Buckhead in Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Miss Jane Donaldson

Business Estabished

— 1886 - 1931 —

Miss Jane Donaldson Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tracy Andersen Roberts

1. Miss Jane Donaldson Marker

Inscription. Miss Jane Donaldson
Business established
1886 - 1931

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1886.

Location. 33° 51.243′ N, 84° 22.969′ W. Marker is in Atlanta, Georgia, in Fulton County. It is in Buckhead. It is at the intersection of Roswell Road Northwest (Route 19) and Blackland Road Northwest, on the left when traveling north on Roswell Road Northwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3652 Roswell Rd NW, Atlanta GA 30305, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Piedmont.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking

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distance of this marker: Sardis Methodist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Civil War Siege Cannon (approx. 0.8 miles away); Gov. John M. Slaton (approx. 0.9 miles away); Swan House (approx. 0.9 miles away); a different marker also named Swan House (approx. one mile away); “The Storyteller” (approx. one mile away); The Buckhead Theatre / The Social Center Reimagined (approx. one mile away); Meet You at the Buck's Head / The Commercial Core Reimagined (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Atlanta.

More about this marker. badly stained

Regarding Miss Jane Donaldson. Atlanta founding Irby and Collier families descendent, interview subject of Atlanta historian Franklin Garrett, former teacher, trailblazing woman entrepreneur

Also see . . .
1. Buckhead Heritage Society Oral History Project.

The first Donaldson store was Miss Jane Donaldson. Miss Jane Donaldson was a little old lady that was really, really elderly, with a long dress and high-topped shoes and all. She lived right behind the store. Of course, everybody thought it was so funny. If you went to the store, most of the time she wasn’t
Photographed by Tracy Andersen Roberts, October 5, 2025

2. Miss Jane Donaldson Marker
looking west with The Punch Line comedy club in the background
there. She had a thing to pull for a bell. You’d ring the bell and she’d come out, even if you wanted a nickel’s worth of candy. Most of the time we wanted that old hoop cheese, that round hoop cheese. She’d come out there. She lived with her brother, uh, she lived with her brother and his wife. Yes, Miss Jane Donaldson, everybody knew her, because she had that Donaldson store for years.

(Submitted on October 5, 2025, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia.)

2. Miss Jane Donaldson.

The Atlanta Journal

Issue of April 8 1931

Miss Jane Donaldson Dies at Roswell Road Home at age of 81

Miss Jane Donaldson 81, a lifelong resident of Fulton County, died Tuesday night at her home on Roswell Road after a two weeks illness.

She was born December 27, 1849, daughter of Mr. Silas H. Donaldson and Mary Anne Collier Donaldson, and was the eldest of eleven children. She attended the Fulton County Public Schools and later taught at these schools for a few years.

She was the proprietor and manager of a store on Roswell Road for about fifty years which she kept until her death. She was a devout member of the Sardis Methodist
Photographed by Tracy Andersen Roberts, October 5, 2025

3. Miss Jane Donaldson Marker
looking northwest with The Landmark Diner in the background
Church, of which her father was founder. She was well known and loved through-out her community.

Surviving are a sister Mrs. O.B. Langford and a brother George P. Donaldson. Funeral Arrangements will be announced later by H. M. Patterson.

(Submitted on October 5, 2025, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia.)

3. Miss Jane Donaldson - Roswell Rd. - Atlanta, GA - Signs of History on Waymarking.com.

This stone marker is dedicated to a business that once stood on this street corner. It is located next to the sidewalk in front of the Landmark Dinner on Roswell Rd. in Atlanta, GA.

(Submitted on October 5, 2025, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia.)

4. Whodunit: Did John Whitley kill the famous buck?. provides theories for how the Buckhead neighborhood got its name

As support for these statements, Garrett cited two different sources. The first was a personal interview Garrett conducted with Henry Irby’s granddaughter, Jane Donaldson, in 1930 and the second was an 1861 Georgia Supreme Court case.

(Submitted on October 5, 2025, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia.)

Photographed by Tracy Andersen Roberts, October 5, 2025

4. Miss Jane Donaldson Marker

looking northeast from behind the marker and toward Piedmont Road's intersection with Roswell Road

Photographed by Tracy Andersen Roberts, October 5, 2025

5. Miss Jane Donaldson Marker

looking south toward The Landmark Diner sign with Roswell Road southbound visible to the left

Credits. This page was last revised on October 14, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 5, 2025, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia. This page has been viewed 78 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 5, 2025, by Tracy Andersen Roberts of Atlanta, Georgia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.