William Root House (photo by Larry Felton Johnson)

The William Root House will present a lecture entitled “Civil War Soldier Photography” on March 16, 2024, at 6 p.m. The presenter will be historian and collector Chad Carlson.

The Root House is located at 80 North Marietta Pkwy NW, Marietta, GA 30060.

According to the news release for the lecture on the City of Marietta website, “Carlson will discuss the history of Civil War era photography and share details about images from his personal collection.”

“Carlson graduated from Georgia State University and holds a graduate degree in Historic Preservation. 

“Professionally, he serves as a historian at the Georgia Department of Transportation, using his expertise to advance the preservation of Georgia history. 

“Space is limited and tickets must be purchased in advance online at WilliamRootHouse.com.”

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 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.

Afterward, it had a series of owners and went into steady decline, and in the 1940s, it 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.

According to promotional materials for the museum, “While the home and grounds have been meticulously restored to their 1860 appearance, interactive electronic displays have been added to tell the story of the Root family and their enslaved house servants.”