William Root House Joins 'Georgia Grown' Program

Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society is excited to share that the William Root House is now a member of Georgia Grown, a marketing and economic development program of the Georgia Department of Agriculture. The Root House was built circa 1845 for Hannah and William Root, early settlers of Marietta. Today the home and its gardens are operated as a museum. William Root was one of Marietta’s earliest merchants and its first druggist. Born in Philadelphia in 1815, William moved to Marietta in August 1839 to open a drug/mercantile store on the Marietta Square. 

The gardens at the William Root House have been reconstructed to reflect the gardening practices of the mid-19th century. All of the vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, decorative flowers, and blooming shrubs found in the garden today were researched for availability in Georgia during the 1850s. Homes like the Root House typically had three distinct gardens: an ornamental garden in front of the house with flowers and shrubs, a kitchen garden near the cookhouse with culinary and medicinal herbs, and a vegetable garden at the back of the property.

Since 1990, the Master Gardener Volunteers of Cobb County have managed the Root House gardens as one of their many and varied gardening projects. Dedicated volunteer gardeners demonstrate to visitors the importance of heirloom gardening. The Georgia Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Program connects UGA Extension, plant enthusiasts, and communities across the state. By joining the Georgia Grown program, Cobb Landmarks hopes to promote the Root House property as a Georgia agritourism site. 
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