A. “Fair Oaks, “ c. 1852 Marietta Educational Garden Center

505 Kennesaw Avenue
The Newton House family built this two-story, square columned home. The next owner was Mrs. Myers, widow of Dr. Edward Myers, past president of Wesleyan College in Macon. Mrs. Myers name the home “Fair Oaks” for the two oak trees that flanked the front steps. During the Civil War, it served as the headquarters for Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston as the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain raged. After the Myers, the house passed to Dr. Squares and then the Jesse Fowler family. The last owners were Clara & Howard Benson, who lived in the home for 45 years. In 1966, the Benson family gave the home and grounds to the Marietta Council of Garden Clubs to be used as a Garden Center. Today, it also serves as a special events facility and is a lovely setting for parties and weddings. "During the weekend, the Marietta Educational Garden Center will be selling fresh greenery (wreaths & garlands), poinsettias and bows.

B. The Stanley House, c. 1897

236 Church Street
This lovely Queen Anne style mansion was built
In 1897 by Marietta builder & lumber company owner,
W.P. Stephens. Mr. Stephens was hired by Mrs. Felie Woodrow, Woodrow Wilson’s aunt, who built it as a summer
Cottage. It is thought that Wilson spent summers here, while he was in law school in Atlanta. The house had been divided into apartments and used as a boarding house during WWII. In the 1980’s, it was beautifully renovated and turned into a bed & breakfast inn.

 

 

C. First Presbyterian Church

189 Church Street
The Presbyterian Church was founded in 1835. Its Greek revival sanctuary was built in 1854 on a lot donated by former pastor John Jones of the family documented in Children of Pride. The Union Army used it as a hospital during the Civil War and in 1915 the federal government paid the church reparations for damages. The two-foot thick walls of solid brick are original as are the galleries and the heart pine floors that enhance the building’s fine acoustics. The interior was remodeled in 1903 in the Colonial Revival style. The basic choir and pulpit configuration, the elaborate pressed metal ceiling and the cornices and the Pompeian red wall color date from that time.

D. The Marlow House, c. 1887

192 Church Street
The Marlow House was built in 1887 by 37-year old Marietta resident, Miss Idelle Marlow. Miss Marlow married Newton Heggie of Augusta in 1890. Built as a rooming and boarding house, it provided a home and a steady income for Mrs. Heggie for 42 years. The house is a classic example of Victorian style architecture with its gable roof, bay window and wrap-around porch. It was used as a boarding house, then apartments until the early 1880’s when it was renovated and opened as Marietta’s first Bed & Breakfast Inn. Today it is a special events facility. In 2003, a charming Art Gallery was added featuring Thomas Kinkade artwork. The Marlow House is the site is this year’s Merry Olde Marietta Tearoom.

 

E. St. James Episcopal Church, 1878 Lawrence Chapel

161 Church Street
The Lawrence Chapel, named for Robert de Trevelle Lawrence, was built in 1878. He organized its construction by leading the Sunday school boys in hauling stone from nearby Kennesaw Mountain. The original church sanctuary was destroyed by fire in 1964. but many of the original furnishings and the cross were spared. The original church was used for military purposes during the Civil War. James Remley Brumby, a local furniture manufacturer who made the famous “Brumby Rocker” made much of the furniture in the chapel. Lawrence Chapel was used as a Sunday school building until 1956, when it was renovated into the present chapel.

 

F. Root House Museum, c. 1845

145 Denmead Street
The Root House, one of Marietta’s oldest homes, was originally on the corner of Church Street and Lemon Street. In the early 1890’s, it was rolled back on the lot and turned to face Lemon Street when the Clarke Library building was built. The house was again endangered in 1988 and Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society was able to save this historic structure from demolition and moved it to its present location. William Root came to Marietta in 1839 to open the county’s first drug store. He married Hannah Simpson, the daughter of one of Marietta’s early settlers and raised their family of four children in this house. Root became a leading citizen of Marietta and was one of the founders of the St. James Episcopal Church. He served as Sunday School Superintendent for fifty years. Upon completion of the restoration, the house was developed into a museum depicting middle class life in Marietta in the 1850s. During your visit, you will experience a Christmas past--the house will be dressed in winter best and decorated with pine and holly in the manner of the 1850s. See the 1850s Christmas tree and the table set for a festive dinner and follow the smells of Christmas dinner right out to the Root House Kitchen. On Saturday, docents will be demonstrating cooking on the wood-burning stove.

 

G. The Kennesaw House, c. 1845 Marietta Museum of History

1 Depot Street
The original owner of this property was John H. Glover, who operated it as a four-story cotton warehouse. It was sold to Dix Fletcher in 1855, who converted it into a hotel and named it The Fletcher House. It was the meeting place in 1862 of “Andrews’ Raiders” the night before they stole the locomotive “The General” of the Great Locomotive Chase fame. In 1864, it was used as a Confederate hospital and later occupied by Federal Troops until November when it was partially burned as they left on the March to the Sea. After the War, it was remodeled as a three-story hotel and renamed the Kennesaw House. It remained a hotel until the 1970’s. Today it is the home of the Marietta Museum of History. This weekend the Museum is offering free admission and is having a special open house with hot cider and sweets.

 

H. Thomas Warehouse, c. 1880’s Marietta Gone With The Wind Museum: Scarlett on the Square

18 Whitlock Avenue
(An additional $3.50 charge to tour Museum with Pilgrimage Ticket. Good for Pilgrimage Weekend only)
This one-story brick warehouse building dates from the 1880’s. Believed originally to be a livery stable, it has also served as a warehouse and the offices for the Cobb County Times. In 1980, it was renovated and used as a restaurant until it was acquired by the City of Marietta to be the home of the Gone With The Wind Museum: Scarlett on the Square, which opened in June 2002. Today what was originally a home for horses now is the home for a private Gone With The Wind movie memorabilia collection which includes such items as the Scarlett’s Bengaline Gown, foreign versions of the novel and a section dedicated to the African-American cast members.

 

 

I. Marietta-Cobb Museum of Art, c. 1909

30 Atlanta Street
This building has always been a landmark to the city of Marietta. It was built as a Federal Post Office, then served as the Cobb County Library central office for almost 30 years. In 1990, it became the home to the Marietta-Cobb Museum of Art. A two-story addition was built at the rear of the building to accommodate the Library and the demands of the county’s tremendous growth. The Museum has renovated the building preserving the architectural integrity. The original marble, hardwood and wrought iron throughout the building have been restored to recapture buildings original ambiance of grandeur. The Museum is an independent organization dedicated to fostering and presenting visual arts to the community. It provides programs of local, regional and national importance. The Museum is now featuring “Art of the Golden Generation.”

 

J. Brumby Hall and Gardens, c. 1851

500 Powder Springs Street
The first superintendent of the Georgia Military Institute, Colonel Arnoldus V. Brumby, built this lovely Greek Revival style house. The Institute property (now the site of the Marietta Conference Center & Resort) was adjacent to Brumby Hall. Colonel Brumby, a West Point graduate, directed the Institute from 1851-1859. During the Civil War, he commanded the Fourteenth Georgia Regiment. When Sherman’s troops occupied Marietta in 1864, the house was used as a hospital. The Institute buildings were burned as the army departed on the “March to the Sea.” It seems the Brumby Hall was spared, as Sherman and Brumby were friends at West Point. After the War, Brumby sold the house to Ellan M. Bradley. During that ownership the property became known as “The Hedges.” In 1926, Mr. & Mrs. Howell Trezvant purchased the home. By then, the house was in bad repair. Major renovation and restoration was done. Hubert Bond Owens, founder of the University of Georgia School of Landscape Architecture, designed the formal gardens at Brumby Hall. The Trezvant’s daughter, Tillie T. Moore Owenby, lived in the house for many years before selling it to the City of Marietta. It is used as a house museum and special events facility in conjunction with the Marietta Conference Center & Resort.
Enter from Conference Center parking lot