MARIETTA
By Ross Williams
rwilliams@mdjonline.com
Cobb’s county seat of Marietta is a city that remains rooted
in its past while keeping its eyes on the future.
The heart of the city is Marietta Square, which houses many
of its oldest buildings, businesses and traditions. But not
too far away, one of its largest employers, Lockheed Martin,
manufactures state-of-the-art aircraft for the U.S. military.
It is a city that celebrates its Southern legacy with historic
homes and museums, but lest you think residents take
themselves too seriously, remember that the city’s most
beloved landmark is a giant chicken, KFC’s Big Chicken.
Marietta is Cobb’s most populous city, with over 60,000
souls calling it home.
It was originally a largely agricultural community, but is
now an important economic engine for the metro Atlanta
region.
The Marietta Square has become one of the city’s greatest
draws, and it is common to see folks from surrounding cities
strolling its sidewalks on their afternoons off.
It features a 1.35-acre park with a three-tier fountain,
gazebo and playground. During holidays and weekends,
Glover Park plays hosts to traditional city festivals and
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concerts such as the free Glover Park Concert series on a
Victorian-styled stage and the annual Juneteenth Festival on
the Square.
The city was legally recognized by the Georgia Legislature
in 1834, and though the source of its name is uncertain, the
most likely story is that it was named after the wife of Thomas
Willis Cobb, the county’s namesake. In 1851, the Georgia
Military Institute was built on Powder Springs Road, less than
a mile from the city’s center. The city was flourishing when the
Civil War began in 1861.
In 1864, the city was occupied by Gen. William Tecumseh
Sherman’s troops.
The city was pillaged and ravaged daily for five months
before it was finally burned in Sherman’s March to the Sea.
The city’s industrial and economic transformation began
in the 1940s, when the Bell Bomber military aircraft
manufacturing plant was built here. The Bell Bomber plant
closed at the end of the war but was reopened as Lockheed
Georgia, now Lockheed Martin. The aeronautics company
was Georgia’s largest employer in the 1950s and 1960s.
As the county seat, Marietta is home to many of Cobb
County’s government offices, including the Cobb County
Superior Court and the Board of Commissioners office. City
Hall is governed by the mayor and a seven-member council.
COMMUNITY
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