Category Archives: –COBB COUNTY GA–

William Root House, Circa 1845, Marietta

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The historic William Root House in Marietta, Georgia, surrounded by a white picket fence and landscaped garden.

The William Root House is a typical I-House form with a shed room at the rear (Plantation Plain), enhanced by a vernacular Greek Revival portico. Built circa 1845, it is one of the oldest houses in Marietta and an inspiring preservation success story. It was facing demolition when it was saved by Cobb Landmarks and now serves as a cultural and historic focal point. It was originally located two blocks east on the northeast corner of Church and Lemon streets and has been relocated twice. In 1893, the house was repositioned on its original lot. In 1989, it was relocated two blocks to its present location and restored. It is now an award-winning house museum, operated by Cobb Landmarks.

William Root (1815-1891), a native of Philadelphia, moved to Marietta in 1839, five years after the city’s founding. He began working as an assistant in William H. Kitchens’s drug store in Augusta in 1836, then relocated to Hamburg, South Carolina, in 1837. After a brief return to Philadelphia in 1838, he came back to Augusta in 1839 and then moved to Marietta to open a new drug and grocery store for Kitchens. On 15 September 1840, he married Hannah Rhemer Simpson (1807-1886).

The business grew quickly and Root became an influential pioneer citizen of Marietta. He helped establish St. James Episcopal Church. In 1844 he purchased the business from Kitchens and built this home about a year later. The Roots had five children (one son died as a toddler), and, according to the 1860 census, four enslaved people in their service. Cobb Landmarks has identified two of the enslaved by name: Lall Burge, who was likely a butler, or house servant, and Elsay Blake, also a domestic laborer.

With Atlanta and environs in the crosshairs of the Union armies, the Root family relocated to Washington, Georgia, in June 1864. They returned to a ruined Marietta on 15 July 1865, but fared better than many others, who lost everything. They were able to reoccupy their house. According to family papers, William Root noted, “Our dwelling, though damaged, was in tolerable condition.”

In 1866 William Root opened a new store on the Marietta Square, and owned the entire block bounded by Church, Ardis, Cherokee, and Lemon streets, the block on which the Root House originally stood. Marietta quickly rebuilt after the war and by the 1870s, Root’s sons joined him in business. He sold it to John R. Winters in 1884 and retired.

National Register of Historic Places

Glover-Horne-Wells House, Circa 1869, Marietta

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Glover-Horne-Wells House, a charming yellow cottage in Marietta, Georgia, with white columns and red shutters, featuring a front porch with a wooden door and a small chair. Surrounding the house are neatly trimmed bushes and a brick pathway leading up to the entrance.

I stayed next door to this neat little cottage on a recent trip. I haven’t been able to track down much history, but it was apparently built by a member of the Glover family, who were among the earliest settlers of Marietta. It appears to have originated as a simple central hallway form and has been expanded, as is common with houses of this type. The narrow door and transom and sidelights are likely original, but the porch, which gives the house a vernacular Greek Revival appearance, may have been a slightly later addition. I will update when I learn more.

Whitlock Avenue Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Mars Hill School, 1873, Cobb County

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Though it has been absorbed by Acworth today, Mars Hill was once a rural community in Cobb County, centered around a Presbyterian church, cemetery, and this schoolhouse. The schoolhouse was deeded to Cobb County in 1902 and remained in use until 1938. Today, it is used by the Mars Hill Memorial Association, the group charged with overseeing the adjacent cemetery.

Bethel A. M. E. Church, 1878 & 1895, Acworth

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Bethel A. M. E. is one of the most historic Black congregations in Cobb County and remains an active part of the community. Membership has ebbed and flowed over the years, as with many churches, but those who appreciate the history do a good job of keeping it alive. The History of Bethel A. M. E. notes: Bethel A.M.E. was built by the skilled hands of freed slaves, and has stood throughout time… Bethel A.M.E.’s church history recalls General Sherman’s march throughout Georgia. At the end of the Civil War, there were 200 freed slaves remaining in Acworth. The emancipated slaves immediately became a vital part of the Acworth community, and took on a monumental task, and used their artistry and skill to build a church. After the end of slavery, members of the Bethel A.M.E. church and Zion Hill Missionary Baptist church shared church buildings. This tradition of alternating Sunday services lasted for many years until Zion Missionary Baptist church moved to a more contemporary church building in 1914; while the members of the Bethel A.M.E. remained in the original church building built by the freed slaves. Bethel A.M.E was built in 1878*, and a bell tower was added in 1895.

*-Some sources list the date of construction as 1882.

National Register of Historic Places

Acworth Rosenwald School, 1924

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The Acworth Rosenwald School was originally located on School Street but when Cobb County planned to demolish it in the late 1940s, the community came together and moved it to its present location on Cherokee Street and rebuilt it board by board. It served as a gathering place for Acworth’s Black community, but went through periods of disuse over the years. Due to the efforts of Cobb Landmarks, it has been preserved and is now owned by the city of Acworth. It continues to serve the community.

Jesse L. Lemon House, 1880s, Acworth

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This high-style Queen Anne is perhaps the finest example of the style to be found in Acworth. It was built by Jesse L. Lemon for his bride, Elizabeth “Lizzie” McMillan. Jesse was the son of prominent banker, retailer, and Acworth pioneer, Smith Lemon.

Stephen D. Cowen House, 1854, Acworth

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Stephen D. Cowen* [Cowan] (10 December 1823-19 November 1900) moved to Acworth from Jackson County in the 1850s, according to the nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places though at least one local source states that he came from Virginia. He built this house, the center of a 1200-acre farm, in 1854. He brought eight young slaves with him to this enterprise. The house somehow survived the burning of Acworth. After Cowen’s death, numerous families owned the house until it was acquired by the Acworth Historical Society in the late 1990s and eventually restored.

*- Cowen’s gravestone spells the surname Cowen, but modern appearances of the name, including signage at the house and on the Acworth website, spell it Cowan. I’m unsure why there is a discrepancy. I’m using the name on his gravestone.

National Register of Historic Places

James Lemon House, 1856, Acworth

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James Lile Lemon (27 October 1835-12 June 1907), and his brother, Smith Lemon, were among the earliest settlers of Acworth. James and his wife Mary Davenport Lemon built this home in 1856, four years before the town’s incorporation. It began as a small farmhouse and was expanded into a modified Plantation Plain. The portico was added in 1890, replacing a two-story porch.

Major General William T. Sherman stayed in the house during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain [6-9 June 1864]. Some sources also note that the house was used as a hospital. It is said that Sherman ordered the house burned but it was spared when a lieutenant ordered other fires to be ceased.

Descendants of the James and Mary Lemon still own and maintain this important home.