One of Marietta’s oldest remaining residences is the William Root House Museum and Garden. The museum depicts the lives of a typical Georgia middle-class family around 1850. The Root House, built in 1845 by early pioneers Hannah and William Root, is one of just a few structures that survived Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. Until the 1940s, the home was utilized as a single-family residence before being partitioned into flats. The home had fallen into ruin by the late 1980s and was slated for removal. It was bought by the Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society and restored to its 1845 look when it was discovered to be one of Marietta’s oldest buildings. The interiors are adorned with authentic items of regional furniture for the historical period as if the residents had just gone. The Root family’s life and times, as well as the slaves who served in their house, are chronicled in the museum, which has been fully restored to its original 1845 look. The Root House has original period furnishings in every room, allowing visitors to learn about the Root family and life in Georgia during the Civil War. The tour includes an opportunity to touch old items and play 19th-century activities, as well as viewing historic records, family pictures, and more on modern electronic tablets. Outside, visitors may witness a replicated kitchen with a functional 1850s cook-stove, as well as a garden with flower beds and vegetables that were accessible in the region before to 1860. The garden is full of edible plants as well as medicinal herbs that would have aided William Root in his work as a pharmacist. The museum is furnished with furniture created by local artists. The c. 1830 log house is utilized to illustrate the history of the enslaved people who worked at the Root House and would have resided in a cabin identical to this one. Next to the cabin, a new garden sculpture has been created. Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society collaborated with Kennesaw State University’s School of Art and Design on the project. On June 12, 2021, the sculpture was revealed. It is dedicated to the more than 1,200 enslaved people who lived in Marietta prior to 1860 but whose names were never documented and are now lost to time. The William Root House has been honored by the Georgia Association of Museums for excellence in exhibition theory, design, and implementation, praising the use of touchscreen technology as well as interpretation of domestic slavery in the urban south. The William Root House is centrally located in downtown Marietta and offers indoor and outdoor event rooms for groups of 20 to 150 people.

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