Dunwoody Preservation Trust

Who We Are

Dunwoody Preservation Trust preserves the places where history happened and turns them into places where people can learn, connect, and carry Dunwoody's stories forward.

Founded in 1994 by longtime residents Joyce Amacher and Lynne Byrd, DPT was created to ensure that a rapidly changing community would not lose the places, stories, and traditions that make Dunwoody unique. What began as an effort to protect threatened historic resources has grown into a community organization dedicated to preservation, education, and public engagement.

Over the past three decades, DPT has helped save, rehabilitate, and steward some of Dunwoody's most significant historic resources, including the 1906 Cheek-Spruill House and Donaldson-Bannister Farm. But preserving historic places is only part of our mission.

Today, DPT cares for historic places that serve as living classrooms, gathering spaces, and community assets. Through hands-on field trips, Camp Flashback, History Alive programs, student internships, historical research, community storytelling, historic cemetery stewardship, and preservation initiatives, DPT helps people of all ages experience local history in meaningful ways.

We believe historic places matter because they help people understand where they came from, connect with their community, and imagine its future. Preserved places become more than buildings. They become places where children learn, families gather, neighbors connect, and stories are shared across generations.

Bringing History to Life

At Donaldson-Bannister Farm and other historic sites, DPT transforms preserved places into active learning environments. Students explore history through immersive educational experiences, families participate in community programs and events, and residents discover the stories that shaped the community they call home. We believe history is most powerful when it can be experienced, not simply remembered.

Why Preservation Matters

Once a historic place is lost, the stories connected to it become harder to tell and understand. Preservation protects more than buildings and landscapes. It protects opportunities for education, community connection, cultural understanding, and civic pride. By caring for these places today, we ensure that future generations can learn from them tomorrow.

Building Community Through History

DPT's work brings people together across generations. Whether through educational programs, community events, research projects, storytelling initiatives, volunteer service, or historic cemetery stewardship, we help connect people to Dunwoody's history and to one another. Strong communities are built not only on where they are going, but also on an understanding of where they have been.

Your Support Makes a Difference

Your gift helps DPT:

• Preserve and care for historic places and landscapes

• Welcome students for hands-on educational field trips

• Create immersive learning experiences through Camp Flashback

• Offer History Alive programs for adult and community audiences

• Support historical research, storytelling, and community-history initiatives

• Engage students and interns in preservation and interpretation work

• Strengthen community connections through public programs and events

DPT is not simply preserving historic places. We are preserving places so people can learn from them.

Every gift helps ensure that the places where history happened continue to educate, inspire, and connect future generations. Your support helps keep Dunwoody's stories accessible, relevant, and meaningful for children, families, students, and lifelong learners throughout our community.

Help preserve the places where history happened. Share the stories that define our community. Inspire the future through preservation, education, and connection.