This booklet is a companion piece to the Kennesaw (Big Shanty) in the 19^th Century booklet published in 2000. It traces significant events in the history of Kennesaw from 1900 to today, including:

§ The 1962 centennial run of the Civil War locomotive General from Atlanta to Chattanooga (which included a stop at Kennesaw)

§ The 1972 return of the General to Kennesaw for permanent display in the Big Shanty Museum (now the Kennesaw Civil War Museum)

§ The 1982 passage of the law requiring all heads of households to own an operating firearm and ammunition

§ The 1997/1998 archaeological dig to find the foundations of the Lacy Hotel

§ The 2003 opening of the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, which houses the Glover steam locomotive works collection, as well as the Civil War locomotive General

Along the way, we’ll trace the transition of Kennesaw from a rural small town to an important part of the blossoming Atlanta Metropolitan area.

Be sure to visit the Kennesaw Depot Museum, which contains numerous interesting displays on the history of the City of Kennesaw

1900-1950

Kennesaw prospered during the beginning part of the 20^th century, spurred by cotton revenue, and Kennesaw’s importance as a shipping center. Many of the prominent buildings in town were constructed during this period, including the three-story Masonic Hall/dry goods store (built by Mayor James Lewis c. 1902), the Kennesaw State Bank building (c. 1905), and the W&A depot (finished in 1908). The Kennesaw State Bank was chartered c. 1910, and capitalized for $25,000.

This c. 1908 photo shows (from left to right) a store, a N C & St. L water tower, a 19^th-century railroad shanty, and the modern-day depot.

This c. 1910 photo shows the General Store on the first floor of the three story brick building. L. Scroggs stands in the center. (Rachel Shelton collection)

“This picture is from the collection of Mrs. Frances Thompson. From what I can gather, the sign on the 2nd building from left reads H. H. Pyron and McClure Grocery. The sign on the lower part of the two story building reads Bank of Kennesaw. I am told that the tree in the left of the picture was a meeting place for the KKK in the early 1930s.” (Joe Bozeman)

Mark Smith, in an unpublished part of his 1980 History of Kennesaw, gives us a flavor of what the City was like during this period:

“Kennesaw was still a rural community, but now and then an automobile began to appear for in 1911 the town council set the speed limit at eight miles an hour. The railroad was the main source of supplies as evidenced by the old way bills recovered from the Depot. Mr. Gatlin received his kegs of cider every two weeks along with soap and other wares for his store on Cherokee Street. Mr. [John] Lewis was receiving guano and storing it in his warehouse, and for his retail store [the three-story brick building on Main Street] he was getting dry goods and groceries and barrels of molasses. Many other people who ordered furniture and tools from mail order houses came to the depot after the daily local freight had delivered its consignments. Not only was the railroad delivering freight but it picked up milk to carry to Atlanta and cotton from the gins in Kennesaw and nearby areas.

There seemed to be but three types of employment during those years, you either owned a store or worked in one, or you worked for the railroad or you farmed. There were several farms within the city limits, the residences were only along the three main streets, Cherokee, Harris or Moon Station Road, and Main or Marietta streets.

In 1914, Mr. Lewis was granted a franchise to furnish electricity for the city but for some reason he must not have followed though with his plans. Another franchise was granted him in 1917 and then he did set up his generating plant in the basement of his warehouse [the recently demolished building next to the museum]. It was powered with a gasoline engine and the power generated was kept in storage batteries. I am told that although the generator ran all day, when it was cut off at 9 PM the lights became considerably dimmer. They had brownouts in those days too. The city voted to install 17 street lights on the principal streets for which they paid Mr. Lewis $537. He later turned his lines and equipment over to the Georgia Power Company, which had a prior franchise but had never exercised it.

In 1911, the City Council passed a resolution calling on the N. C. & St. Louis Railroad to pay the city for water used from the Public Spring. A yearly fee of $100.00 was agreed upon which was of considerable help to the city’s finances.

The Southern Bell Telephone Company was granted a franchise about this time allowing them to erect poles and lines but there were very few customers. I am told that there was telephone service from Acworth to Kennesaw.” (History of Kennesaw, Mark Smith, unpublished section)

This 1917 photo shows (from left to right) the stone marker commemorating the General, the N C & St. L water tower, and the depot, proudly displaying the words “Kennesaw”. (Mark Smith collection)

As the 1920s dawned, we again pick up with an unpublished section from Mark Smith’s History of Kennesaw:

“One of the notable events of this decade was the paving of the Dixie Highway through town and the subsequent changing of some of the streets…The curve below the present Baptist Church was a dangerous one and the crosses signifying a death there were numerous. In later years your status as a teen-ager was determined by how fast you could take the curve without rolling your car. If you did roll it and were able to walk away you were a super hero.

c. 1935 photo showing Robertson and Son Garage on the Dixie Highway (Fred Robertson, Jr. collection)

By crossing the tracks with an overhead bridge progress did away with another landmark, the town ball field. Homeplate was near the present intersection of Sardis and South Main Streets, with the batter hitting toward the northeast…

In the early twenties, Kennesaw had a very good country ball club, managed by one Joe Gluck, and they played against all the neighboring communities – Dallas, Woodstock, Emerson and Hill’s Park in Atlanta and even as far away as Copper Hill, Tennessee. The team was called “The Kennesaw Smokers”, advertising a popular brand of cigars of those days…

1950s photo of the Kennesaw Smokers – from the collection of Mrs. Frances Thompson

But the young folks had other means of recreation, there were tennis courts in the park in front of the stores, and a lighted one on the lot next to Morris Brook’s residence. Players paid ten cents a game to help pay for the lighting. Croquet was popular too at that time and a checker game was going on nearly every day, especially in front of Ben Hill’s store.

This was the era when people were traveling on trains, and the favorite Sunday afternoon diversion was to gather at the Depot and see who got on and off the train. Commuters books sold for $3.00 per week, and many young people took advantage of the train schedules to work in Atlanta and live at home. The early train left at 7 AM, then there was one at 9 AM and the “Rome” train came through at 10 AM, and was used by those who wished to shop in town. The up train left Atlanta at 5 PM, arriving in Kennesaw at 6 PM. There was also a later one leaving Atlanta at 9 PM for late shoppers or overtime workers.

The Street Tax had increased to $3.00 and the property tax was twenty cents per thousand valuation, but a days work was still only $1.00, and people were glad to get that much. The local rates for electricity were $1.66 minimum, less 10% in ten days. In 1929 proposals were made for a survey for the purpose of installing waterworks for the city, but it was some twenty years before it came to pass.” (History of Kennesaw, Mark Smith, unpublished section)

1920 bank draft – Kennesaw State Bank

c. 1934 photo of Kennesaw Depot (Colonel James Bogle collection))

The town’s wealth would be wiped out by the collapse of the cotton industry (victim of the boll weevil), and the depression in the 1930s. It would not recover until the 1980s.

The table below captures significant events in the early part of the century.

Kennesaw in the Early 20^th Century
Date	Activity
c. 1902	James Lewis builds the 3-story brick building on the corner of Main & Lewis Sts. (first use: dry goods). James Lewis would serve three different stints as mayor of Kennesaw.
c. 1905	§ Kennesaw State Bank building erected (next to the brick building) § City Council authorizes a "Street Boss” to make a trough & have it placed at the public pump for watering stock
1908	§ Mayor and council order local census - 500 people counted § Modern-day depot is completed
c. 1909	Warehouse next to the modern day museum was built
c. 1910	Kennesaw State Bank chartered; capitalized for $25,000
1911	City starts charging Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad $100 a year for use of local spring water
c. 1911	Southern Bell granted telephone franchise; auto speed limit is 8 mph
1917	First electrical generating plant created in basement of a Cherokee St. warehouse
c. 1920	"Kennesaw Smokers" semi-pro baseball team
c. 1920	Paving of the Dixie Highway; original Main St. is re-routed to present-day configuration
c. 1920	Commuter trains to Atlanta - 6am, 9am, 10am; commuter books sell for $3.00/week
c. 1928	Original cotton mill built on site of present day museum; burned down in 1945
March, 1938	The Kennesaw Consolidated School (1908) burns to the ground (In 1938, the school had 384 students, and 11 teachers)

The 1940 edition of Georgia: The WPA Guide to Its Towns and Countryside gives the following entry for Kennesaw. Note that the theory regarding the source of the name “Big Shanty” is incorrect:

“Kennesaw (1,093 alt., 426 pop.), was for many years known as Big Shanty because it was the site of the Big Shanty Distillery Company. The village was not incorporated until 1887, when it was given its present name. On June 11, 1861, Camp McDonald, a training camp for Confederate soldiers, was established here. Although numerous Union troops passed through the town, there was little action until October 4, 1864, when a Confederate force attacked a small Federal garrison and took a number of prisoners after a short encounter. Adjacent to the railroad tracks (L), marked and enclosed by a fence, is the site where the engine General was seized by Andrews’ raiders.” (from the 1940 “Georgia: The WPA Guide to Its Towns and Countryside”, re-printed by the University of South Carolina Press in 1990)

1950-today

Photo from the collection of Dain Schult. "This is a sight that will never be seen again. Nashville, Chattanooga, & St Louis F Unit streaking northbound through Kennesaw in the 1950's. This engine is pulling the "Dixie Flyer", a "Top Notch" passenger train with a final destination of Chicago." (Joe Bozeman)

The early 1950s brought mostly bad news for the City of Kennesaw. The last cotton gin closed. The Kennesaw State Bank closed its doors in 1952. Highway 41 by-passed the city center. The population of Kennesaw in 1950 was 564 – a mere 64 people more than a city census conducted in 1908 showed.

Starting in the late-1950s, this tiny town slowly started to rebuild the prominence it had held in years gone by. In 1957, Disney released The Great Locomotive Chase, starring Fess Parker, re-educating the nation about the events that had occurred here in 1862. On April 14, 1962 the General retraced its run from Kennesaw (Big Shanty) to Chattanooga, under it’s own steam, garnering worldwide attention. On February 19, 1972, after a prolonged court battle with the City of Chattanooga, the General was placed on permanent display in the Big Shanty Museum (now the Kennesaw Civil War Museum). And on May 1, 1982, the Kennesaw City Council unanimously passed a law that stated:

“Every head of household residing in the City Limits of the City of Kennesaw is required to maintain a fire arm, together with ammunition therefore.”

We will examine the latter three events in more detail below.

Kennesaw Police Department in 1969 (photo provided by Joe Bozeman)

1962 Centennial Run of the General

On April 14, 1962, the reconditioned (by the Louisville & Nashville RR) General ran under it’s own steam from Tilford Yard in Atlanta to Chattanooga. The run was in commemoration of the 100^th anniversary of the Andrew’s Raid on April 12, 1862.

Trains magazine (July 1962) estimates that 100,000 people viewed the centennial run of the General, including crowds of 10,000 in Kennesaw (where the train was stolen), and 12,000 in Ringgold (where the chase ended). Kennesaw went so far as to erect false storefronts on the west side of Main Street to give the town a fuller and more “old time” feeling.

The trip from Atlanta to Chattanooga took about 8 hours. The General is reported to have reached a speed of 50 mph between Ringgold and Chattanooga.

The General arrives in Kennesaw (photo by Joe McTyre Photography)

(Frank Burt Family collection)

Return of the General to Kennesaw

After the centennial run of the General in 1962, it was returned to Chattanooga for display in Union Station. After a three-year dispute between Chattanooga, TN and the State of Georgia (see table below), the General was presented to the State of Georgia in 1972. In February 1972, the train was moved to Kennesaw on a railroad flatcar, transferred to the back of a truck, and eventually eased into the back of the current Kennesaw Civil War Museum. Speakers on the dreary February day included Kennesaw Mayor Louis Watts and Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter.

On April 12, 1972, the Big Shanty Museum (now the Kennesaw Civil War Museum) opened to the public in the old Frey cotton mill. The General had come home to Kennesaw!

(Photos by Joe Bozeman)

Return of the General to Kennesaw
Date	Activity
1901 - 1961	The General is displayed in Union Station, Chattanooga, Tennessee
1961	The General is reconditioned to run under its own steam by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad (successor to the Western & Atlantic)
April 14, 1962	The General retraces its run from Big Shanty (Kennesaw) to Chattanooga, where it is again displayed
February 3, 1967	The L&N RR gives the General to the State of Georgia
April 5, 1967	Governor Lestor Maddox signs a resolution calling for the return of the General to Kennesaw
September 12, 1967	The General is enroute to Kennesaw, when Chattanooga obtains a court order to return the engine to Chattanooga
November 9, 1970	The Supreme Court of the United States refuses to overturn a lower court ruling granting ownership of the General to the L&N RR!
February 18, 1972	The General is presented to the State of Georgia by the L&N railroad
February 19, 1972	The General is placed in the Big Shanty museum (now the Kennesaw Civil War Museum)
April 12, 1972	The Big Shanty Museum (now the Kennesaw Civil War Museum ) opens, 110 years after the Andrews Raid

One other event occurred in the 1970s that we should acknowledge – Wildman’s Civil War Surplus Shop, owned by Dent Myers, opened in 1971.

Wildman's Civil War Surplus and Herb Shop

The Gun Law

Kennesaw rocked the world when on May 1, 1982, the Kennesaw City Council unanimously passed a law requiring all heads of households to maintain a firearm and ammunition. The law was passed partly in response to a law passed in Morton Grove, Illinois (June, 1981) banning private possession of handguns. Since passage of the law, the burglary rate in Kennesaw has gone down significantly, while the rate in Morton Grove has gone up.

"Before the law was passed we had 11 burglaries per 1000 in population. As of 1992 we had 2.7 burglaries per 1000 population. Over the years, it may fluctuate 1% higher, or 1 or 2% lower, but its something that's stayed in line from '83 all the way up to today." (Kennesaw Police Chief Dwaine Wilson, 1994)

As of 2000, the burglary rate in Kennesaw was even lower – making it one of the safest cities of its size in the United States. It is all the more astonishing given that Kennesaw has quadrupled in size since passage of the gun law:

"With the fast growth of the population, and the location of the city in relation to I-75 and 41 coming right through town, all indications are that the crime rate should have gone up. And instead it has gone down a tremendous amount." (Former Mayor J.O. Stephenson, a city councilman when the gun law was passed)

The law is part of the Civil Defense and Disaster Relief section of the town code. It has several significant exemptions:

· Those that suffer from physical disabilities

· Those who conscientiously oppose use of firearms

· Convicted felons

· Paupers

While no one has ever been charged under the Kennesaw gun law, it remains an active law – and seems to be having a significant impact on crime.

This 1985 photo of the Kennesaw City Council shows many of the key figures in the passage of the gun law, including Mayor Darvin Purdy (sitting, center), Fred Bentley Sr. (sitting, left) and J.O. Stephenson (standing, second from left). (City of Kennesaw)

1980/1990s

In the 1980s, Kennesaw began to increase rapidly in population and to thrive economically, as Town Center Mall was constructed nearby, and Kennesaw increasingly transformed from being a sleepy rural town to being a key part of the growing Atlanta Metropolitan area. The population grew from 5,095 in 1980 to over 21,000 today. Significant improvements to the downtown area are underway as we speak.

Kennesaw Population figures
Year	Population
1860	718 [1]
1880	200 [2]
1900	320
1908	500 [3]
1940	426
1950	564
1960	1,507
1970	3,548
1980	5,095
1990	8,936
2000	21,675

Significant steps have been taken to preserve the history of the City of Kennesaw in the last decade. In 1995, the Historic Preservation Commission began to meet, to help preserve the character of Kennesaw’s five historic districts. The Kennesaw Historical Society, in 2000, published Kennesaw (Big Shanty) in the 19^th Century, and continues to provide educational programs available to the public. The W&A railroad depot has been completely remodeled, inside and out, and a small museum dedicated to the history of the City of Kennesaw opened in April 2001.

The Lacy Hotel dig

From March - August, 1997, and March - May, 1998, an archaeological excavation was conducted to find the foundations of Kennesaw’s most famous building – the Lacy Hotel. The Lacy Hotel was the starting point of the 1862 Andrews Raid, and was burned to the ground by William Tecumseh Sherman’s forces in November of 1864.

The dig was conducted by Dr. Betty Smith of Kennesaw State University, her husband Don, and students from KSU. Among the interesting c. 1860 finds:

“Scattered over the area are small shards of plain or embossed whiteware typical of the 1860s. Small quantities of other ceramics - blue shell edge, transfer print, banded ware, and spatterware - all also appropriate for the 1860s - have also been found.

Civil War military presence at the site is represented by a few dropped lead bullets (unfired) and a few uniform buttons.” (Archaeology of the Lacy Hotel Site, Betty A. Smith, Kennesaw State University, June 1998)

So, was the Lacy Hotel found? We quote from Dr. Smith’s final report:

“Based upon the archaeological research, the work of Dr. Frost and his students, and the historic documents pertaining to the site which have been found to date, I think that the hotel lies to the east of our excavations, within the triangular plot of land that GT Carrie sold to the state of Georgia in 1858 (and currently leased by the CSX Railroad). The Big Shanty eating house/hotel existed only five or six years - that is an awfully short time span, archaeologically speaking, and so finding physical evidence of the site may be difficult. The problem is compounded by the continued use of the property since the end of the war. It may be that any structural remains of the main building and outbuildings are buried beneath several feet of fill and at least part of the complex is most likely beneath the paved parking lot [next to the RR Depot].” (Archaeology of the Lacy Hotel Site, Betty A. Smith, Kennesaw State University, June 1998)

Dr. Betty Smith, holding an artifact from the Lacy Hotel dig

Students from Kennesaw State University working on the Lacy Hotel Dig in 1997

Hotel “whiteware” (not manufactured after 1860) fragments showing signs of fire damage. Burned by William Tecumseh Sherman in November of 1864?

21^st Century - Southern Museum opens

The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History opened for business on March 30, 2003. The new 40,000 square foot museum houses displays on three major areas of focus - the Civil War (especially, Civil War railroading), the Glover steam locomotive works, and the Great Locomotive Chase (The General is still displayed in pretty much the same space as it was before the new museum complex was built around it).

Museum ribbon cutting - March 30, 2003

Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History

Restored Glover patterns

Restored Glover steam locomotive

Appendix – Kennesaw Historical Society Historic Preservation Award Winners

Year	Name	Photo
1993	Dent Myers, Cathy Fletcher
1994	Mark Smith
1995	John Haynie, Ben Robertson
1996	Fred Bentley, Sr.
1997	Betty, Don, & Ford Smith
1998	Richard L. Hillman
1999	Frey Family
2000	Harper Harris
2001	Jeff Drobney
2002	Paul Chastain
2003	Bright Side Community Newspapers
2004	Joe Bozeman
2005	Colonel James Bogle

Sources

· Archaeology of the Lacy Hotel Site, Betty A. Smith, Kennesaw State University, June 1998

· City of Kennesaw Police Department Yearly Statistics, 1981 - 1993.

· Georgia: The WPA Guide to Its Towns and Countryside”, re-printed by the University of South Carolina Press in 1990

· History of Kennesaw, by Mark H. Smith (Kennesaw Gazette, 1980/81)

· History of Kennesaw: 1900 - 1930, by Mark H. Smith, unpublished

· Interview with Mayor J.O. Stephenson and Police Chief Dwaine Wilson, November 4, 1993, at Kennesaw City Hall, conducted by Robert Jones and Carolyn TeBeest.

· Kennesaw (Big Shanty) in the 19^th Century, Robert Jones, Kennesaw Historical Society, 2000

· The Law Heard ‘Round the World: An Examination of the Kennesaw Gun Law and its Effect on the Community, Robert Jones, Kennesaw Historical Society, 1994

· Trains, July 1962, Kalmbach Publishing Co.

· Photo credits: Mrs. Frances Thompson, Dain Schult, Carolyn Bozeman, Joe Bozeman, Joe McTyre Photography, C. F. Gaines, Rachel Shelton, Mark Smith, Colonel James Bogle, City of Kennesaw, Fred Robertson, Jr. All color photos by Robert Jones, unless otherwise marked.

· Thanks to Joe Bozeman for additional text on photo captions

[1] From 1860 Cobb County Census for the Big Shanty area

[2] From Sholes Gazette

[3] City of Kennesaw census

Name

Photo