Jennie Drake was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1913.  She was married to Phillip Drake for 50 years, and together they raised three children.  Jennie and her husband moved to the Collier Heights neighborhood in 1965, where she was active in neighborhood clubs as well as Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit I.

In May of 2003, Jennie learned of plans to build houses on several properties in Collier Heights, including four acres of wooded lots on Waterford Rd.  She brought this to the attention of her neighbors at the Woodlawn Heights Community Club who shared her concern that houses would not be the best use for the land.

Jennie and her neighbors presented their concerns to NPU-I, and received overwhelming support against building on the wooded area.  During this time, Jennie learned from her City Council Member Felicia Moore about the possibility of having the land declared greenspace, and Jennie advocated for this.

In 2007, the Atlanta City Council voted to purchase the properties as greenspace.  Four years later, the City closed on the last of six parcels.  Unfortunately, Jennie Drake passed away in 2007, and was unable to see her vision realized.

Jennie’s dream to create and develop a neighborhood park has been adopted by the Friends of Jennie Drake Park, a group of people who believe that city parks and greenspaces create better neighborhoods.