This historical marker sits in front of a private house (Rober McAfee's House) off of Bells Ferry…read moreand Barrett Parkway in Marietta. It's across the street from the Bells Ferry Elementary School. Nearby businesses includes a CVS and a Publix Grocery Store. There is no parking around the area unless you park in the shopping strip behind the house and walk around to it. The historical marker explains how it was the battle of Nooday Creek;(part of Sherman's march to the sea campaign ) where parts of it was fought on Bells Ferry that caused Robert McAfee's house to be used as headquarters for the Union troops during the Civil war. The marker reads as the following: After the seizure of Big Shanty (Kennesaw) by Sherman´s forces, June 9, 1864, Brig. Gen. Kenner Garrard´s cav. div. [US] was posted on the left flank during operations on the Kennesaw Mountain front. Garrard´s cav. guarded Noonday Creek valley from Woodstock to the left of the 17th A. C. (in the rugged Brushy Mtn. area), with patrols on the Canton, Bell´s Ferry & Alabama roads. Daily conflict with his opponent -- Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler´s Cavalry [CS] -- marked the period from June 11 to July 3. The Robert McAfee house was Garrard´s h´dq´rs, during a portion of this period. 033-48 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1954 1129th review 1/7/2018 49th for 2018

I recently visited the Town of Cartersville, GA and came across a number of important sites…read morehighlighting African-American History. I was pleased to discover my 2nd Bench By The Road after recently (and quite accidentally) finding my first one on Hilton Head Island inside Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park. SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS SITE To commemorate the role of African-Americans in building the historic W&A railroad and the Carterville Train Depot. Starting in the 1840's, enslaved men, women, and children toiled in the construction of the railroad and the depot. After the Civil War, African-American convict lease laborers repaired and expanded the tracks. During the GREAT MIGRATION, these same railroads provided the first steps to freedom for blacks in Cartersville who were seeking a better way of life in the north and the west. Throughout the South, rail lines and the train depots that facilitated their use are important sites of memory in African-American history, as they document the labor of those who were enslaved and the pathways of freedom & return for their descendants. [quoted from plaque below bench] *** The Bench by the Road Project is a memorial history and community outreach initiative of the Toni Morrison Society. The Project was launched on February 18, 2006, on the occasion of Toni Morrison's 75th Birthday. The name "Bench by the Road" is taken from Morrison's remarks in a 1989 interview with World Magazine where she spoke of the absences of historical markers that help remember the lives of Africans who were enslaved and of how her fifth novel, Beloved, served this symbolic role: "There is no place you or I can go, to think about or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves . . . There is no suitable memorial, or plaque, or wreath, or wall, or park, or skyscraper lobby. There's no 300-foot tower, there's no small bench by the road. There is not even a tree scored, an initial that I can visit or you can visit in Charleston or Savannah or New York or Providence or better still on the banks of the Mississippi. And because such a place doesn't exist . . . the book had to". Because the Toni Morrison Society wanted to be a place where scholars and readers could, through their engagement with Morrison's novels, remember not only slavery but also many of the forgotten moments in African American history, the Society chose, when it was founded in 1993, "A Bench by the Road" as its motto. The Bench by the Road Project extends the Society's mission. While there have been several notable African American history and slavery museums built since 1989, as well as a number of outstanding state and federal initiatives honoring the stories of the African American past, the goal of the Bench by the Road Project is to address the lament that Toni Morrison expressed in her interview by placing Benches and plaques at sites commemorating significant moments, individuals, and locations within the history of the African Diaspora. [quoted from TMS website] *** OTHER BENCH SITES 1st - African Slave Trade Point of Entry Sullivan's Island, SC 2nd - Site on Underground Railroad Oberlin, OH 3rd - Mississippi Freedom School Hattiesburg, MS 4th - The 20th Arrondissement Paris, France 5th - In Memory of Caesar Robbins Concord, MA 6th - Lisner Theater, GW University Washington, D.C. 7th - First Congregational Church Atlanta, GA 8th - Freedom Park Mitchellville, SC 9th - Walden Woods Lincoln, MA 10th - In Honor of Aime Cesaire Fort-de-France, Martinique 11th - Eden Cemetery Collingdale, PA 12th - Margaret Walker Center, JS University Jackson, MS 13th & 14th Bench Placements Middletown, DE 15th - In honor of Cynthia Hesdra Nyack, NY 16th - Hosanna A.U.M.P. Church Lincoln University, PA 17th - Baton Rouge Bus Boycott Baton Rouge, LA 18th - Inquirers Book Club - Woodruff Library Atlanta, GA 19th - Cozad-Bates House Cleveland, OH 20th - Schomburg Center for Research on Black Culture Harlem, NYC 21st - Library of Congress Washington, DC 22nd - Site on Underground Railroad Adrian, MI 23rd - South View Cemetery Atlanta, GA 24th - Home of Frederick Douglass New Bedford, MA 25th - Howard University Washington, DC 26th - Lincoln University Pennsylvania 27th - Cartersville Train Depot Cartersville, GA *** Morrison passed away 8/5/19 at the age of 88. She was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The idea and thought behind the Bench by the Road Project touched my heart and I look forward to seeing where they will place future benches and subsequently learn of the story behind the placement. 2021 / 10 Black History Series

Appropriately placed adjacent to the controversial "Triumph of Peace" / "Peace Monument"…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/biz/triumph-of-peace-atlanta?hrid=nUnZ80S9_XEZXKyEKO4uAA in Piedmont Park, this marker provides some historical context that is worth reading after you've viewed the sculpture The marker reads, "Booker T. Washington, 1856-1915. Former slave, Principal of Tuskegee Institute and author of Up From Slavery, Washington delivered the Atlanta Exposition Address on September 18, 1895 at this site, the former auditorium of the Cotton States and International Exposition. Washington delivered this address at the Exposition Inauguration before a segregated audience, and in an unprecedented departure from regional customs, he shared the platform with Charles Collier, President of the Exposition. In 1894 Washington had joined Collier and other supporters of the exposition in an appearance before the House Committee on Appropriations. Together they secured $200,000 appropriations from Congress. In addition to serving as a lobbyist for the Exposition, Washington was also an Exposition commissioner and supervised the construction of the Negro Building, the Exposition´s site of African American exhibitions formerly located near the 10th street entrance to Piedmont Park. An alumnus of Hampton Institute and President of the National Negro Business League, Washington became a national leader because of the interracial compromise he proposed in the Atlanta Exposition Address." This is marker number 060-176 and was erected in 1995 by the Georgia Historical Commission. [Review 19546 overall - 601 in Georgia - 516 of 2023.]

This little charming historic building use to be located right by downtown Kennesaw near where…read moreBurger Fi is now. Not sure exactly when it got moved but it's now by Adams' Park. I have not been able to get much concrete information on the structure itself. Just hearsay by locals. All I know is it use to be Kennesaw's General store by in the days....The is a plaque and it reads as the following: The Old Country Store The Old Country Store was originally located on a farm owned and operated by Wade Hampton Green and Odessa Kuykendall Green. The farm was located on the Cherokee/Cobb County line within a few feet of what is now known as Wade Green Road. Donated to preserve our local heritage by Glynda Byrd Hughes, grand-daughter; Pansy Byrd McCurley, grand-daughter; Thomas G. Byrd, grand-son. 943rd review 12/12/2017

I love these things. It's basically a rock with a plaque off of Sand Plains Road in front of the…read moreWells Fargo Bank. The plaque reads: Sprayberry Rock This rock bears circular and other patterned markings that were rubbed into its surface by prehistoric Indians some 4,000 years ago. The material of the rock is known as "soapstone" and was used by early North American inhabitants to make bowls, the beginning of one of these bowls can be seen on the side of the stone. Sprayberry Rock was originally located some 100 feet to the south west. It was discovered during construction of this First Atlanta office, and its markings and historical dating were verified in February 1984 by Mr. Lawrence W. Meier archaeologist for Cobb County. In recognition of its historical significance, First Atlanta moved the Sprayberry Rock to its present location in August 1984 to preserve it. (Note: First Atlanta refers to First Atlanta Bank which was bought out by Wachovia in 1986 which merged with Wells Fargo in 2008.)

Very important to early American history, and linked to a culture that did this in other states and…read moreup into Canada. There are other stones like this one with cup and ring marks in Georgia, and Tennessee. This is an important piece of prehistory, perhaps more than people realize. I hope that it remains intact and undamaged. There is a lot of vandalism these days at prehistoric sites.

This very exciting, useful review is for the 14th Street Bridge in Midtown Atlanta. As someone who…read morehas lived in Midtown for almost 20 years, first on 10th Street and then on 17th Street, the 14th Street Bridge has been a regular part of my day-to-day life in the city. You can consider this a companion piece to my equally exciting and useful review of the 17th Street Bridge: https://www.yelp.com/biz/17th-street-bridge-atlanta. I moved to Midtown in 2000. The old 14th Street Bridge, which was constructed in 1984, was taken down in 2008. The new and current bridge opened on September 3, 2009. It took over a year to build the new bridge and it opened ahead of schedule. I barely remember the disruption. This bridge is newer than the 17th Street Bridge which opened in 2004. The bridge spans east-west over 15+ lanes of the Downtown Connector (I-75 and I-85). The new bridge is an improvement over the old bridge in every way. The biggest improvement has been to traffic flow. The bridge is longer and wider than the old bridge. It's got three vehicular lanes in either direction with two dedicated turn lanes (the old bridge didn't have dedicated turn lanes). There's an elevated median with decent landscaping and spacious, equally wide sidewalks on either side with lampposts and waste receptacles; no benches though. The bridge's fencing is green with an artistic cutout design. My favorite features are the lighted columns on either end of the bridge. At night, they change colors and it looks cool. So, the 14th Street Bridge is a lot more aesthetically appealing than the fairly plain yet functional 17th Street Bridge. The entire 14th Street Bridge project actually took several years and extended multiple blocks in either direction from the bridge. 14th Street was widened and made to look nicer with trees, bushes, and other landscaping. This displaced a lot of businesses. A couple businesses I distinctly remember being affected were Tamarind (Thai restaurant), just east of the bridge, and Wolf Camera, just west. Tamarind moved down the road to Colony Square where it reopened as Tamarind Seed. There also used to be a CVS and Office Depot at the corner of 14th and Techwood where the storage facility is now. I don't remember if those two businesses left as a direct result of the project or not. The old Silver Skillet diner, which opened in 1956, survived and still lives on to this day. In February 2015, a Georgia State University art project inadvertently shut down all lanes of the Downtown Connector for about two hours on a Monday: https://www.cnn.com/2015/02/03/us/art-project-shuts-down-atlanta-interestate/index.html.

The Chambers at City Center is an old Church that dates back to 1913 and has been remodeled to hold…read moreevents such as the city's monthly council meetings, special events, plays, weddings, etc. It's named after Evelyn Chambers who was a nurse and Woodstock's first and only female mayor... I believe Elm Street Cultural Arts Village (Woodstock's own theater company) does most of their performances here https://www.elmstreetarts.org/ The Woodstock citizen police Academy will meet here on occasions as well, I believe. A few of us in the neighborhood came out recently to celebrate our own police chief Calvin Moss winning the Georgia Police Chief of the Year by the Georgia Association of Chief of Police (GAPC) https://patch.com/georgia/woodstock/woodstock-police-chief-named-outstanding-police-chief-year I think its a pretty big honor since it's your peers that you for you so way to go chief... The church is incredibly well maintained and provides a great piece of history for generations to come...

Great place to hold a party or large meeting. This is where the city of Woodstock holds its monthly…read morecity counsel meetings. Seats are comfortable and they have four large tv's which can display power points, or picture slide shows. Really clean and nice. Soon they will be even remodeling the bathroom.

Roswell Historic District covers about 640 or so acres from where the old cemetery is located on…read moreWoodstock Street all the way down to Chattahoochee river crossing where Azlea Drive is located. Out of the 640 acres approximately 122 acres of it is listed on the National Historic Registry. (Interestingly Roswell was once part of Cobb County but the locals complained that the county seat at the time was 4 hours away by horse and carriage so they petition the state for their own government. This was approved in February 16, 1854.) The population is about 90,000 or so. The average income is over $100,000. But since this is Yelp. I will spare you the history lesson and give you the places that are good to eat....according to yelpers....I'm only going to list 4 or 5 star places... Table and Main (4.5 stars 374 reviews) mainly southern cuisine Salt Factory Pub (4 stars 383 reviews) American cusine NOCA Eatery & Bar (4 stars 127 reviews) Breakfast, brunch, wine bar. South Main Kitchen (4 stars 264 reviews) American cusine Foundation Social Eatery (4.5 stars 453 reviews) American cusine Roux on Canton (4 stars 341 reviews) Cajun, southern cuisine Vin 25 (4.5 stars 155 reviews) wine bar If you want more places to visit in this charming city then go on their website http://www.visitroswellga.com/