Marietta dates to 1834, and 15 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 64% of U.S. towns · #78 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it
Most of Marietta was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. 15 places in town are on the National Register, among them six historic districts with 304 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1833.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marietta’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marietta is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #78 of 263 in Georgia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marietta’s overall grade.
Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Marietta’s 51.9 sits above most of its state (66% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 323 historic buildings outnumber those of 96% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1834.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Marietta’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Marietta’s post office has been open since 1835. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Cobb Court House
1833–1835
Marietta
1835–today
Blackwells
1888–1937
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BlackwellsClay HomesElizabethFort Hill HomesMarietta Place HomesNorthwest ParkOaktonWestoakWhitlock
Gone or out of use
Elizabeth District SchoolschoolWaterman Street Public Schoolschool
19cemeteries and burying grounds inside Marietta
Crest HillCuster StreetGeorgia Memorial ParkGreshamHaney GroveHangmans HillHargroveKennesaw Memorial ParkMarietta CityMarietta ConfederateMarietta NationalMountain View ParkNew HopePaupersPleasant GroveSaint JamesShady GroveTaylorWildwood Park
See all 19
Crest Hill Cemetery · Custer Street Cemetery · Georgia Memorial Park · Gresham Cemetery · Haney Grove Cemetery · Hangmans Hill Cemetery · Hargrove Cemetery · Kennesaw Memorial Park · Marietta City Cemetery · Marietta Confederate Cemetery · Marietta National Cemetery · Mountain View Park Cemetery · New Hope Cemetery · Paupers Cemetery · Pleasant Grove Cemetery · Saint James Cemetery · Shady Grove Cemetery · Taylor Cemetery · Wildwood Park Cemetery
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The origin of the name is uncertain. It is believed that the city was named for Mary Cobb, the wife of the U.S. Senator and Superior Court judge Thomas Willis Cobb. The county is named for Cobb.
Homes were built by early settlers near the Cherokee town of Big Shanty (now Kennesaw) before 1824. The first plot was laid out in 1833. Like most towns, Marietta had a square (Marietta Square) in the center with a courthouse. The Georgia General Assembly legally recognized the community on December 19, 1834.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Marietta. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Marietta sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Marietta.
Every building
Marietta, building by building, 1885–1911
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1834, according to Wikidata. Marietta’s post office opened in 1833, and the census of 1870 counted 1,888 people here.
How does Marietta rank for history?
Marietta is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns, #78 of 263 in Georgia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Marietta?
15 listings: 8 buildings, 6 historic districts with 304 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 323 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Marietta?
2% of Marietta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1987.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (8), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (15), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1864
1944
1944
1979
1979
1979
1995
