Prior to the Civil War, much of the property that now comprises Kirkwood belonged to the Kirkpatrick family. Another portion belonged to the Dunwoody family. The name Kirkwood was derived from a blending of the two family names.
Kirkwood's beginnings as a residential development began in the 1870s. While no one would consider Kirkwood a suburb of Atlanta today, an early tour book described it as an “area of beautiful suburban villas.” Specifically, Kirkwood was a streetcar suburb of Atlanta. By 1910 streetcars provided express service to and from Atlanta three times daily, with continued service until the early 1950s. The streetcar line followed Woodbine Ave NE and Wade Ave NE to the current intersection of Hosea L. Williams Dr NE and Rogers St NE. From there the streetcar line followed Hosea L. Williams Dr NE eastbound into Downtown Kirkwood. The streetcar line merged onto Oakview Rd NE and continued east to Decatur.
Kirkwood was incorporated as an independent municipality in 1899. Governed beginning in 1899 by its own city council and mayor, the town boasted its own water system, school systems and fire department. The former Kirkwood School is a handsome building from this period, located on Kirkwood Road just north of Bessie Branham Park. Individually nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, the primary building on the property’s south side was originally designed by John Francis Downing, the son of the noted Atlanta architect W. T. Downing. Both buildings now comprise the Kirkwood Lofts apartments as a result of a $1 million renovation in 1997.
While Kirkwood's residential community began to flourish by the late 1990s, the community's business district running along Hosea L. Williams Dr. (then Boulevard Dr.) remained stagnant. A major problem with any planning efforts gaining traction to raise the quality of the downtown area was the fact that properties along the district had varying zoning designations governing their density and use. In 2001, the community obtained Neighborhood Commercial (NC-3) Zoning that allowed for consistency in planning efforts.
In 2003, work began on Phase I of a $1.5M streetscape project in the district that, coupled with earlier zoning changes, served to create an environment that would attract small business and private commercial development to the area. The streetscape project increased pedestrian access by narrowing street crossings, slowing traffic, installing protected crosswalks and bicycle lanes on Hosea Williams, and building wider decorative sidewalks. The visual element of the project added historic street lighting, removal of several power poles, decorative brick pavers, trash cans and bike racks.
Today, Downtown Kirkwood has become what neighbors call "the small town in the big city," hosting its own post office, newly constructed fire station, police precinct and public library. Residents and visitors also have a host of shopping and dining options at their disposal, including: day spas, furniture galleries, gift shops, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, real estate offices, professional/creative spaces and more.
In 2009 The Kirkwood Neighbors’ Organization, in conjunction with the state historic preservation office and the faculty and students of the Georgia State University Heritage Preservation program, successfully nominated the Kirkwood Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places. With nearly 2000 contributing resources, the Kirkwood Historic District is the largest historic district in the State of Georgia in terms of contributing resources.