Roswell is seeking the public’s help choosing a new name for a local park. Its two suggestions both honor the Groveway Community, the core of the earliest African-American community in the North Fulton city.

The Recreation Commission has set up an online survey for the renaming of the Waller Park Extension at 160 Dobbs Drive. That name has caused confusion over the years because of site’s proximity to Waller Park, 250 Oak St. Both have similar names yet separate entrances off different roads.

Residents can chose one of two proposed names – Groveway Park or Groveway Community Park – or they can suggest a name of their own. The survey will remain active until Sept. 30.

The Groveway area gave rise to three groups serving black residents: The Groveway Community Organization, ultimately merged with the North Fulton Child Development Association; the Groveway Community Center, rebuilt by residents after it was torched by the Ku Klux Klan in 1961; and today’s Groveway Community Group, which provides services to families and seniors and scholarships, and was instrumental in establishing the Roswell Roots celebration for Black History Month.

Information: www.roswellgov.com/RenameWallerExt

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Thousands of UGA students enjoy during the annual “Frat Beach” party for the weekend of the Georgia-Florida football game on St. Simons Island, Friday, November 1, 2024. On the weekend of the Georgia-Florida football game, St. Simons Island’s East Beach becomes “Frat Beach,” an open-air party teeming with thousands of highly inebriated college students. (Hyosub Shin / AJC)

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