Circa 1937: Unknown
When the newly built home at 3824 Vermont Road was marketed in the Constitution in February 1937, it was advertised with its neighbor, 3814 Vermont Road:
Two lovely new homes, perfectly placed on beautiful wooded lot, with clear spring branch across the rear. New England colonial architecture; most attractive. Many distinctive and unique features; ideal for floor plans, 4 well-arranged bedrooms, lots of large closets, 3 tile baths, air-conditioned gas heat; 2-car garages.
Both homes stand today, and are remarkably similar in their design (see here).
John William and Myrtie (Barrett) Leach purchased the home from Haas Howell & Dodd, the insurance-turned-real-estate firm. Leach was a native Atlantan and had founded the Barrett & Leach grocery store with his father-in-law, the Rev. J. H. Barrett. The store was located on Peachtree Road in Buckhead until about 1955 when it moved to 3771 Roswell Road. Johnny’s Hideaway now occupies the address.
Myrtie Leach’s mother died in the home in January 1939. That summer, the Leaches traded “their beautiful home” to the E. V. Carter estate for a farm in DeKalb County:
Mrs. Leach has long desired a fairly close-in country place, where she could indulge her hobby for roses and gardening, for chickens and cows, for fruits and flowers—and now she has it.
The Towery farm contains 57 acres and has a nine-room modern brick home located on it. This farm is a showplace of DeKalb county, having a two-acres lake stocked with fish and an abundance of fruit, such as peaches, pears, apples, grapes, scuppernongs, figs, etc.
The Leaches were not long in DeKalb County: they returned to Brookhaven after only a few years. John W. Leach died in 1958 and his wife, Myrtie, died in 1979. Both are buried in Crest Lawn Cemetery.
Later residents of the John W. Leach House include the Harry R. Stone family (vice-president of Southern Bell) and the Clyde C. Fowler family (one-time president of the Druid Hills Golf Club). The house last sold in 2014 for $1.2 million.
Select Bibliography
Atlanta Constitution. “First Showing Today 3814 & 3824 Vermont Rd. Country Club Estates.” February 28, 1937.
———. “Trades Fine Home For 57-Acre Farm.” July 2, 1939.
———. “John W. Leach.” December 19, 1958.
———. “Mrs. Myrtie Leach.” November 13, 1979.
Atlanta & Environs 