Buckhead’s history has the area first occupied by Cherokee and Creek Indian tribes of farmers, hunters, traders, and warriors. By the 1820’s, however, they had “sold off ” to the white man most of their lands, which were subsequently occupied by Andrew Jackson’s military.

In 1838, it is recorded that Henry Irby of South Carolina purchased 203 acres in what is now the center of Buckhead for $650. He built a combination tavern and grocery store near the intersection of Peachtree and Paces Ferry where the triangle park is now located. First tagged “Irbyville,” it took on the popular designation of “Buckhead” around 1838 when the head of a large buck killed in nearby woods was mounted on a post not far from the tavern. The area was annexed to the city of Atlanta in 1952.

Over the years, Buckhead has led the way for the economic well-being of this region. As early as the 1960’s, Fortune magazine described it as “the top encampment of business executives in the Southeast.”

Buckhead real estate development milestones include Lenox Square, the largest shopping center in the Southeast, 1959, followed shortly by the ultra-plush Phipps Plaza; Tower Place, a 600-thousand-square-foot office building, 1974, which started the high-rise skyline; the Ritz-Carlton, the flagship for this luxury hotel chain, 1984, which led the way for a community of deluxe accommodations; and Park Place, the nation’s largest single-purpose condominium building, 1986, now one of many pedestrian-oriented multifamily properties encircling the business core.