When Cobb Landmarks learned that BAMM Real Estate was going to demolish the house and redevelop the site, the historical society’s Executive Director, Trevor Beemon, requested the opportunity to document the structure so that a photographic and written record of the building, its history, and its architectural features could be made. 
 
While surveying the structure, members of the Cobb Landmarks Preservation Committee noted that some elements of the house were in good condition and worth saving and that some of these materials might be used in the construction of the new interpretive center being developed at the William Root House campus in downtown Marietta. They requested access to these items for preservation and re-use in the Root House project. BAMM agreed and gave Cobb Landmarks permission to identify and remove elements of historic importance from the Fowler House. "We were thrilled to work with Cobb Landmarks to preserve parts of the Fowler house,” said Michael Sunshine, Managing Partner of BAMM. “Preserving the history of Marietta is extremely important to us and as we begin development of multiple properties in Marietta, we look forward to our continued partnership with Cobb Landmarks and other local businesses." 
 
Cobb Landmarks partnered with Marietta Reclamation to salvage the materials. Items saved from the house, including doors, windows, shutters, lighting fixtures, and hardware, will be incorporated into Cobb Landmarks’ new interpretive center and headquarters. Cobb Landmarks is pleased to be able to give pieces of the historic Fowler House a second life.

Cobb Landmarks held its Annual Membership Meeting on January 24th. The event took place at St. James’ Episcopal Church and drew a large crowd. Attendees enjoyed a buffet of delicious food provided by the Cobb Landmarks Board of Trustees and countless volunteers. During the meeting, Board Chair Abbie Parks and Executive Director Trevor Beemon reviewed milestones from 2018, highlighting the relocation of the c. 1830 Manning Cabin from Powder Springs to Cobb Landmarks’ Root House Museum campus in downtown Marietta last September. David Freedman led the awards portion of the program, which celebrated preservation projects throughout Cobb County. The award-winning projects are: 

Carrie Dyer House - 
Carol and Tommy Allegood accepting the award
The Carrie Dyer Reading Club was established in Acworth in 1898. In 1910, the group purchased a c. 1850 house in downtown Acworth for use as a clubhouse. The house was used to host lectures, special events, and dances, and also served as a meeting place for local organizations such as the Girl Scouts of the USA. The Carrie Dyer Reading Club also operated a library in the home which merged with the Cobb County-Marietta Public Library System in 1963 after a new public library was built nearby. The home then returned to residential use.

The following years were not kind to the home. After decades of neglect, the home was purchased by a developer, and plans were drawn up in 2017 to replace the home with a modern structure. Cobb Landmarks immediately contacted the City of Acworth. Cobb Landmarks felt that retaining the original front rooms and facade of the structure was extremely important. The depth of the lot would allow for a substantial modern addition while the front facade and main front rooms could be retained. Acworth Mayor Tommy Allegood heard our concerns and decided to take off his mayor hat and put on his builder hat, purchasing the home and remodeling and enlarging it for a modern buyer.
​
Elizabeth Porter Park - 
Elizabeth Porter History and Mural Committe accepting the award
Construction for Elizabeth Porter Park began in August 2017 and was completed in 2018. Located at the intersection of Allgood Road and North Marietta Parkway, it features a walk/run track, spray pad, and pavilion. A great recreational amenity, the park was also designed to ensure the preservation of local history through the use of public art. Most prominently, a symbolically rich 130-foot mural depicts activities relevant to the site and surrounding neighborhood over time. Secondly, a statue of Elizabeth Porter, the park's namesake and former recreation center director, was incorporated into the park entrance. The statue design shows Mrs. Porter beside two children representing those she worked with during her 22 years as director.

Glover Park Brewery - 
Sam Rambo accepting the award
In 2018 Hank DuPre and Sam Rambo opened Glover Park Brewery in downtown Marietta. The owners rehabilitated a c. 1930 Sears, Roebuck and Company building, which had been significantly altered through the years, and was at one point gutted by a fire. Restoring the historic brick facade, they added historic character back to the interior spaces by using reclaimed materials and fixtures. Downtown Marietta's first brewery, Glover Park Brewery is a wonderful addition to Atlanta Street and the Marietta Square. 

McConnell House - 
City of Acworth and Acworth Arts Alliance accepting the award
This c. 1900 structure housed one of Acworth's first African American businesses. Jeff McConnell operated a shoe repair business from the basement and lived on the main level. The home was rehabilitated by the City of Acworth for use as an Art House by the Acworth Art Alliance.

Willingham-Micheletto House - 
Sara and Jon Micheletto accepting the award
The Willingham-Micheletto House is a stunning 1924 Colonial Revival, made even more stunning by its restoration after a tragic fire in 2016. The home was spared the wrecking ball by Sara and Jon Micheletto, and has been closely restored  to its c. 1924 appearance based on the home's original plans designed by famed Atlanta architect Leila Ross Wilburn.

Before and after view of Carrie Dyer House in Acworth

The Carrie Dyer Reading Club was established in Acworth in 1898. In 1910, the group purchased a c. 1850 house in downtown Acworth for use as a clubhouse. The house was used to host lectures, special events, and dances, and also served as a meeting place for local organizations such as the Girl Scouts of the USA. The Carrie Dyer Reading Club also operated a library in the home which merged with the Cobb County-Marietta Public Library System in 1963 after a new public library was built nearby. The home then returned to residential use.

The following years were not kind to the home. After decades of neglect, the home was purchased by a developer, and plans were drawn up in 2017 to replace the home with a modern structure. Cobb Landmarks immediately contacted the City of Acworth. Cobb Landmarks felt that retaining the original front rooms and facade of the structure was extremely important. The depth of the lot would allow for a substantial modern addition while the front facade and main front rooms could be retained. Acworth Mayor Tommy Allegood heard our concerns and decided to take off his mayor hat and put on his builder hat, purchasing the home and remodeling and enlarging it for a modern buyer.

The Manning Cabin was moved from Powder Springs to the Root House property on September 20, 2018. The chimney, roof, and porch were disassembled for the move. The cabin will be temporarily placed in the Root House parking lot until the new foundation is ready. Since the move, the cabin has been cleared of debris and  a new roof has been installed. Soon, the foundation of the interpretive center will be poured and the cabin will be moved one last time and placed on new concrete piers. 

The 875 sq. ft. cabin will be used as an exhibit space and as an event and lecture space. A large addition to the cabin will contain executive offices, a research library and conference room, public restrooms, and a small catering kitchen. Cobb Landmarks also plans to make the space available to rent for private events and meetings.

The property occupied by the William Root House is leased to Cobb Landmarks from the City of Marietta. In 2016, the Marietta City Council approved a request by Cobb Landmarks to add .082 acres adjacent to the Root House to the lease. This additional land, along with modifications to the existing property, will enable the cabin and smokehouse to be relocated to the Root House property. The addition of these structures will allow Cobb Landmarks to begin hosting temporary and traveling exhibitions, lectures, and large-scale educational programs, which will expand our reach in the community.

An early estimate for construction is $685,000. Cobb Landmarks does not plan to incur any debt related to this project. Funds raised exceeding the construction cost will be set aside for an endowment for the operation and perpetual care of the cabin and additional structures. Construction should be completed by the end of 2019.

The family of the late Joe Kirby has donated his personal collection of photographs, books, research materials, notes, and awards to Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society. Longtime columnist and Editorial Page Editor at the Marietta Daily Journal, Joe wrote several local history books, including The Marietta Country Club: A Centennial History, 1915-2015, The Bell Bomber Plant, and The Lockheed Plant. He also co-authored Then and Now: Marietta and Then and Now: Marietta Revisited, and served as Contributing Editor to Civil War News for many years. Joe passed away on October 30, 2015.

Joe earned a degree in history and communications from James Madison University in 1977. Following graduation, he worked as a general assignment reporter for The Chieftain in Toccoa, Georgia. After moving to the Roswell Neighbor in 1986, Joe took a job at the Marietta Daily Journal in 1987 and was named Editorial Page Editor in 1992. Joe held this position until his death. During his time with the Marietta Daily Journal, Joe received numerous awards, including The Freedom of Information Award, as well as awards from the Georgia Press Association and the Associated Press (Georgia).

Joe was also very involved in the community and served on the boards of the Cobb Library Foundation, Kennesaw Mountain Historical Association, the Marietta Kiwanis Club, and the Marietta Museum of History, and was a longtime member and supporter of Cobb Landmarks.

Cobb Landmarks has recently embarked on a $600,000 capital expansion project entitled The Next Generation, which will enlarge Cobb Landmarks' William Root House Museum campus, adding executive offices, a lecture and event space, and a conference room and research library. Because of the significance of the collection and the donation, Cobb Landmarks is pleased to announce that it will be naming the new research library the Joe Kirby Research Library in his honor. Cobb Landmarks is pleased to be the permanent home of the Joe Kirby collection and looks forward to making these priceless materials available to researchers and historians in the future.   

ABOUT COBB LANDMARKS: Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society has succeeded in preserving and protecting some of Georgia's most historically relevant buildings through the generosity of dedicated supporters - people who care deeply about local history. Each year, Cobb Landmarks provides engaging programs and activities that reach thousands of preservationists, tourists, teachers, college students, and school-age children. Many of these programs are centered on the organization's two historic properties, the William Root House Museum & Garden and the Power Cabin.  

ABOUT THE NEXT GENERATION: Cobb Landmarks plans to move the historic 1830s Manning Cabin to the William Root House Museum property. Once relocated to the Root House site, the 875 sq. ft. cabin will be used as an exhibit space and as an event and lecture space. A large addition to the cabin will contain executive offices, a research library and conference room, public restrooms, and a small catering kitchen. Cobb Landmarks also plans to make the space available to rent for private events and meetings.
 
LEARN MORE: cobblandmarks.com/nextgeneration 

581 Kennesaw Avenue NW, Marietta, GA
$2,499,900   |   5 bed   |   4.5 bath   |   5,407SqFt   |   5.5acres

Oakton, a 5.5-acre estate that includes Marietta’s oldest surviving house, is back on the market. The house was built around 1838 by Judge David Irwin, and it served as the headquarters for Confederate Major General William W. Loring during the battle of Kennesaw Mountain in 1864. Oakton is one of the most historic estates in all of Georgia. A masterful combination of architectural styles, the five-bay stucco facade features octagonal bay windows, ornamented porch posts, a dramatic entry with a decorative glass transom and sidelights, and deep gabled dormers. The landscape includes boxwood gardens that date from the 1870s and outbuildings that have been meticulously restored and maintained.

The following speech was written by Marietta resident Douglas M. Frey and was delivered to the Marietta City Council on September 13, 2017:

My name is Douglas Frey and I live on Trammell Street, which is within walking distance of here.  I’m in Councilman Johnny Walker’s ward.  I moved here with my wife from East Cobb almost twenty years ago because of a house, an historic one, and it’s that house that keeps us here.  That and Marietta Square and Kennesaw Mountain and the historic houses on Church and Cherokee Streets, and those on Kennesaw and Whitlock Avenues. 

But it’s more than just pretty houses.  It’s the people who built and lived in them, and their stories that intrigue us.  It was this curiosity that led me to write a book on Marietta’s architectural history – The Gem City of Georgia.

I think you’d agree that it is our history that makes us unique.  People want to move to Marietta to be surrounded by our lovely historic homes, even if they don’t live in one themselves.  Where else can you eat Sushi in an antebellum warehouse?  Panini sandwiches in a former bank?  Or croissants from one of the first drugstores in the city? 

We’re surrounded by history and this is what gives us comfort and creates the incredible sense of community that we can never take for granted. Take away any of those things I just mentioned and the reason for us to stay diminishes.
That is why I appreciate this occasion to speak with you about an opportunity that could be as everlasting and bountiful as the acquisition of Glover Park has been to our city.  I’m asking you to carefully and sincerely consider saving the historic home known as Oakton through its purchase.  

Oakton is older than the William Root House, the Kennesaw House, the Archibald Howell House, Tranquilla, or Brumby Hall.  It was built not long after the founding of our city, so its history begins with the removal of the Cherokee Indians, and spans “The War Between the States,” where it was occupied by Confederate and Union soldiers.  When Marietta began to recover from the war, Oakton attracted coastal elites, who remodeled the home into its current style and used it as a summer retreat for many decades.  And Oakton has been lived in and lovingly cared for by the same family for nearly 80 years.  It is Marietta’s oldest home and twenty years from today, will celebrate its 200th birthday.
 
Two hundred years is a big deal.  Oakton is arguably the city’s most historic house and we are in peril of losing it.  And if that sad prospect were not enough, the home sits on a treasure trove of ancient oak trees and a boxwood garden that was planted in the 1870s, a garden still flourishing and one that was so admired it was one of only three Marietta gardens featured in the 1933 book, “Garden History of Georgia.”  Of the 160 Georgia gardens featured in the book, Oakton is one of only a handful that survives.  Those irreplaceable gardens would likely be lost, as well.

Now, I have to tell you that I am uncomfortable being here.  I normally don’t believe governments should be involved in projects that could be served by the private sector.  But we see time and time again that sometimes, our government has to play an active role in things that we are reluctant to get involved in, but we know would not get done were it not to lead the charge.

We see city action in the removing of urban blight on Franklin Gateway and are seeing its revival as we speak.  And we see our city preserving our heritage through the declaration of local historic districts and the county actively identifying land to preserve for parks and greenspace.

So, as hesitant as I am standing before you, I know in my heart that you believe as I do, that that there are some things that must be fought for so as not to be discarded and forgotten.  Marietta continues to grow in population and prosperity.  It’s all around us, from the constant expansion of Kennestone Hospital to never-ending improvements on the Square.  And one of the major factors responsible for that growth is the historic nature of the city, mainly manifested in its old neighborhoods and houses.  Lose one and others are sure to follow.

As you perform your due diligence, I want to remind you that the city has successfully cared for Brumby Hall and our first public library, the Sarah Freeman Clarke Library on Church Street.  And in our midst is the old Federal Post Office building that now serves our community as a vibrant art museum.  

These examples may cost the taxpayers money but the value they add to the city cannot be measured.  Or can it?  In 2013, Cobb County tourism supported 16,210 jobs, generated $1.4 billion in direct tourism spending, and over $30 million in local tax revenue.

We may also look to our sister city of Smyrna and its purchase of the Taylor–Brawner House.  That purchase has made such a positive impact on the city that Smyrna officials are currently restoring another historic property nearby for its citizens, the picturesque Reed House on Atlanta Road.  In Kennesaw, we see the success of Smith-Gilbert Gardens with a historic home that dates to the 1880s.   But perhaps the best example of city stewardship of antebellum properties is found in Roswell, which has received national recognition for its efforts and made Roswell a magnet for tourism.  Maybe it’s time to begin a new chapter in the history of Oakton and expand its place in our collective memory.

I only ask that as you entertain this idea, please imagine the pleasure you’ve had throughout the years driving by Oakton and glancing up through the maze of oaks to the beautiful house on the hill, nestled at the base of Kennesaw Mountain.  And, now, think of it gone and ten to twenty houses in its place.

That is the reality that confronts us.  A vital component of the legacy of The Gem City of Georgia is in your hands.  Please help our community save Oakton. 

Oakton, a 5.5-acre estate that includes Marietta’s oldest surviving house, is at risk of being lost to demolition and redevelopment. The Kennesaw Avenue property has been for sale for over 2 years, and the owners have not yet found a buyer who plans to preserve the historic property. The house was built around 1838 by Judge David Irwin, and it served as the headquarters for Confederate Major General William W. Loring during the battle of Kennesaw Mountain in 1864. The home has spent most of its 179-year history in the stewardship of the Wilder and Goodman families.

Oakton is one of the most historic estates in all of Georgia. A masterful combination of architectural styles, the five-bay stucco facade features octagonal bay windows, ornamented porch posts, a dramatic entry with a decorative glass transom and sidelights, and deep gabled dormers. The landscape includes boxwood gardens that date from the 1870s and outbuildings that have been meticulously restored and maintained. But Oakton has no protection from demolition or redevelopment because it is not located in a local historic district.

Preservation of any city’s most historic buildings is an investment in both the past and the future, protecting real places that represent a community’s history so that they may be shared by future generations. Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society, Inc. (Cobb Landmarks) has been preserving, protecting, and promoting the William Root House Museum & Garden for over 20 years, and the City’s other museums also do a fine job sharing Marietta’s rich history. Oakton’s distinguished history and faithful preservation up to the present moment make it a local landmark worth saving.

The time to save Oakton as a valuable link between Marietta’s past and future is now, before a contract with a real estate developer puts the house in irreversible jeopardy. Cobb Landmarks encourages the City of Marietta to acquire the Oakton estate as a local historic landmark, joining Brumby Hall & Gardens, the Sarah Freeman Clarke Library, and the City Water Works buildings under City ownership and care. The estate could be used as a community center, house museum and garden, or some other type of public facility. While there is time to determine its long-term public use, the future of Oakton needs to be secured now, before it is too late. Cobb Landmarks calls on the City of Marietta to take this important step.