Marietta’s William Root House offers a “pay what you can” admission April 6-9

William Root House, a two-story white wooden house with an external chimney surrounded by a picket fenceWilliam Root House -- photo by Larry Felton Johnson

The historic pre-Civil War William Root House Museum is offering a special deal for visitors on April 6-9. During that date range visitors to the museum can pay whatever they feel they can afford, or nothing at all.

The usual admission is $9 for adults (18+), $6 for students (6-17), and $7 for seniors (65+).

According to the announcement about this special discount posted on the City of Marietta website:

Cobb Landmarks, which owns and operates the William Root House, recently invested roughly $500,000 in expanding the Root House property, including construction of a Visitor Center and Gift Shop. New interactive touchscreens installed throughout the museum present audio/visual content to guests. In 2021 the Georgia Association of Museums recognized the William Root House for “excellence in exhibition theory, planning, and implementation,” specifically commending the museum’s innovative use of touchscreen technology.

The Root House is designated a Georgia Agritourism Site by Georgia Grown, a project of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

According the news release:

The gardens at the Root House have been reconstructed to reflect the gardening practices of the mid-19th century. All the vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, decorative flowers, and blooming shrubs found in the garden have been researched for availability in Georgia during the 1850s.

Visit http://www.WilliamRootHouse.com for more information. To donate to the museum, visit https://www.CobbLandmarks.com/Give.

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.

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.

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 %

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

Median Housing Value $ 287,600

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

Total Housing Units 26,878

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

Number of Firms 10,501

Source: 2012 Survey of Business Owners: Company Summary

Male Median Income $ 36,894

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

Female Median Income $ 29,239

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

Veterans 3,132

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

Percent of households with a broadband Internet subscription 84.9 %

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