CL
Now & Then
The current Visitor Center of Kennesaw
Mountain NBP. The building was built in
1964 and expanded in 1999. Photograph
by Jake Boling. Now
changed the name to Kennesaw Mountain National
Battlefield Park. Kennesaw Mountain was one of the first
three parks to be given the designation “National
Battlefield Park,” a title chosen to highlight the historical
and recreational aspects of the park. The title would not
be used for another park site until 2009.
The enabling legislation is considered the park’s
o cial founding, though it would take until 1937 for
Kennesaw Mountain to be included as part of Kennesaw
Mountain NBP. In that year, 450 acres belonging to the
Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Association — a dierent
organization than the veteran’s group two decades
before — were condemned after several years of court
cases. The association would continue to challenge the
ruling until after World War II.
Now that Kennesaw Mountain was part of the
National Park Service, the park had to be made ready for
visitors. Even though the Great Depression had been
plaguing the nation for several years, a way to develop
the park was found. The Civil Works Administration,
part of Franklin Roosevelt’s
New Deal, laid the groundwork
for future plans. Another New
Deal organization, the Civilian
Conservation Corps picked up
where the CWA left o. In 1938
a CCC camp was established at
the park and named Camp T. M.
Brumby (or simply Camp
Brumby) in honor of a popular
Marietta mayor. The camp was
located east of the mountain
along Kennesaw Avenue.
One of the park’s priorities
was creating a Visitor Center.
The Hyde House, built in the
1890s, was chosen for the task.
The house was located where the main parking lot is
today. The house was open to the public on June 25,
1939. On that historic day, Lucinda Hardage and Carol
Northcutt raised the U.S. flag. Lucinda Hardage was a
witness to the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, and Carol
Northcutt was a young girl at the time. She returned to
the park in June 2019 to raise the flag for the Battle
Anniversary, and she passed away last year at the age of
90.
The Hyde House remained the park Visitor Center
for twenty-five years, and many Cobb County residents
have fond memories of the house. In 1964, it was torn
down to make way for a new Visitor Center. That
building was expanded in 1999 and continues to serve
hikers and history bus today.
Since Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
was established 87 years ago, it has been the defining
park of Cobb County. While the park’s facilities have
changed greatly, the mountain and battlefield itself are
now forever preserved for future generations.
66 COBB LIFE | SUMMER 2022