Marietta History Center honored for tombstone cleaning workshops

Cleaning tombstones is not as straightforward as it might seem, and a lot of tombstones have been damaged by the improper use of cleaning agents and techniques.

The Marietta History Center won an honorable mention from the Georgia Association of Museums for a series of workshops the center has been running to teach residents to clean markers without damaging them.

The City of Marietta posted the following information about this recognition of the MHC’s work on the city’s website:

MARIETTA —The Marietta History Center’s Tombstone Cleaning Workshops have been awarded an Honorable Mention for Education program of the year by the Georgia Association of Museums. This year’s conference was in held in Thomasville, Georgia with over 100 attendees from across the state.

The Tombstone Cleaning Workshops were designed, implemented, and presented by Collections Manager, Christa McCay, with the hope to show others how to properly care for tombstones. The workshops were held in small groups with proper techniques and supplies shown to allow the participants to be hands on. During the hands-on program the same methods that are utilized by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Parks Service are taught and used by those participating in the workshops.
The Georgia Association of Museums is a statewide organization dedicated to serving a diverse membership in a way that establishes a responsive network, provides a resource base, and promotes professionalism so that Georgia’s museum community is strong, effective, and proactive.
The Marietta History Center will be offering more Tombstone Cleaning Workshops in the Spring. For more information about the program or events please visit us at www.MariettaHistory.org

About the City of Marietta

The City of Marietta is the county seat of Cobb County. The latest estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau puts the population of the city at 60,867 which makes it the largest city in Cobb County by population.

However, the city is in a neck-and-neck race with fast-growing Smyrna, whose population was 56,666 at the last estimate.

Here are a few fast facts from the Census Bureau

Marietta city, Georgia

2019 Population Estimates 60,867

Source: Vintage 2019 Population Estimates

Median Household Income $ 57,452

Source: 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Persons in poverty, percent 14.0 %

Source: 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Educational Attainment: Percent high school graduate or higher 87.7 %

Source: 2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Persons without health insurance, percent 18.1 %