series of significant changes. The historic Cascade Inn and the camp bungalows were demolished, and the dance pavilion floor was dismantled and sold. Zaring Jr. continued to operate the family’s commercial nursery and greenhouse business on the property until 1972, when the deteriorating condition of the greenhouses forced their closing. These greenhouses had been a model of self-sufficiency, utilizing a private spring water system and boiler heating for year-round growth. Although the county health officials continued to inspect the spring for a number of years, the demand for bottled water completely disappeared, and the spring remained unused.⁵⁹

The pressure to commercialize portions of the property continued into the late 1950s. In June 1958, John H. Zaring Jr. petitioned the aldermanic board’s zoning committee to downgrade a 350-foot strip on the south side of Cascade Road from residential to commercial usage. The surrounding white suburbanites fiercely opposed the measure. Attorney Calhoun Long presented the panel with a petition bearing the signatures of 430 Cascade Heights residents, alongside a formal resolution of objection from the Westminster Civic Club. The zoning committee ultimately vetoed Zaring’s bid, preserving the residential buffer around the springs.⁶⁰

As the surrounding neighborhoods of Cascade Heights and Audubon Forest transitioned in the 1960s and 1970s, the tract of undeveloped woodland became a prime target for real estate developers. In May 1961, John H. Zaring Jr. sold a 40-acre portion of what was locally known as the old Zaring tract facing Cascade Road to a group of South Carolina developers for over $100,000. The purchasing group, Spring Lake Swim and Tennis Club, Inc., headed by Delmar E. Norman of Columbia, S.C., and brokered by S. Clayton Callaway, announced plans to build the Cascade Springs Country Club. The ambitious project called for a 500-member facility featuring an Olympic-type swimming pool, tennis courts, an ice-skating rink, a teen-age club house, and an air-conditioned main clubhouse with massive glass areas and a stone fireplace.⁶¹

While the country club plans ultimately stalled, Zaring Jr. secured a rezoning of the remaining Cascade Springs property in 1965 and endeavored for the next ten years to create a massive apartment complex around the springs. However, Zaring’s efforts were frustrated by the shifting economic landscape and the fierce civic vigilance of the newly established community. The residents who had secured their single-family suburban sanctuaries were determined not to let the Utoy Creek watershed be destroyed by high-density development.⁶²

In 1975, a local citizens’ group called the Cascade Forest Association submitted a detailed report to the city of Atlanta bureau of planning. The association strongly recommended that in order to maintain the neighborhood’s residential quality and environmental amenities, no more apartments should be constructed in the area and the zoning of Cascade Springs should be downgraded to single-family residential. Crucially, the report demanded that the city purchase the Cascade property outright to serve as a natural area park.⁶³

This grassroots position was heavily supported by Wilson Smith, a city environmental planner. In his 1976 study, Smith cited environmental, historical, and archaeological concerns, dictating that the land tracts should remain vacant and be placed in public ownership. Over the next few years, city attorneys worked closely with Zaring’s attorney and city and federal officials to acquire the funds to purchase the property. In 1976, the city successfully purchased the land for $740,830.96 from the John Zaring family, utilizing funds from the U.S. Department of the Interior and the State of Georgia Land and Water Conservation Fund. Shortly thereafter, through the efforts of Atlanta City Councilman James Maddox, the city fenced in the area at a cost of $68,341 to protect it from illegal dumping and trespassing.⁶⁴

In January 1979, the federal government cemented the victory. The Department of the Interior’s Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service provided $404,000 to match city funds raised by parks commissioner Ted Mastroianni. Mike Mescher, a southeastern regional Interior Department official, confirmed the transfer of funds, allowing the city to purchase 80 of the 108 acres outright, with plans to appeal to private owners to donate the remaining acreage, officially establishing the Cascade Springs Nature and Wildlife Park. Interestingly, some of the funding for the 1978 Atlanta Park Improvements that benefited Cascade Springs was derived from the federal government’s sale of offshore oil drilling leases.⁶⁵

Chapter 6: Building the Urban Forest (1980s to 1990s)

Securing the land was only the first step; transforming the overgrown tract into an accessible public amenity required years of dedicated community organizing. Throughout the 1980s, the site lay virtually unnoticed by the broader city, championed only by a core group of volunteer workers and environmentalists.⁶⁶

In 1986, a five-member Cascade Springs Planning Committee was formed to launch an all-out effort to raise $1.5 million to build a permanent nature center at the springs. The committee was spearheaded by JoAnn Jackson, director of the nearby Outdoor Activity Center, and Jan Meadows, a prominent community planner representing Southwest Atlanta. The committee included Virginia Gailey of Ansley Park, Charlotte Rowell of DeKalb County, Franklin McCamey of Doraville, and Susan Bledsoe of Buckhead, with political support from State Rep. Tyrone Brooks and Dan Sweat, president of Central Atlanta Progress.⁶⁷

To generate public interest, the committee partnered with Georgia Tech architectural professors Lane Duncan and Pete Pittman. On June 4, 1986, the Outdoor Activity Center hosted a presentation of student awards for the design of the Cascade Springs Center at the Georgia Tech College of Architecture. In May 1988, 21 junior architectural students presented scale models and designs for a proposed 15,000 to 17,000 square foot exhibition hall and auditorium. The designs were evaluated by a prestigious panel of judges including Bill Fash, dean of the Tech College of Architecture; John Kelly, associate dean; Dale Durfee, professor; Bob Ahlstrand, architect; John Wells and Louie Deaton, Georgia foresters; JoAnn Jackson; Pud Branham, center board of trustees member; and the Brunks. First prize and $300 went to 21-year-old Eric Brock, son of Mr. and Mrs. M.V. Brock of St. Simons Island, for his modern building design built into the hillside with wide expanses of glass.⁶⁸

The physical restoration of the trails was guided by Louie Deaton, an urban forester with the Georgia Forestry Commission. Deaton spent months reading the wilderness setting, identifying old home sites, root cellars, and Civil War rifle pits hidden beneath the brush. “This wilderness setting is really unique,” Deaton noted in 1987. “It is passed by thousands of cars daily, never really noticed because Cascade Road is above it.”⁶⁹

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the United States Constitution, the city dedicated a Historic and Famous Tree Grove at Cascade Springs in 1987 and 1988. The grove featured seventeen seedlings descended from trees of historic importance, including specimens from George Washington’s Mount Vernon home, Yorktown, Ellis Island, and Liberty Island.⁷⁰

The community’s tireless advocacy finally bore fruit in the early 1990s. In December 1992, the city officially opened sealed bids for project FC-5081-91, calling for demolition, grading, trail construction, masonry, and planting at the preserve. The city allocated $185,000 to create a formal entrance, a paved parking lot, a wooden boardwalk, and handicap-accessible nature trails. In November 1993, the Department of Parks and Recreation officially dedicated the Cascade Springs Nature Preserve. William Erquitt, former Civil War curator of the Atlanta History Center, praised the opening, noting that the footprints of history were finally accessible to the public, allowing visitors to walk the exact ground where Confederate soldiers clashed with advancing Union troops in 1864. Atlanta historian Franklin Garrett echoed the sentiment, stating, “I am delighted the city bought the property. This way, it won’t be all bulldozed and built over with houses.”⁷¹

The community continued to expand the preserve’s educational mission. In 1998, a new group called Southside Stream and Creek-Keepers teamed up with Home Depot to create an environmental education center. Pending City Council approval, the city planned to lease an empty house at the preserve to the group for one dollar a year to house a natural history museum. This initiative coincided with Mayor Bill Campbell’s Earth Day announcement vowing to protect such neighborhoods from becoming pollution dumping grounds.⁷²

Chapter 7: The Modern Sanctuary and the Nature Gurlz

As Atlanta expanded into the twenty-first century, Cascade Springs evolved from a hidden neighborhood gem into a nationally recognized ecological treasure. In May 2017, the preserve was officially inducted into the National Old-Growth Forest Network, conferring national recognition upon its undisturbed canopy. Naturalists and botanists flocked to the site to study its biological diversity, noting that the preserve harbors three major forest habitats: southern mesic forest, riparian streamside forest, and oak-pine-hickory forest. The mesic habitat is particularly renowned for its unusual abundance of the big-leaf magnolia, a tree boasting the largest simple leaves of any native species in North America.⁷³

The preserve also became a destination for Atlanta’s birdwatching community. Organizations like the Georgia Audubon Society and Outdoor Afro began hosting regular field trips to Cascade Springs, utilizing apps like Merlin Bird ID to track the diverse avian populations nesting in the old-growth canopy. Janina Edwards, a volunteer with Outdoor Afro, highlighted the grounding nature of the preserve, noting, “It is not like going to the zoo. You have to work to identify sounds or notice a nest. You use all your senses.”⁷⁴

However, the most profound modern chapter in the preserve’s history began during the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Seeking a safe, outdoor escape from the anxieties of the lockdown, Cecilia Houston-Torrence, a retired banker, and Donna Watts-Nunn, managing director of the Hammonds House Museum, began taking morning walks through Cascade Springs. “We walked here, just the two of us, and we were just shocked,” Houston-Torrence recalled. “I fell in love with it.”⁷⁵

Houston-Torrence began inviting friends, and the informal walks quickly blossomed into a highly organized, 100-member sisterhood known as the Nature Gurlz. Composed of Black women ranging in age from their 50s to their 80s, the group hikes the preserve every weekday morning, rain or shine, armed with hiking poles and clad in matching blue and gold T-shirts. The group represents a wide cross-section of professional achievement, counting retired educators, college professors, bankers, lawyers, doctors, and elected officials among its ranks. Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, a 53-year resident of the neighborhood, is a regular hiker, noting, “I love the outdoors. Being outdoors is spiritual. But out here, I am just one of the walkers. I am not a leader and I really like that.”⁷⁶

The Nature Gurlz do not merely use the park; they actively protect and improve it. Leveraging their civic and political connections, the group has successfully lobbied the municipal government for significant upgrades to the preserve. Their presence and advocacy are directly credited with the installation of security cameras, the construction of a new entrance plaza, and the commissioning of a sculpture by acclaimed Atlanta artist Radcliffe Bailey. During the 2021 municipal elections, nearly every major political candidate, including current Mayor Andre Dickens, visited Cascade Springs to hike with the women and court their highly influential voting bloc. Today, the group continues to advocate for further amenities, including the installation of public restrooms.⁷⁷

Conclusion: An Enduring Legacy

Today, the 135-acre old-growth forest features an outdoor classroom, picnic tables, and walking trails where pets are welcome on leashes. Because Utoy Creek is a direct tributary of the Chattahoochee River, the modern Chattahoochee RiverLands project has proposed a tributary trail that will eventually connect this isolated greenspace directly to the main stem greenway. Visitors walking the trails today can still find the stone remnants of the nineteenth-century bathhouses, offering a quiet glimpse into the site’s bygone spa era.⁷⁸

The commercial greenhouses are gone, and the dance pavilion has vanished, but the indigenous stone springhouse built by John H. Zaring Sr. in 1910 still stands at the base of the trail, its concrete basin still capturing the clear, cold water that once drew thousands of visitors.⁷⁹

The preservation of this forest reflects decades of sustained community advocacy. It is a space that absorbed the artillery fire of a divided nation, hosted the leisure classes of the early twentieth century, provided shelter for the destitute during the Great Depression, and ultimately survived the threat of modern urban sprawl. By fiercely protecting its natural borders, the residents of Southwest Atlanta ensured that the healing waters of Cascade Springs would remain a quiet, enduring sanctuary for generations to come.⁸⁰

Bibliography

• Atlanta Daily World. “1998 Georgia Teen Parenting Summit, June 29.” May 10, 1998.
• Atlanta Daily World. “Announcements: 1986 GRACE TOWNS HAMILTON AWARD.” May 16, 1986.
• Atlanta Daily World. “Arbor Day Cerebration Embraces Atlanta’s Past.” February 19, 1988.
• Atlanta Daily World. “Classified Ad 4 to No Title.” December 6, 1992.
• Atlanta Daily World. “EPA Awards Of $1,368,017 Awarded City.” March 13, 1980.
• Atlanta Daily World. “Georgians Celebrate Signing Of Constitution.” September 20, 1987.
• Atlanta Daily World. “Mayor Accepts Land Donation For Cascade Springs Preserve.” April 9, 1992.
• Bono, Richard. “Urban forest a natural.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 23, 1993.
• Chattahoochee RiverLands. “Cascade Springs Nature Preserve.” Official Website. riverlands.org. Accessed 2026.
• Erwin, George. “40 Acres Sold On Cascade Road.” The Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution, May 28, 1961.
• Gaines, Marion. “Bid To Downgrade Tract Vetoed by Zoning Panel.” The Atlanta Constitution, June 6, 1958.
• Garrett, Franklin. Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Vol. 1. University of Georgia Press, 1954.
• Harrell, Bob. “Forest preserve a natural for Southside.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 23, 1987.
• Jay, Randy. “Major effort underway to turn Cascade Springs into nature preserve.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 3, 1986.
• Jay, Randy. “Tech students design buildings for proposed nature preserve center.” The Atlanta Constitution, May 1988.
• Seabrook, Charles. “Atlanta’s old-growth forests gain national recognition.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 6, 2017.
• Seabrook, Charles. “Cascade Springs Preserve rich in natural diversity.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 8, 2019.
• Suggs, Ernie. “Nature Gurlz: Black women in their 50s to 80s finding friendship on trails.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 1, 2025.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “APPEAL FROM DIVORCE DECREE IS DISMISSED.” December 18, 1921.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “ATLANTA’S STRIDES FROM DAY TO DAY.” February 25, 1912.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Atlanta’s Boy Scouts On Their First March.” October 16, 1910.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Barbecue Announced.” July 11, 1922.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “CASCADE SPRINGS SOLD FOR $25,000.” February 4, 1912.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Coolidge Employees Will Have Barbecue At Cascade Springs.” October 4, 1923.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Dance to Be Given At Cascade Springs.” August 13, 1922.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Darkness Stops Search for Body of Third Victim.” December 11, 1919.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Feds Ante Up $440,000 For Cascade Park.” January 9, 1979.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Ga. Tech Society Gives Picnic-Dance At Cascade Springs.” July 29, 1922.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Illicit Still Discovered.” March 21, 1918.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Moonlight Picnic.” June 19, 1921.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “MOTORS AND HIGHWAYS: Map and Log of Motor Trip From Atlanta to.” July 17, 1921.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “PETITION CONTESTS ZONING AUTHORITY.” October 4, 1938.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Straw Ride.” June 15, 1919.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Straw Ride.” June 17, 1921.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Straw Ride and Dance.” June 27, 1920.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Taxi Driver Shot; Jealousy Believed Cause by Officers.” August 7, 1920.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “UNION LABOR HOLDS GREAT CELEBRATION.” September 5, 1916.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Welch All-Stars Trim Cascade Ball Outfit.” April 9, 1922.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Whisky Not Found in ‘Eating House’.” March 22, 1918.
• Zaring, Russell A. “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa.” Atlanta History, Fall 1987.

1. Randy Jay, “Major effort underway to turn Cascade Springs into nature preserve,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 3, 1986.
2. Randy Jay, “Major effort underway to turn Cascade Springs into nature preserve,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 3, 1986.
3. “Mayor Accepts Land Donation For Cascade Springs Preserve,” Atlanta Daily World, April 9, 1992.
4. Franklin Garrett, Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Vol. 1 (University of Georgia Press, 1954), 216 to 217.
5. Franklin Garrett, Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Vol. 1 (University of Georgia Press, 1954), 217.
6. Franklin Garrett, Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Vol. 1 (University of Georgia Press, 1954), 625.
7. Franklin Garrett, Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Vol. 1 (University of Georgia Press, 1954), 625.
8. Franklin Garrett, Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Vol. 1 (University of Georgia Press, 1954), 625.
9. Franklin Garrett, Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Vol. 1 (University of Georgia Press, 1954), 625.
10. Franklin Garrett, Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Vol. 1 (University of Georgia Press, 1954), 625.
11. Franklin Garrett, Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Vol. 1 (University of Georgia Press, 1954), 625.
12. Stacey Boyd, “The Strategic Legacy of Herren’s Mill,” Audubon Forest Neighborhood Association History Committee Archives.
13. Terry White, “A Brief History of Utoy Settlement and Church,” Utoy Cemetery Association, Inc.
14. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 43.
15. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 43.
16. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 44.
17. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 43.
18. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 44.
19. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 44.
20. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 43.
21. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 44.
22. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 43.
23. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 43.
24. “Atlanta’s Boy Scouts On Their First March,” The Atlanta Constitution, October 16, 1910.
25. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 49.
26. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 49.
27. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 49.
28. “CASCADE SPRINGS SOLD FOR $25,000,” The Atlanta Constitution, February 4, 1912.
29. “ATLANTA’S STRIDES FROM DAY TO DAY,” The Atlanta Constitution, February 25, 1912.
30. “UNION LABOR HOLDS GREAT CELEBRATION,” The Atlanta Constitution, September 5, 1916.
31. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 49.
32. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 49.
33. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 49.
34. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 49.
35. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 49.
36. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 50.
37. “Illicit Still Discovered,” The Atlanta Constitution, March 21, 1918.
38. “Whisky Not Found in ‘Eating House’,” The Atlanta Constitution, March 22, 1918.
39. “Darkness Stops Search for Body of Third Victim,” The Atlanta Constitution, December 11, 1919.
40. “Taxi Driver Shot; Jealousy Believed Cause by Officers,” The Atlanta Constitution, August 7, 1920.
41. “APPEAL FROM DIVORCE DECREE IS DISMISSED,” The Atlanta Constitution, December 18, 1921.
42. “MOTORS AND HIGHWAYS: Map and Log of Motor Trip From Atlanta to,” The Atlanta Constitution, July 17, 1921.
43. “Ga. Tech Society Gives Picnic-Dance At Cascade Springs,” The Atlanta Constitution, July 29, 1922.
44. “Dance to Be Given At Cascade Springs,” The Atlanta Constitution, August 13, 1922.
45. “Coolidge Employees Will Have Barbecue At Cascade Springs,” The Atlanta Constitution, October 4, 1923.
46. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 51.
47. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 52.
48. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 52.
49. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 52.
50. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
51. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
52. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
53. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
54. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
55. “PETITION CONTESTS ZONING AUTHORITY,” The Atlanta Constitution, October 4, 1938.
56. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
57. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
58. “Mrs. J. H. Zaring Obituary,” The Atlanta Journal, May 7, 1969.
59. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
60. Marion Gaines, “Bid To Downgrade Tract Vetoed by Zoning Panel,” The Atlanta Constitution, June 6, 1958.
61. George Erwin, “40 Acres Sold On Cascade Road,” The Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution, May 28, 1961.
62. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
63. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
64. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 54.
65. “Feds Ante Up $440,000 For Cascade Park,” The Atlanta Constitution, January 9, 1979.
66. Randy Jay, “Major effort underway to turn Cascade Springs into nature preserve,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 3, 1986.
67. Randy Jay, “Major effort underway to turn Cascade Springs into nature preserve,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, July 3, 1986.
68. Randy Jay, “Tech students design buildings for proposed nature preserve center,” The Atlanta Constitution, May 1988.
69. Bob Harrell, “Forest preserve a natural for Southside,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 23, 1987.
70. “Georgians Celebrate Signing Of Constitution,” Atlanta Daily World, September 20, 1987.
71. Richard Bono, “Urban forest a natural,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 23, 1993.
72. “1998 Georgia Teen Parenting Summit, June 29,” Atlanta Daily World, May 10, 1998.
73. Charles Seabrook, “Cascade Springs Preserve rich in natural diversity,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 8, 2019.
74. Mary Welch, “Eagle eyes,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 19, 2023.
75. Ernie Suggs, “Nature Gurlz: Black women in their 50s to 80s finding friendship on trails,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 1, 2025.
76. Ernie Suggs, “Nature Gurlz: Black women in their 50s to 80s finding friendship on trails,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 1, 2025.
77. Ernie Suggs, “Nature Gurlz: Black women in their 50s to 80s finding friendship on trails,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 1, 2025.
78. Chattahoochee RiverLands, “Cascade Springs Nature Preserve,” Official Website, accessed 2026.
79. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 43.
80. Russell A. Zaring, “Cascade Springs: An Atlanta Urban Spa,” Atlanta History, Fall 1987, 43.