The City of Marietta posted the following announcement on its website about Marietta’ William Root House becoming a member of the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Georgia Grown program:
MARIETTA – 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.
About the William Root House
The William Root House was built in about 1845, and was the home of William Root and his wife Hannah.
William Root was a druggist who was born in Philadelphia. He moved to Marietta in 1839 to open a drug and general store. He married Hannah Rhemer Simpson a year later, and they built the house at what is now Church and Lemon streets.
It was later moved to face Lemon Street, and was owned by William Root until 1886.
Afterwards it had a series of owners and went into steady decline, and in the 1940s was split into apartments.
By the 1980s, the house was in serious disrepair and scheduled for demolition.
A preservation effort began, and in 1989 Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society bought the house and moved it to its current location at 80 North Marietta Pkwy NW, Marietta, GA 30060.
