Historic farm brings together generations to learn from past

A unique interaction recently took place at a DeKalb County farm that once was the residence of enslavers and the enslaved. 

During the Aug. 15 Gen-Z Day at Lyon Farm, descendants from the White Lyon family (the former enslavers) and the Black Lyons family (the formerly enslaved) took part in a moderated panel discussion and question and answer session. 

“Hosting Gen-Z Day at Lyon Farm in the National Heritage Area was truly a highlight for the Alliance,” said Brigette Jones, Arabia Alliance’s assistant executive director and resident historian with a focus on chattel slavery throughout the plantation South. 

“Not only were we able to meet our community at the intersection of nature, culture, and history, but also to be an example of the continued importance of healthy public-private partnerships,” said Jones. “Our panel conversation with Lyons descendants, Carol and Cathy Mabry, and Lyon descendant, Eli Foster, offered visitors a conversation rooted in the promise that our children are our future despite the horrors of our pasts. The entire day was a joy, and we look forward to what future opportunities for collaboration look like.” 

“The descendants of these families are a critical part of understanding history and the way it’s interpreted and authentically told,” stated a press release about the event.  

Visitors at Gen-Z Day were also free to roam the farm grounds and step inside the historic structures, including slave quarters in the basement, which are usually off-limit to the public.  

The event was part of a back-to-school celebration, historic recognition, and discussion about Generation Z’s role in a partnership with the Arabia Alliance and DeKalb Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson. It also brought together Congressman Hank Johnson, DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, and several dozen local schoolchildren. 

The 100-plus-acre Lyon Farm is one of the last remaining plantation sites in DeKalb County and one of only a few in metro Atlanta. The Lyon family inhabited the land from around 1820 until 2007, when they relinquished the property to the county, according to a DeKalb press release. 

Before the Civil War and Emancipation, the Lyon family enslaved 13 adults and children according to the 1850 slave census and 17 from the 1860 census, states the press release. After Emancipation, most of these formerly enslaved people took the surname Lyons (with an “s”) and became instrumental in the founding of Flat Rock, one of Georgia’s oldest continually inhabited Black communities, according to the press release. 

An effort is underway to turn the Lyon Farmhouse into a museum. 

Preserving the farm and the stories of the people who lived there is vital, said Revonda Cosby, executive director of the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, adding that they are intricately connected to the “communities we now enjoy.” 

The first phase of the farm’s preservation project began in 2018 and focused on rehabilitating and stabilizing its structures, she said. Phase 2, completed from 2020 to 2021, renovated the smokehouse, well, sorghum mill, privy, chicken coop, muscadine terraces, and workhouse; some structures were dismantled and rebuilt. 

In 2025, Cochran-Johnson pledged $250,000 from the county to help transform the property into one of Atlanta’s top heritage sites and Super District 7 DeKalb County Commissioner LaDena Bolton committed $50,000 to the third phase of improvements to the property. 

Cosby said the third phase of the project involves completing a comprehensive plan to detail what comes next along with a detailed budget. Turning the farmhouse into a museum will be a part of that plan, she added.  

Although there is no start date for next phase, Cosby said she expects the comprehensive plan to be completed by August 2027.