| Kennesaw is located about 30 miles NW of Atlanta in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and just next door to Marietta the seat of Cobb County. It is said to be named after the Cherokee Indian word "Gah Nee Sah" meaning burial ground. Gained national attention when on May 1, 1982, the
Kennesaw City Council, passed a law requiring all heads of households to maintain a firearm in response to the Morton Grove, Illinois law(1981) banning private possession of handguns. Needless to say, Kennesaw, has some of the lowest crime rates and one of the safest cities in the region. Kennesaw is home to "The General" the locomotive saga where the Union Army Volunteers, known as Andrews Raiders, stole it on April 12, 1862, then
destroyed the Atlantic and Western Raiload lines. The Raiders were the first recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. "The General" and its history can be seen at The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History. It is also home to the Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park which is a 2,888 acre site preserving the Civil War Kennesaw Mountain battleground the beginning of the Union General Sherman's Atlanta Campaign. The battle lasted from June 18th to July 2nd of 1864 with Sherman's army consisting of 100,000 men, 254 guns, 35,000 horses with Confederate General Johnston's army consisting of 50,000 men and 187 guns. It is here where over 67,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured are memorialized.
Kennesaw has an abundance of well-preserved historical homes and conveniently located by Lake Acworth/Lake Allatoona and Red Top Mountain State Park. Of course, since it is near the cities of Acworth/Marietta there is quick acces to the collection of museums and parks such as Marietta Museum of History,
Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Root House Museum and the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Kennesaw a close-knit community with a commitment to a quality of life with a well-educated population and diverse employment within the Atlanta Metro area. It has earned the reputation as a great place to live, to do business, has a good business infrastructure, good transportation intersected with I-75, Highway 41 and near I-285 and I-20, has a wide range of shopping, affordable housing, and possesses reasonable taxes with special tax breaks. Cobb County is home to many Colleges/Universities with Cobb County Schools having earned 14 National Schools of Excellence 31 Georgia Schools of Excellence Awards and is near the many Fortune 500/1000 companies such as Coca Cola, Genuine Parts, Georgia Pacific, IBM, Lockheed-Martin, and The Home Depot, just to name a few. | |
