The Marietta Museum of History occupies the upper floors of the historic Kennesaw House, an 1845 brick hotel on the square that served as a hospital during the Civil War and is connected to one of the war's stranger episodes — James Andrews' Union Raiders assembled here the night before the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862. The museum traces the history of Cobb County from the Cherokee Nation through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and into the twentieth century.
The collection includes artefacts, photographs, uniforms, and documents that tell the story of the town and the county from the ground level — how ordinary people lived here, what they owned, how they worked. It's a well-organised local history museum that rewards an hour's browsing even for visitors with no prior connection to the area.