The 2,923-acre Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park (nps.gov/kemo/index.htm), located three miles west of Marietta, is the site of some of the heaviest fighting during the Atlanta campaign, from June 19, 1864 through July 2, 1864. It includes three battlefield areas and approximately 20 buildings that are open to the public. In Marietta, the Kennesaw House, built in 1845, was used as a Confederate hospital and a morgue as well as the headquarters for the Union Army toward the end of the war. It was saved from being burnt by General Sherman; the owner was a Northern sympathizer.
Kennesaw Mountain is named after the Cherokee word "Gah-nee-sah," which means "cemetery" or "burial ground." The Marietta Museum of History, located on the second floor of the Kennesaw House, has a gallery devoted to the early Cherokee inhabitants of the area. It contains original pottery, a collection of rare arrowheads called "bird tips," as well as a bible written in the Cherokee language dated 1860. Stories about the Trail of Tears---the displacement of the Cherokee from their native lands---are illustrated.
Travel back to the 1930s with a visit to the Earl Smith Strand Theatre (earlsmithstrand.org) for a backstage tour. Established in 1935, this Art Deco movie house closed its doors in 1976 but was reopened in 2002 after a successful renovation campaign. It is open from Thursday through Sunday and guided tours are offered on Thursday mornings. The "Gone with the Wind" Museum (mariettaga.gov), located in downtown Marietta, includes a wide array of movie memorabilia that range from a gown worn by Vivien Leigh to promotional pieces such as film posters and contracts. It is open from Monday through Saturday and group tours are also available.
The Ghosts of Marietta tour company, based in Marietta, offers four types of haunted tours that range from one to two hours in length: "Ghosts of Marietta" Walking Ghost Tour (a lantern-lit tour led by a knowledgeable guide), the "Scary-etta Trolley Ghost Tour" on the Marietta Historic Trolley, the "Spirits and Spirits Tour" that includes one glass of wine and the "Haunted Pub Crawl," which includes a tour of the most haunted bars in Marietta.
