- Murphey Candler Park
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Murphey Candler Park 
The lake at Murphey Candler ParkType Multi-use Location 1551 West Nancy Creek Drive
Brookhaven, GeorgiaArea 135 acres (55 ha) Created 1954 Open All year Murphey Candler Park is a 135-acre multi-use park located at 1551 West Nancy Creek Drive in Brookhaven, Georgia. The park is owned and operated by DeKalb County Parks and Recreation. Park amenities include multi-use fields, tennis courts, a swimming pool, a playground, picnic areas, a lake, and trails. Youth sports are offered through baseball, softball, and football programs that operate through the park.[1] The lake at Murphey Candler Park offers fishing, and it is home to largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, and channel catfish.[2] The lake is also home to Canada Geese, Mallards, other ducks and beavers.
Contents
History
Murphey Candler Park was originally planned in 1950 with the prospective donation of 100 acres of land by Mr. Fred Wilson and 35 acres by Mrs. Cora Quinn Long. The park was mainly the idea of the North DeKalb Planning Council, a group of business and church leaders in Brookhaven, Doraville, Chamblee and Dunwoody, and the council was instrumental in the development of the park. In 1952, DeKalb County acquired the 135 acres of real estate located between Ashford Dunwoody Road and Chamblee Dunwoody Road with the intention to build a park for the communities of North DeKalb. The sole commissioner for DeKalb County (serving 1939-1955) at that time was Scott Candler. At the request of Fred Wilson, the park was named in honor of Mr. Candler’s late father, Charles Murphey Candler, a highly respected state Representative and state Senator, and good friend of Fred Wilson. On Sunday, January 31, 1954, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for Murphey Candler Park. Since there was no road to the site, the ceremony was held at the point on Ashford Dunwoody Road where the access road to the park would intersect, now West Nancy Creek Drive. East Nancy Creek Drive and Candler Lake East were completed a short time later, giving people a way to get to the new park from either Chamblee Dunwoody or Ashford Dunwoody Roads.[3]
Youth Sports
Football
Bob Johnson Stadium at Colt Field, home of the Atlanta Colts, at Murphey Candler Park
Atlanta Colts Youth Association (ACYA) was established at Murphey Candler Park by Robert Johnson in 1965. While the Atlanta Colts were originally a Pop Warner franchise, it was discontinued in the 1990s. ACYA offers football programs for children in 1st through 7th grades, including traveling try-out teams (the Colts), interleague football, and flag football. Cheerleading is offered for girls in 1st through 7th grades. ACYA has won 121 league and bowl championships, and 9 national championships, since its founding.[4]
Baseball
Little League at Murphey Candler ParkMurphey Candler Little League (MCLL) is a non-profit, all-volunteer Little League Baseball program for children aged 4–12 established in 1958. Murphey Candler is proud to be a sanctioned participant in Little League baseball. MCLL's operates under a charter from Little League Baseball that establishes formal boundaries from which the program can draw players. The boundaries include most of northeast DeKalb County, covering all of Brookhaven, Dunwoody, Chamblee, and Doraville, and parts of Tucker and Briarcliff. The boundaries also include Peachtree Corners in Gwinnett County and parts of Sandy Springs in Fulton County. Major Division tournament teams have won four state championships, twelve District 9 championships, and one 10 year old state championship.[5]
Softball
Murphey Candler Girls Fastpitch, known formally as Murphey Candler Girls Softball Association (MCGSA), provides a supervised girls' fastpitch softball program for girls aged 5–16. MCGSA offers traveling teams as well as t-ball. Founded in 1968, MCGSA was the first girls fastpitch softball program in Atlanta.[6]
Neighborhood
A Murphey Candler Park neighborhood signMurphey Candler Park is also the name of the residential neighborhood surrounding the park. The homes were built beginning in 1954, and continuing until around 1970. Most of the homes are two-story traditionals or ranches. The neighborhood is bounded by the Dunwoody city limits on the north, West Nancy Creek Drive on the south, Old Johnson Ferry Road on the west, and the city limits of Chamblee (at Chamblee-Dunwoody Road) on the east. The neighborhood includes two schools—Montgomery Elementary and Kittredge Magnet School. During the recent cityhood and annexation movements in metro Atlanta, residents expressed interest in either being annexed into the city of Chamblee (over Dunwoody) or being included in the proposed city of Brookhaven.[7] The neighborhood feeds into the Chamblee High School cluster.
References
- ^ http://www.co.dekalb.ga.us/parks/pr-fa-dunwoody.html
- ^ http://www.accessatlanta.com/search/content/recreation/fishing/murphy_chandler.html
- ^ http://www.murphey-candler.com/
- ^ http://www.atlantacolts.com/history.php
- ^ http://www.murpheycandler.org/
- ^ http://mcgsa.com/about/
- ^ http://mcha.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=2155&club_id=200555&item_id=45872&new_view=1
External links
- Murphey Candler Park Homeowners Association
- Atlanta Colts Youth Association
- Murphey Candler Little League
- Murphey Candler Girls Softball Association
Coordinates: 33°54′40″N 84°19′28″W / 33.91117°N 84.324532°W
Categories:- Parks in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Protected areas of DeKalb County, Georgia
- Protected areas established in 1954
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