A staple of the Richmond Hill residential landscape, Buckhead has long been one of the most highly visible and well known communities within southern Bryan County. To it's residents, however, the moniker is not as specific as it would seem at first glance.
Buckhead is actually comprised of three classic Richmond Hill neighborhoods which are physically connected by interior streets and pathways, as well as one new development which is located approximately a half mile away and is considerably different in terms of design and characteristics.
By the time you finish this article you'll be able to discuss your Buckheads with confidence in any social setting, a worthy aspiration for all Richmond Hillians (that is indeed a word, I know this because I just used it).
The first major development within the community of Keller, the original Buckhead development consists of multiple phases hosting over 350 single family homes. The community is covenant protected (as with all of the Buckheads) 
and offers an extremely generous amenities package which consists of two tennis courts, basketball court, community pool, clubhouse, playground, 8U youth baseball field and a 100-yard multipurpose field with full sized soccer goals and football uprights as well as 1¼ miles of paved walking trails, interconnected with additional trail systems in the adjoining communities.
There are also three community ponds, with excellent Bluegill fishing and a picturesque lighted fountain in the main pond along Rathlin Road.
Original Buckhead can be further categorized into six unique subdivisions: Cambridge, Laurenburg, Princeton, Windsong, McLaughlin and Plantation, each with their own general style and prevailing styles of housing. Home in this part of Buckhead average about 2,500 square feet with sales prices between $200,000 and $500,000 and an average of $325,000 and there is a mixture of interior, freshwater lakefront and marshfront homes.
Original Buckhead is unique in the respect that tree cover has been protected throughout much of the neighborhood, providing an attractive natural setting and an environment for two of the community's unofficial mascots – Tippy the Squirrel who lives at the corner of Dunneyveg and Rathlin and can be spotted by his bright white tail, and Buck the Red Tailed Hawk who can be seen on a regular basis throughout the amenities area (being unofficial mascots, I should disclose that both were titled by my kids and that other residents may give you a strange look if you refer to them by name).
Does original Buckhead sound like the place you want to be? Click here to view all current homes for sale in this neighborhood!Branching off of Crosswinds Drive, Buckhead North is a slightly smaller (roughly 300 homes) but more upscale development with a similar amenities package as compared to original Buckhead. This development is also divided into multiple “pods” of development, generally consisting of Chastain Park, Sandy Springs, Shadow Moss, Kingston and McGregor.
The amenities center in Buckhead North hosts a 12U to 13U youth baseball field, a multipurpose field, a small playground (with a cushioned rubber play surface), tennis courts, a basketball court, community pool and three community ponds (one large fishing pond and two small detention ponds).
Each of the amenities is decidedly well designed and constructed, and the baseball field (in this writer's opinion) is easily the best community field in Richmond Hill with a well maintained infield, brick backstop kneewall, dugouts and batting cage.
Like original Buckhead, there is a walking trail system which is nearly 1 mile in length, however the manner of integration of the paths with interior neighborhood streets makes it effectively much longer.
Housing in Buckhead North is consistently larger and considered more upper-level, with an average heated area of 3,300 square feet and prices ranging from $250,000 to $600,000 with an average of $425,000. Most of those homes are interior lots with the exception of 26 homesites in Sandy Springs which border a 6½ acre freshwater lake.
Click here to view all homes currently for sale in Buckhead North!
Although technically “one of the Buckheads”, Buckhead South is more well known by the name that adorns its entrance on Highway 144, Tranquilla Hall. This development is somewhat smaller than its two neighboring siblings. The overall makeup of housing in terms of size and quality is overall very similar to that of original Buckhead, with an average size of approximately 2,700 square feet and an average sales price of $338,000.
The amenities package for Buckhead South is somewhat similar in makeup overall to the other two communities but lacks the extensive walking trails (although there is approximately ½ mile of sidewalks interspersed throughout the development which do connect to the larger overall Buckhead trail system) and community lakes (with the exception that a handful of homes are situated on small detention ponds). It does, however have a community pool, clubhouse, playground, basketball court, tennis courts, multipurpose field and 12U sized baseball field.
If this sounds like where you want to be click here to see all homes for sale right now in Buckhead South/Tranquilla Hall!Approximately one mile to the northeast of the older Buckheads lies Buckhead East, a relatively new planned unit development within walking distance of McAllister Elementary and DeVaul Henderson Park. Buckhead East is not contiguous with the remaining Buckhead developments and therefore does not benefit from the aforementioned interconnected walking trail system, however there are sidewalks traversing both sides of the roadways throughout the entirety of the community.
The amenities package is much smaller than that of the other Buckheads, with only a community pool and playground, however the extreme proximity of DeVaul Henderson Park (a county recreational facility) negates this, providing public access to a fishing lake with a perimeter walking trail, 12 tennis courts, 2 artificial-turf football fields, multiple youth soccer fields, 6 baseball and softball fields of various sizes and a wonderful dog park (Bryan County Bark Park).
Housing in Buckhead East is diverse and is indicative of a more modern urban development pattern with much smaller lots and higher densities of housing. Attached townhomes along Lake Lily Drive are available starting around $200k in the form of both interior units and waterfront units bordering a 5¼ acre freshwater lake.
Like the other Buckheads, there are other “pods” within Buckhead East such as Brookhaven and Castleoaks, each with their own particular style and level of housing, however overall homes throughout the neighborhood average about 2,500 square feet with an average sales price of $282k. New construction is prevalent within this community and remains available (as of the date of this writing) starting at $321,000.
There's usually plenty for sale in Buckhead East, click here to see all homes currently available in this neighborhood!Regardless of which Buckhead you're talking about, any one is guaranteed to be a great place to live. Each has its own take on southern suburban life and each offers abundant amenities in a safe and visually attractive setting.
Interested in what's available in Buckhead? Click here to view current homes for sale across all four of Richmond Hill's Buckhead neighborhoods!
Brandon Boyce is a REALTOR® and Associate Broker with Islands Real Estate Company in Midway, Georgia. He has been a fixture of the Coastal Georgia real estate market for over two decades and specializes in the marketing of coastal and waterfront properties in Midway, Georgia and Richmond Hill, Georgia.