CL
Now & Then
ABOVE:An undated photo of the Hyde House from the Kennesaw Mountain
National Battlefield Park collection. The house was the park Visitor Center
from 1939 to 1964.
ABOVE:An undated photo of the Hyde House. At the far left of the photo, a
toll booth for the Mountain Road can be seen.
KENNESAW
MOUNTAIN
BATTLEFIELD PARK
Written by ANDREW J. BRAMLETT
RIGHT:An undated photo of the Hyde House.
The Mountain Road can be seen on the left.
Then
Come June, 158 years will have passed since
the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, a
harrowing skirmish between the
Confederacy and the Union that serves as a
cornerstone of Cobb County history. Locals might
be keen to learn that June will hold another
important anniversary for the site: the founding of
Kennesaw Mountain Park.
The creation of the park had been in the works
for a long time. In 1899, Illinois veteran Lansing J.
Dawdy purchased 60 acres at Cheatham Hill, which
included many historic earthworks. To further
preserve the site, it was given to the Kennesaw
Mountain Battlefield Association in 1904. With
support from the State of Illinois, the veterans of
the association were able to erect the Illinois
Monument in 1914. The dedication was held on
June 27, 1914 – 108 years ago in June. The
Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Association hoped
the park could be transferred to the Federal
Government, a goal which was accomplished in 1917
with the creation of Kennesaw Mountain National
Battlefield Site. The park was placed under the War
Department (a predecessor of the Department of
Defense).
The War Department did very little work on
the sixty acres, and it was disappointing that
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Site did
not include the famous mountain. In 1933, the park
was placed under the jurisdiction of the
Department of the Interior and the National Park
Service. On June 26, 1935, the park’s enabling
legislation was passed by Congress. This act also
SUMMER 2022 | COBB LIFE 65