Dunwoody is considering future uses of the historic Donaldson-Bannister Farm now that it is in city hands after four years as a largely unused county property.

City Councilman Danny Ross said the Dunwoody Preservation Trust has discussed the use of the 143-year-old property as a “living farm museum.” Demonstrations of such common 19th-century agricultural work as clothes washing, soap making and blacksmithing could be featured, he said.

“It could exhibit how farm life actually occurred in 1867,” Ross said.

The complex of buildings on three acres at the corner of Chamblee-Dunwoody and Vermack roads requires repairs both inside and out after sitting vacant since 2006. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places last year, and precautions must be taken during restoration to preserve its status, Ross said.

Councilman Denis Shortal said he hoped residents participate in a Nov. 6 Dunwoody volunteer work day, which will include projects at the farm and other parks it took possession of June 21.

“Volunteer efforts are going to be very important moving forward,” he said.

Civil War veteran Jim Donaldson built the facility, which contains a main house, guest house, barn, commissary and other original buildings, in 1867, Ross said.

The house, the second oldest in Dunwoody, was purchased by Lois Bannister in 1935 for use as a summer home. In 1975 the Chesnut family bought and maintained the property “to historical standard,” Ross said.

In 2006, the Dunwoody Preservation Trust, of which Ross is a member, approached DeKalb County about using the county’s share of state greenspace funds to purchase the property.

Ross said the resulting conflict played an integral role in the formation of Dunwoody as a city.

“We were split into two camps,” he said, “those who wanted to become a city and those who did not.”

When the county bought the property and let it fall into disrepair, Ross said he approached then-CEO Vernon Jones and was informed the house would be moved to south DeKalb.

A 2007 letter from Jones to Ross states, “It is better to make the farmhouse available to 94 [percent] of the citizens as opposed to only serving 6 [percent] in the city of Dunwoody.”

According to Ross, “The citizens of Dunwoody overnight became very interested in becoming a city. This house was a major linchpin in making that happen.”

Now, the recently formed Dunwoody Parks and Recreation Department has begun a “master plan” process for the maintenance and improvement of the farm and the city’s 165 acres of newly acquired parkland, said department manager Brent Walker.

Walker estimated the plan should be finished around the start of 2011.

“There will also be several opportunities for public input,” he said. “It’s a long process to put together a solid master plan.”