Marietta, GA news and local guide

Marietta was first chosen as the hub of the new Western and Atlantic Railroad, and roadbed and trestles were built north of town by 1838. Political wrangling halted work in 1840, and in 1842 the railroad's new managers moved the hub to the place that became Atlanta. When the line opened in 1850 Marietta still prospered. The businessman John Glover, who arrived in 1848, became mayor when the city incorporated in 1852. Dr. Carey Cox, recognized as the county's first physician, promoted a "water cure" that drew tourists. The Georgia Military Institute was built in 1851 and the first bank opened in 1855, and fire swept much of the city three times in the 1850s. In April 1862 James Andrews, a civilian working with the Union Army, and a party of Union soldiers in civilian clothes spent the night at the Fletcher House hotel, now the Marietta Museum of History, across from the railroad. The next day the group, later known as Andrews' Raiders, seized a train to wreck the line toward Chattanooga. In 1864 Oakton served as the headquarters of Major General Loring during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Sources Wikipedia: Marietta, Georgia