Over the past decade, the fate of a historic 77-acre property located at the confluence of the Chattahoochee River and Proctor Creek in northwest Atlanta has been uncertain. Various nonprofit and local groups sought to find a conservation outcome for the site of the former Chattahoochee Brick Company that would preserve this important historical and recreational asset and enhance racial justice for the community.

In 2021, The Conservation Fund, working together with the city of Atlanta, took the first steps to implement a solution for the land that will both memorialize the workers of Chattahoochee Brick as well as preserve and enhance the environmental and recreational benefits of this important site. By purchasing the property and conveying it to the city in August 2022, we have been honored to play a role in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The History

In the late 1870s, this property in the heart of Atlanta was owned and operated by the Chattahoochee Brick Company — a brickworks business founded by former Atlanta mayor James W. English. The company was known for its extensive use of convict lease labor, where hundreds of mostly African American men were forced to work in conditions similar to those experienced during antebellum slavery. Many victims died under these conditions, and it is speculated that some workers were even buried on the site’s grounds.

Georgia outlawed the convict lease system in 1908, but the site continued to host brickwork operations until it closed in 2011. The company’s dark history of injustice became widely recognized when discussed in Douglas A. Blackmon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Slavery by Another Name.”

Starting in 2011, several attempts were made by the city of Atlanta and environmental nonprofits to secure this land and turn it into a public park that would both ensure public access and honor the victims of the convict lease system. However, none of their efforts came to fruition, and the property was eventually purchased by a branch of the Lincoln Terminal Company that had proposed a rail terminal project on the site.

When the project was cancelled, The Conservation Fund was able to come to the table and offer a purchase solution that was competitive and mutually beneficial, effectively halting any immediate threats of development or conversion of the land. Our acquisition of the property on behalf of the city prompted the riverfront green space to be protected as a community park.

The Future

The Conservation Fund transferred the property to the city of Atlanta in August 2022. The city will work with the Chattahoochee Brick Company Descendants Coalition and other stakeholders, including the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, to determine a plan and vision for the space. Memorializing the workers of Chattahoochee Brick will be a top priority. Now owned by the city, this land is on a path toward becoming Atlanta’s newest riverfront park.

The new park will expand public access to the Chattahoochee River and is a critical step in reversing industrial use that has negatively impacted Atlanta’s riverfront for decades. The site will enhance trail connection for the larger Chattahoochee River Lands vision by the Trust for Public Land — which covers a 53-mile stretch of the river, including approximately 10 miles inside the city of Atlanta — and protect important floodplain at the confluence of the Chattahoochee River and Proctor Creek.

Green space has been proven to improve community health and mental wellness. Mayor Andre Dickens identified enhancing protected green spaces in the park as a top priority during his 2022 “State of the City” address and the city of Atlanta’s ParkScore recently moved from 49th to 27th place in national standings. To date, TCF has helped protect over 750 acres of green space in Atlanta and has been instrumental in the creation of popular city parks such as the Urban Food Forest at Browns Mills, Lindsay Street Park and the Lake Charlotte Nature Preserve.