Sometime around 1924, Dunwoody’s train depot was on the move. The Roswell Railroad, which ran from Chamblee through Dunwoody to Roswell during the years 1881 until 1921, had discontinued and the depot was no longer needed.

Lucy Carpenter Anderson (1905-2003) told the story to her son Ken Anderson. The Dunwoody depot was moved by placing logs underneath it and replacing the logs as the depot was moved up Chamblee Dunwoody Road.  It was moved from somewhere between where CVS and Chevron are today to the corner of Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Mount Vernon Road, where BP is today. 

The building was a store and post office. It was first the location of the Nash Store and later became Thompson’s Grocery. The door on the left led into the post office. The middle and right door led to the grocery store. Mrs. Thompson, known by the locals as Miss Lottie, would ring up the sales on the cash register.

Mike Austin remembers when he was a student at Dunwoody Elementary School across Chamblee Dunwoody Road, he and the other children would stop at Thompson’s Grocery for a cold Coke or other drink for five cents. Sometimes, they would also buy candy. This first photograph came from the collection of Larry Jordan and the Jordon family.  The photo is from 1954.

The door on the left of Thompson’s Grocery was the entry to the post office.  The other two doors led to the grocery store, but everyone used the middle door to enter.  Inside the store, Mrs. Thompson, known locally as Miss Lottie, would ring up the sales.  Later, the post office was moved to a small brick building to the left of the store.

The second photograph, taken around 1958, shows some of the area around the store. Across Mount Vernon Road, where Dunkin Donuts is today, was a Sinclair gasoline station.  Looking west down Mount Vernon Road, you can see the old Dunwoody Methodist Church on the right.  That is the same church which now serves as the chapel.  The other building on the right was an office building built as part of a garden center operation opened by Tom Bailey.  In 1958 it was being used as temporary office space by Dunwoody Baptist Church.   

You might notice that in addition to automobiles in this photograph, there are a couple of people on horseback. This was still a common sight in 1958. Dunwoody’s rapid development was still about ten years away. Farmhouses, farm animals, and fields were all around and Dunwoody was considered living in the country.