Photos of Home Park Satellite Picture of Home Park Home Park: Atlanta's Best Kept Secret The area was originally known as Chastaintown, in honor of Avery Chastain, a large estate owner whose house was located at the intersection of Hemphill Avenue and Emmet (now Tenth) Street. Chastaintown was a center for horse trading. Until the end of the 19th century, it was a largely undeveloped area of woods and fields with few conveniences associated with city living. In 1901 George Washington Connors, along with several business associates, founded the Atlantic Steel Hoop Company. Connors realized the cost of savings of establishing a local manufacturer of ties and hoops for cotton bales instead of ordering them from Pittsburgh. The property for the company is to the north part of the neighborhood, just a short walk from Barnes Place. Atlanta Steel Hoop Company became Atlantic Steel Company in 1907 and went on to become one of Atlanta's largest manufacturing establishments. Its growth fostered residential development in the area. The area was home to workers of the Exposition (Cotton) Mill on Marietta Street and the Miller Union Stock Yards off Howell Mill Road, as well. Home Park incorporated into the City of Atlanta in 1909. The Home Park School opened on State Street in 1911. Churches were very much at the heart of Home Park's religious and social life. The commercial area at Tenth Street and Hemphill Avenue served as the shopping and social center of the neighborhood. A large building contained a grocery store, drug store and barbershop, among other retail services. Convenience, good schools and churches, abundant grocery stores and other retail shops, along with the availability of public transportation have made Home Park an attractive neighborhood even up to today. In the 1960s, elderly homeowners died and young homeowners flocked to the suburbs. With Georgia Tech, to the south, expanding, many students began to call Home Park their home. Today, the community is a blend of student renters, older residents and young homeowners neigh to the neighborhood. --Georgia Conservancy