From Google Streetview
You may have never thought about it, but if you’ve ever spent any time hanging around outside at the Decatur Recreation Center along Sycamore Street, you may have noticed that there are a few unique and out of place things in and around that site.
First, let’s consider the items most obviously unique to the site.
Have you ever considered the mighty big giant magnolia trees and the rare, “champion” Horse Chestnut tree that stand at the Rec Center entrance? How did they get there? Why wasn’t the site clear cut when the Rec was built back in the 1950s, like so many other sites? Perhaps you’ve never thought twice about them, aside from telling your kids to be careful playing in their branches. But that’s the first clue.
The second clue is much less noticeable. It’s the sheer size and odd shape of the lot.
From OneMap Decatur
The Rec sits on a mighty large piece of property considering its proximity to downtown Decatur, And now that we’re looking at it on a property map, it’s odd, long shape sure seems like the property was subdivided at some point in the past, creating many of the house lots along the western side of North Candler Street. And if you’ve ever strolled North Candler – or perhaps driven down it during a futile quest to find parking prior to a night a Kimball House frivolity – you know there are some old homes along that stretch. If the property was subdivided, we’re talking about a pretty old subdivision.
Which leads to the 3rd clue.
Even glancing at the map above, the Rec Center lot isn’t the most curious lot on that block. It’s that extremely narrow lot at 220 North Candler. Anyone from the North Candler area can probably tell you, that’s not the only interesting thing about that lot. Here’s the view of that lot from the street.
Is there even a house on this lot? Well, unless you’re really looking for it, you may not even notice it. And once you do glance it through the trees, you’ll quickly notice it’s front door isn’t even facing the street, unlike every other single-family home on the block. In fact, it’s front door faces the back in the Rec Center. What’s that all about?
Based on these clues, you may guess that the Rec wasn’t the first building built on this lot, and that the original building was probably sizable considering the large lot that it once sat on.
You’d be right.
Photo courtesy of Southern Features Syndicate. 1929, via Chris
Here’s a great pic of the Scott-Cooper home that originally sat on the Rec Center site from Southern Features Syndicate circa 1929, courtesy of Chris. Colonel George Washington Scott bought the house when he moved to Decatur in 1877 and lived in it for a quarter of a century.
Colonel Scott is well-known in Decatur as the primary benefactor that transformed Decatur Female Seminary into Agnes Scott Institute in 1890, which became Agnes Scott College 16 years later. The college is named after Colonel Scott’s mother. Scott was a Confederate officer in the Florida cavalry during the Civil War, hence his title. According to his Wikipedia entry, Scott is credited with inventing a “revolutionary fertilizer” that combined cottonseed and bone meal. He also was “the first person to exploit Florida’s vast phosphate deposits”.
He is buried in Decatur Cemetery.
The article accompanying the house photo above describes the structure as constructed of “virgin heart pine” and “put together with wooden pins”. The article describes the lot as “a beautiful five-acre tract, fronting three streets, with evergreen lawns, varied shrubbery and a most attractive flower garden.”
Wait? Three streets? But that must mean that the lot also fronted Trinity Place to the south. What’s directly behind the Rec along Trinity?
Photo courtesy of Smith Dalia Architects
Ah well, now that makes sense. From all these clues, it seems certain that at some point the city acquired the property and then subdivided it to build the Rec Center and Fire Station 1.
Here’s our confirmation. An 1956 article from a local paper details how one of Colonel Scott’s daughter lived in the house for “many years” before donating “the Copper Place” to the city as a “public park”. (That would explain the champion Horse Chestnut tree and ancient magnolias!)
Also interesting, the article notes that the Decatur-DeKalb YMCA was the last tenant of the house and that Rec Center staff had occupied the “former Cooper stables behind the main house” prior to the site’s redevelopment. Outbuildings! I’m not sure this is the same building, but Chris tells us that word on the street says the house at 220 North Candler was actually the original carriage house of the Scott-Cooper home. Real estate records have it dated to 1880.
The article details how the Scott-Cooper home was scheduled to be demolished in September of 1956 to make way for the $320,000 Rec Center. The Rec Center was completed in 1958.
So there you go. A short, incomplete history of the Rec Center property.
Of course, the much more obvious way to discover the history behind the Rec Center property would be to run across this monument on the site and take a few moments to give it a look.
Photo courtesy of Chris
But where’s the fun in that?
Big thanks to Chris for sending along the photos and all the articles that answered these questions for us. Have a question about Decatur’s natural or manmade landscape for our Hidden Decatur series? Send your inquiries to [email protected] and we’ll try to find the answer!
If you’d like to learn more about Colonel Scott, check out this online family memoir that goes into a lot more detail about his life.
Photo of Colonel Scott above courtesy of FloridaMemory.com
My question, then, is why isn’t it called Magnolia or Chestnut instead of Sycamore St.?
Until a few years ago the state champion water oak was in the backyard of 216 N. Candler. Some people might recall it had a tree house in it.
Great call! No doubt another remnant of Scott Park.
On the subject of interesting trees in the same neighborhood, how many people have noticed the long leaf pine across Hillyer Place from Fillini’s? Legend has it that the long time groundskeeper from Warm Springs Ga retired to the house there. The pine was a retirement gift from FDR. It is said to be grafted onto roots that can survive the colder temperatures here than those in its natural zone.
how sad that the beautiful house in the bw photo was demolished!
I won’t argue that it was a beautiful home, but I can’t imagine Decatur without the Rec. Anybody who attended a Decatur High basketball game in there has an unforgettable memory. The heat, the noise, the fans on top of the court. What a spectacle!
AKA “The Palace”
Thanks for this. I have often walked down that area of N. Candler and my kids often play at the playground behind the Rec Center and I’ve often wondered about the history of that part of town. I love posts like these. Great job!
Very nice article. One side of this house has similar bones to the High House. Any connection there?
If i’m not mistaken, the monster black walnut that used to live on the corner of Sycamore and Church (pre-Presbyterians Church renovation) was a state champion, too.
I attended Bassett Kindergarten, catty-cornered to the rec. center, in 1963-64, and we had our Easter egg hunt under those trees. Here’s my contribution to the history of Decatur: I remember finding an egg under that big magnolia.
Was that before there were public kindergartens? Was Bassett associated with Decatur First United Methodist?
It was before public kindergartens in DeKalb County and perhaps Decatur. It was a private kindergarten and nursery school run by Mr. and Mrs. Bassett, who were not young when I went there. The two story brick house was still there the last time I was in town (a year or so ago).
Very interesting article but who is the mystery man “Chris”?