SMYRNA, Georgia — Historian and author William P. Marchione sought to dispel a series of myths that have long surrounded the city’s incorporation.
The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the city in 1872; it was subsequently reincorporated in 1897.
While records from the city’s earliest years were presumed to have been destroyed in a fire in the early 20th century, Marchione presented evidence that a fire likely was not to blame. Rather, in his conclusion, while Smyrna was incorporated in 1872, it did not actually begin functioning as a municipality until 1900.
He also questioned whether the Western & Atlantic Railroad, chartered in 1836 and which reached Smyrna in 1842, contributed significantly to the town’s economic development.
Marchione relied on a close analysis of articles published in Cobb County’s principal newspaper of that era, The Marietta Journal, the only substantial body of information that exists relating to Smyrna’s experience from 1872 to 1900, to reach these conclusions.
“He’s done a number of lectures for us, and we’re excited about this one, because it’s based on original research,” Smyrna Public Library Director Mary Moore told the audience that turned out for Marchione’s presentation. “He spent a year and a half closely scrutinizing the 1872 to 1900 period of Smyrna’s history, and we’re very lucky to have a historian in the community who does this type of in-depth research for us.”
The lecture, “The City That Never Was: Fact and Fallacy in the Early History of Smyrna, Georgia, 1872-1910,” was part of the Sunday Lecture Series offerings sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library.
The next lecture in the library’s Sunday Series, presented by author and historian Todd DeFeo, will highlight some of the lesser-known railroad stories with Smyrna connections. His original research on the topic includes first-hand accounts and newspaper research.
Entitled “Smyrna and the Railroad: The People Who Ran (and Rode) the Trains,” the event will occur at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 7, in the Smyrna Public Library.
For more information, visit FriendsOfSmyrnaLibrary.com.