America250 Events Fill July Calendar at Switzer Library in Marietta

Cobb County Public Library distributed the following announcement about special events in the Switzer Library‘s Georgia Room:

The Georgia Room is celebrating America250 with special programs on the historical journey of the nation in July at the Charles D. Switzer Library in downtown Marietta.

Cobb County Public Library is part of the statewide Georgia Reads for America250 initiative observing the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and promoting civic literacy. The Georgia Room is also a partner of the City of Marietta’s 250 in Marietta program.

The upcoming Georgia Room special programs at Switzer Library include:

Revolutionary Soldiers of Marietta National Cemetery, a special presentation by historian Brad Quinlan at 6 p.m. Monday is about John Hames and John Clark. The July 6 program will cover their lives, service, lasting legacy and how these soldiers came to be buried in Marietta.

Switzer Library will take part in Sharing the Spirit of America, a nationwide simultaneous reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday, July 8 in the Georgia Room. The Sharing the Spirit of America readings throughout the country will reenact the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon at the Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) on July 8, 1776. The Georgia Room event will begin at 5:45 p.m. July 8 and the reading will begin at precisely 6 p.m. 

The July meeting of The Georgia Room’s history book club Peach Reads will feature Jimmy Carter’s historical novel The Hornet’s Nest. The book club will discuss Carter’s storytelling set in the American Revolution in the South, his portrayal of Georgia’s early history, and how fiction and historical memory intersection. This America250 program will meet in The Georgia Room 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 14.

The American Revolution: Rights, Empire, and the Crisis of Liberty, a presentation by historian James Camp will be delivered on Monday, July 20 at 6 p.m. The program will be about how the American Revolution emerged from British legal traditions, historical precedents and the far-reaching consequences of the Seven Years’ War. The presentation will cover the Enlightenment and the evolution of the rights of the English and how they relate to the expectations of the American colonists.

In collaboration with Cobb Landmarks, The Georgia Room presents American Revolution Trivia 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 21. The game, which will include opportunities to win prizes for correctly answering questions on the founding of the United States and Georgia history, will be played with each group or individual participant using the Kahoot app.

A historic letter written by George Washington is on display for the first time in The Georgia Room for the entire month of July. This is a rare opportunity to view this piece of history and reflect on the legacy of America’s first president. The memorandum, written by Washington to his nephew and plantation manager, Howell Lewis, was discovered in the Georgia Room collection and authenticated. Washington in the document outlines work to be completed around Mount Vernon.

The Georgia Room is located in the library at 266 Roswell Street NE, near the Marietta Square.

For information on Georgia Room events and resources visit cobbcounty.gov/library/library-learning-programs/georgia-room or call 770-528-2333.