Georgia Natural Wonder #140 - Johnston River Line - Shoupades - Smyrna. 1,107

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #140 - Johnston River Line - Shoupades - Smyrna

Here we are on the last post of the Mountains to Classic South theme of our second 100 Georgia Natural Wonders. We have done 19 post and we finish up in Cobb County still, with a pretty new little Park with some preserved Confederate Earthworks between these two apartment complexes, on top of a hill with a marvelous view of downtown Atlanta. I present Shoupade Park along the Johnston River Line for the last hurrah of General Johnston and a tangent on the City of Smyrna.



The Johnston River Line was dubbed by historians "The Maginot Line of the Confederacy".



The Confederates set up massive fortifications and many are still visible. Construction of what was first called the Chattahoochee River Line started on June 19 and would take about two weeks requiring a labor force of both convalescing soldiers from nearby hospitals and over one thousand impressed slaves. While some trenches existed near the state railroad bridge that could be expanded and lengthened, most of the line would be built from scratch.



General Johnston’s Army of Tennessee now occupies the River Line and they have the Chattahoochee River to their back and the Federals to their front.  General Sherman is looking for another route across the river that would allow him to turn Johnston’s Flank and force him from the River Line.  The images below are from the southern half of the river line. Johnston knew this would likely be the location of a final "last stand" in the defense of Atlanta..


One of the few places where those Civil War trenches remain plainly visible is a 103-acre site near the intersection of Discovery Boulevard and Highway 78 in Mableton. Bought by Cobb County, it includes dozens of yards of infantry trench and a fort, all of which anchored the southwestern end of the River Line. Unfortunately, none of this land is easily accessible to the public.


This is the new Discovery Park, and here is the Master Plan.


Remnants of a large artillery battery at the far south end of the River Line.  General Hood’s forces held this area which was the left of the Confederate line.


Several thousand feet of earthworks, including a Shoupade and large artillery battery are still in great condition and have survived the years of urban sprawl in Metro Atlanta.


The inside of one of the Shoupades in what is known as the River Line Extension.

Shoupade fortifications, named after confederate  brigadier general Francis Ashbury Shoup, were used as defensive structures along the banks of the River; each fortification accommodating up to 80 soldiers. Of the 36 forts constructed, 8 remain as earthworks today.


Soldier and Preacher.

The critical importance of the W&A railroad in the Atlanta Campaign as a line of supply for the federal army; and finally, how the conquest of Atlanta and the collapse of the Confederacy were virtual certainties once Sherman's federal juggernaut breached that last great physical barrier on the road to Atlanta, the Chattahoochee River. 


Roberta Cook, founder and coordinator of the River Line Historic Area, stands in front of the Hooper-Turner House at 5811 Oakdale Road SE in Mableton. It was once believed to have been a Civil War hospital. They could not prove it's provenance as such, and it has been destroyed.

Little remains of Johnston's bold stand in front of the Chattahoochee River during the Atlanta Campaign, called by historians Johnston's River Line. Unique and innovative fortifications, called "Shoupades" after their designer C.S. Gen. Francis A. Shoup, were painstakingly built along a high ridge in front of the river. They were mostly misunderstood by the Confederates, who stood to gain from their use. Slaves were used to build these fortifications, which were designed to create interlocking fields of fire. Instead of digging in for protection, these fortifications were above grade to create both defensive and offensive opportunities.



Each Shoupade was spaced sixty to 175 yards apart and connected by trenches broken every thirty to 75 yards by artillery redans that would house two artillery pieces. Each fort consisted of an earthen foundation with log walls or parapets extending fourteen to twenty feet high depending on the terrain. Interior earthen walls would stop short of the log exterior walls forming a platform on which infantrymen could fire over top the fort.



At the rear or base of the fort and behind the line would be an entrance or sally port. From above, the line would look like a saw blade with the trenches connecting the forts receding at a backward angle to each redan and then at a forward angle to the next fort creating what Shoup called a re-entrant. Along the front of the trenches would be walls or palisades made of stockades. Each fort could hold up to eighty men. Soldiers within the forts could load rifles and hand them up to riflemen on the earthen platforms who would provide interlocking fields of fire channeling an attacking force towards the re-entrant formed by the receding trenches where artillery fire from the redans would sweep the ground If all the forts were manned at once, the River Line would prove to be a quite formidable opponent.



Some experts believe them to be the most formidable defensive position taken by an army during the entire War. General Hood urged they be abandoned, but General Cleburne believed them to be excellent. The river line was abandoned when Union troops found river crossings elsewhere. The Shoupades and artillery forts have mostly been destroyed by development. Some remain on private property. One Shoupade and artillery fort are located on property deeded to Cobb County and may become a River Line park. Drive along Oakdale road, which follows the ridge of the river line, and you get a sense of Johnston's position.

Johnston's River Line 

As late as the 1950s, a person could walk the length of the River Line. Today, very little remains accessible as a result of commercial and residential development.



While 36 Shoupades were originally constructed along the River Line, only nine remain in the form of earthwork foundations mostly covered by overgrowth. A 100-acre parcel along the Chattahoochee River south of U.S. 78 in Mableton was bought by Cobb County. It includes dozens of yards of infantry trench and a fort, all of which anchored the southwestern end of the River Line. Unfortunately, none of this land is easily accessible to the public. See proposed map above in post.



Three Shoupades and an artillery redan, while on private property, have been preserved by developers and can be accessed by the public at Shoupade Park.



Two of the three Shoupades and the redan are partially enclosed by a fence installed by a residential developer who agreed to preserve the site and turn it into what is now called Shoupade Park in Smyrna, complete with interpretive signs.



The ridge was an excellent place for a line of earthwork fortifications and artillery, intended to halt Sherman’s advance. It was high ground: easy to defend and hard to attack.



The hill is now the site of Shoupade Park in Cobb County, and it features the earthwork remains of two shoupades and an artillery redan. 



As the result of development … On one side of what’s now a park … there were massive apartments, I think they were called the Highland Apartments, something like that, and on the other side of the park, single family homes on large lots. A developer started land assemblage. It changed hands a couple of times. You know how developers flip properties. And it ended up in the hands of Pulte Homes, and they did the rezoning for both sides of what we call a park today.”



Pulte erected interpretive signs, a gate at the entrance, and fencing around the shoupades.



They requested that Pulte then donate the land surrounding the shoupades to Cobb County.



Pulte agreed to those terms, and the result was Shoupade Park.


Five Shoupades in total originally existed within a half mile of the park, however two were destroyed by homeowners seeking to reuse the land for other purposes or preserve its value for future sale and development.


Shoupade across street is covered by Ivy and on private property.


The fireplace is all that remains from the previous home on the property.

It's sneaky pretty around the homestead.



Daughter poses on old well.



People hanging out.



The clear view of Atlanta’s skyline from the hill makes it obvious why it was valuable territory for desperate, retreating Confederate troops in the Summer of 1864. 



The hill is part of a high ridge overlooking the city and the Chattahoochee River valley. 



The park is easy to miss, but it’s at 4770 Oakdale Road, on the east side of the road, between Dunagan Drive and Fort Drive in Smyrna.



There is limited parking directly in front of the black metal gate.


At the Grand Opening.

Shoupade Park is a unique preservation project, and well worth a visit for anyone interested in Atlanta or Civil War history.


History with a view.

Another Shoupade that has been preserved and can be easily accessed is located in Mableton behind River Line Park. This is mostly baseball fields.



While the park is publicly owned, the Shoupade is on privately owned land that is part of a residential development bordering the park. This developer also agreed to preserve the Shoupade and install a fence and interpretive sign.



The remaining Shoupades and many yards of infantry trench, both Confederate and Federal, still exist but are on private property buried within neighborhoods or along steep or inaccessible terrain.


Bridge across Creek at Nickajack Park.

Other historic sites related to the River Line include the Howell Mill Dam, Hooper-Turner House, Turner-Sewell Cemetery and the Log Cabin Community Sunday School. The Howell Mill Dam is located in Mableton along Nickajack Creek on land purchased by Cobb County in 2006. Just upstream of the site where the mill once stood, the dam has yet to be made accessible to the public.


Howell Mill Dam. This is Mill on Nickajack Creek. The better known Howell Mill is on Peachtree Creek and has a main Atlanta Road named after it.

Located just north of River Line Park, the Hooper-Turner House is an antebellum "hall and parlor" style home built in the 1850s and once owned by two of Cobb County's pioneering families, the Thomas Hooper family and the John R. Turner family—the latter of whom operated the Mayson-Turner Ferry that crossed the Chattahoochee River at today's U.S. 78. The house is presently owned by the city of Smyrna and, although listed on the Cobb County Historic Register, has been demolished. The Turner-Sewell Cemetery is about a mile south of the Hooper-Turner House and is the final resting place of John Turner, his wife Jane and other members of the associated Sewell family. The Log Cabin Community Sunday School was built in the early 1900s in Vinings and was preserved by what is now Log Cabin Community Church.

July 5th 1864

During the Battle of Smyrna Campground and Ruff's Mill, Sherman's flanking movement happened again yesterday down by the modern day Veteran Parkway.



Not wanting to allow the federal forces to get between him and Atlanta, Johnston once again withdrew, abandoning Smyrna and its line of fortifications. Confederate forces briefly occupied the River Line after their withdrawal from Smyrna, with federal forces in hot pursuit. What Sherman found next came to him as a total surprise: a six-mile bridgehead of defensive bunkers on the north side of the Chattahoochee River.


Johnston's River Line Marker is at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Highway (U.S. 278) and Oakdale Road, on the right when traveling west on Veterans Memorial Highway.


Right photo looking west on US 278, toward Nickajack Creek.

Seventy odd years before the French even dreamed of the Maginot Line, an equally impregnable version of that famous defensive fortification was built in Cobb County. Both met the same fate - out-flanked by the enemy.



The powerful and unique "River Line." Designed by General Francis A. Shoup (Johnston's chief of artillery), constructed in less than two weeks by a labor force of nearly 1,000 slaves under Shoup's personal supervision, the River Line provided the perfect shield for any river crossing Johnston might choose to make. Intended to stop Sherman's attack on Atlanta. The line was six miles long, extending from just south of Veterans Memorial Highway (Bankhead Highway) into the community of Vinings. 


Indiana Confederate.

The northern terminus of the fortifications was located at a point off Polo Lane near the river, where a large artillery fort was constructed. The line crossed Woodland Brook Drive near Polo Lane, Rebel Valley View, Settlement Road, and the CSX Railroad (then Western & Atlantic), the line of fortifications crossed Atlanta Road south of I-285. Then turning in a more southernly direction, the line extended through Oakdale, and followed the ridge on which Oakdale Road is located to a point south of Veterans Memorial Highway, near Nickajack Creek.


A dead tree spans the remains of Confederate earthworks along the River Line at the future Discovery Park.

Shoup conceived the plan for a string of impregnable fortifications backing up to the Chattahoochee River. He presented his plan to Johnston, and the plan was approved in time to complete the fortifications before the rebel forces fell back from Kennesaw through Marietta and Smyrna. Shoup had spent a part of his life prior to the war in St. Augustine, Florida, where he doubtlessly was inspired by the imposing Castillo de San Margos. This old Spanish fort is a classic example of the use of bastions, small arrowhead-shaped forts which protrude out from its corners. Gunners in the bastions could fire into the sides and backs of enemies who may be attacking another part of the walls. Likewise, fire from the walls would protect the bastions. A graduate of West Point, Shoup was also well educated in the design and use of military fortifications.



Arrow-shaped log structures tightly packed with dirt each provided a platform and parapet for a company of riflemen supported by pairs of two-gun teams of artillery. These arrow-shaped mini-forts have come to be called "Shoupades." The mini-forts and artillery positions were spaced at intervals along the battle line in such a way as to create interlocking fields of fire by rifle and cannon. The River Line today has the distinction of being truly a national one-of-a-kind Civil War defensive engineering marvel. 



On the morning of 5 July 1864, Federal Major General William T. Sherman observed Johnston's River Line and later wrote: "It was one of the strongest pieces of field fortifications I ever saw." Bristling with cannons, they wisely decided not to waste lives by throwing men against such an impregnable obstacle. Just last week, Sherman attacked Confederate fortifications on Kennesaw Mountain. Confederate forces repulsed them in one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Seeing the futility of continuing to attack a strongly fortified line, Sherman resorted to the same old tactic which had brought him from Dalton to the edge of Atlanta, a flanking movement. Sherman, impressed by what he saw, chose not to test its strength, and shelved the plans to challenge the Confederate river crossing. Instead, he began a search for some places of his own to cross the river. 



Upon first observing the River Line himself the morning of July 5 from a Vinings hilltop, however, Sherman sent a wire to Washington saying he would have to "study the case a little" before proceeding. He deemed it "the best line of field entrenchments [he had] ever seen." His chief engineer, Captain Orlando M. Poe, reported that the line "was by far the strongest he had yet encountered" and that "it would cost many lives to carry the position by assault." It wouldn't take Sherman long to revert to his time-tested method of attempting to maneuver rather than attack.


Yankee's said please don't throw me in that briar patch. Abatis: A line of felled trees with their branches sharpened, tangled together, and facing toward the enemy. It strengthened fortifications by preventing surprise and delaying an attacking enemy once within the defenders’ range.

Sherman determined to cross the Chattahoochee River to the northeast, but he had two of his armies pin the Confederates inside the fortifications. Federal troops constructed trenches and battery positions opposing the Confederate works. The opponents engaged in daily artillery duels, with some points of the Confederate Line receiving hundreds of rounds from the Federal guns. 


Troop's relax between fireworks displays.

The Federals established bridgeheads upriver on 8 and 9 July, and Johnston pulled his troops across the Chattahoochee River on the night of 9-10 July. As soon as General Johnston heard that Sherman's troops had crossed the Chattahoochee River above and below his fortress, he had his Confederate army abandon the River Line and withdrew into fortifications around Atlanta. Johnston's withdrawal from a line he himself had claimed could be held for a month led to his dismissal from command. Just as German forces negated the power of the Maginot line by going around it, so did the United States forces negate the effectiveness of the Chattahoochee River Line.

Current status of the site

The earthen remains of only 9 of the original 36 Shoupades are identifiable: most are damaged, and many are threatened. The most accessible, and the one most likely to be preserved, is near the southern end of the line, and is on land now owned by Cobb County. This will be the new Discovery Park.

Another is on Oakdale Road, partly in an apartment complex, and partly in the yard of a residence. This is Shoupade Park.

Right beside Shoupade Park is Fort Drive. I missed this. The Fort Drive area is a special section of the Confederate Line. Fort Drive got its name from its proximity to five Shoupades along its half mile length. One Shoupade was destroyed in the 1950s to improve the front yard of a house, and the associated artillery redan was flattened for a pasture. Another property owner bulldozed a Shoupade in the early 1990s because he feared its historic value would restrict his ability to use the land as he wished. Three Shoupades (one third of the total still existing) and the only surviving artillery redan remain along Fort Drive, with one Shoupade being against the fence for I-285.

One is off Atlanta Road in John Weilands's "Olde Ivy" development.


No images no chance to explore.

There is the one Shoupade at the River Line Park Baseball Fields.

A few scattered Shoupades are in the yards of homeowners and on church grounds.


Federal trenches in undeveloped land around Howell Dam.

The Federal line exists in at least 7 parcels: Three contain trench line and range from 3 to 20 acres. Four contain remnants of battery sites and are on parcels of 1 to 20 acres. Rifle pits in front of both lines are numerous (at least in the dozens), and some are probably yet to be identified on the tangled and sometimes steep terrain.


Howell Dam site. Dang Cobb County/Smyrna get on the ball and develop these spots for parks.

In 2000, two Shoupades were intentionally bulldozed by an owner who didn't want any impediment to development of his property. In October 2003, a Federal artillery battery site was bulldozed for a shopping center parking lot. Early in 2004, a section of Federal trench was filled in for a new housing development. In January 2004, the Smyrna City Council approved rezoning for a housing development after the developer agreed to fence off and preserve a Shoupade. While the Shoupade was saved, the view will now be houses rather than woods and fields. 


Hey, a boulder field at the Howell Dam site.

Also in January 2004, a developer incorporated preservation of Confederate rifle pits into a plan for new housing, though other rifle pits and trenches will be destroyed. In June 2004, Cobb County used its remaining Greenspace Program funds to save a section of Federal trench near a creek and pipeline. In July 2005, an area along Fort Drive containing two Shoupades and the last artillery redan was rezoned for a development that will contain over 100 detached houses and townhouses. While the Shoupades are to be saved by the developer, the view will be of the walls of houses. Land in this area of Cobb County sells for up to $400,000 per acre.


Federals Halted by Johnston's River Line Marker is at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Highway (U.S. 78) and Queens Mill Road SE, on the right when traveling east on Veterans Memorial Highway. 



Yankee Civil War Reports

NEAR CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER, July 5, 1864
Major General H. W. HALLECK, Washington, D. C.:

On the 3rd we pursued the enemy by all the roads south till we found him in an intrenched position which had been prepared in advance, its salient on the main Marietta and Atlanta road about five miles south of Marietta, and the wings behind the Nickajack and Rottenwood Creeks. During the 4th General Thomas pressed the salient, and McPherson and Schofield moved against Nickajack by pressing close and threatening the Chattahoochee at Sandtown and below. Johnston again retreated in the night and now has his main force and wagons across the Chattahoochee, with Hardee's corps on this side, strongly intrenched in a sort of tete-de-pont on a ridge of hills beginning at the railroad bridge and extending down the river to the mouth of the Nickajack. We have worked hard, and now Thomas' left is on the Chattahoochee, three miles above the railroad bridge at Pace's Ferry. 

Stoneman has been most active with the cavalry about Sweet Water, and is now on the Chattahoochee about Sandtown, and Garrard started this morning for Roswell Factory. I have no report from him yet. I am now far ahead of my railroad and telegraph, and want them to catch up, and may be here some days. Atlanta is in plain view, nine miles distant. We have had continual skirmishing, but our losses are small, while we have inflicted more to the enemy. Our prisoners taken in the last two days will not fall short of 2,000. The extent of the enemy's parallels already taken is wonderful, and much of the same sort confronts us yet, and is seen beyond the Chattahoochee.

W. T. SHERMAN,Major-General.



Toward the River Marker is on Mableton Parkway (Georgia Route 139) 0.1 miles north of Old Gordon Road, on the right when traveling north. The marker stands in front of the Cobb County Public Safety building.



This is actually looking south Toward the River.



HDQRS. DEPARTMENT AND ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, Near Gordon's, on Turner's Ferry Road, Ga.,July 5, 1864-9 p.m.

Major General W. T. SHERMAN,Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi:

GENERAL: Early this forenoon Gresham's division, of Blair's command, charged and carried a line of rebel rifle-pits on the Turner's Ferry road, and then pressed forward until about 6 p.m. they gained a position on Nickajack Creek, within about 500 yards of rebel intrenchments on the Chattahoochee. Leggett's division moved down to Howell's Ferry, on the Chattahoochee; drove the enemy away on the opposite side of the river, where they were erecting rifle-pits; left a brigade there and four 24-pounder howitzers (brass), and then moved up the river toward the mouth of Nickajack Creek, and connected with Gresham. We have had some pretty lively skirmishing and a good deal of artillery firing. The enemy appears to have strong works north of the Chattahoochee, but if they remain where they are to-morrow I think we can punish them severely, as I am getting batteries into position tonight. Schofield can move up as soon as practicable toward Widow Mitchell's. In the mean time I expect to receive orders from you. Hooker's train is on the Sandtown road, at least a portion of it; where his troops are I do not know, as I have not seen or heard any firing to my left today.

Yours, truly, JAS. B. McPHERSON, Major-General.


The Mitchell House Marker is at the intersection of Mableton Parkway (Georgia Route 139) and Old Gordon Road, on the right when traveling north on Mableton Parkway. Looking north on Mableton Parkway toward Mableton. The Union advance was from this direction.



Looking south on Mableton Parkway, toward Atlanta and Johnston's River Line.




This house, on Old Gordon Road near the marker, has been reported to be the Mitchell House.


Turner's, Howell's Baker's & Sandtown Ferries Marker is on Mableton Parkway SE (Georgia Route 139) 0 miles south of Veterans Memorial Highway SW (U.S. 78), on the right when traveling south. Georgia Highway 139, looking southeast toward the Mitchell House, is in the background.


 
Rebel Reports

NEAR CHATTAHOOCHEE BRIDGE, July 5, 1864.
General BRAXTON BRAGG, Richmond:

In consequence of the enemy's advance toward the river below our left we this morning took this position, which is slightly intrenched. A division of cavalry on the southeast side of the river is guarding the ferries below. The gallant Brigadier-General Vaughan lost his left foot yesterday by a shell. We greatly need the general officers used for.

J. E. JOHNSTON.


Georgia Militia on Turner's Ferry Road Marker is on Veterans Memorial Highway SE (U.S. 78) 0.2 miles east of Pebblebrook Road SE, on the right when traveling west. Mt. Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery is in the background.


Pretty view back to Atlanta, Old Bankhead Highway.

HDQRS. ROSS' BRIGADE, JACKSON'S CAVALRY DIVISION, Militia Trenches, Ga., July 5, 1864-9 a. m.
Brigadier-General JACKSON, Commanding Division:

GENERAL: The enemy is again advancing in my front, his skirmish line now crossing the field in advance of our breast-works. A battery is in position at or near the same position it occupied yesterday evening. The advancing line extends to the right and left, far beyond my flanks.

I am, general, very respectfully, &c., 

L. S. ROSS, Brigadier-General.


Marker is at the intersection of Plant Atkinson Road and Atlanta Road (Georgia Route 3), on the right when traveling east on Plant Atkinson Road.



Although Federal troops constructed both trenches and battery positions opposing Johnston's River Line, General Sherman had no intention of a direct assault—especially following his underestimation of Johnston's defensive position at Kennesaw Mountain. While half the Federal forces would eventually be positioned in front of the River Line, nothing more than a few daily artillery duels would take place. In contrast with his pattern of maneuvering around Johnston's left flank, Sherman sent divisions north to find a crossing around the right flank of the River Line. By July 8 and 9, Union troops led by Brig. General Kenner Garrard and Maj. General John M. Schofield had secured crossings near Sope Creek and Roswell. Despite his claim that the position could be held for a month, Johnston had little choice but to abandon the River Line on the evening of July 9. This failure would lead to his dismissal from command by President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis.


Stumbled upon this marker surfing the Net for historical markers. Allison Nelson was 9th mayor of Atlanta, a legislator in Texas and died of Typhus while a Confederate Brigadier General in Arkansas. Half the men killed in the Civil War died of disease.


Marker is at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (Georgia Route 139) and Distribution Drive, on the left when traveling west on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Now this is just over the Chattahoochee River in Fulton County but I throw it in here because it's so close and had a Civil War reference.

Shoup was devastated by the abandonment of his novel defensive system and lamented, "I took a long look at the works into which my heart had gone to such a degree and felt that the days of the Confederacy were numbered. I made good all I proposed...the line...could have been held by three thousand men for any reasonable time against a hundred thousand."

Smyrna

O.K. we reached on old ditches and that park with a view as a Natural Wonder, but it affords us a good chance to a history tangent on the city of Smyrna. Smyrna is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It is located northwest of Atlanta, and is in the inner ring of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 51,271. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population in 2018 to be 56,706. Smyrna grew by 28% between the years 2000 and 2012. It is historically one of the fastest growing cities in the State of Georgia, and one of the most densely populated cities in the metro area.



In 1833, Methodist pioneers established a meeting spot near the present-day downtown Smyrna where traveling ministers would hold services.By the late 1830s, a religious encampment called Smyrna Camp Ground had become a popular travel destination and was well known throughout Georgia. It is a Greek name for the Biblical city of Smyrna, modern day Izmir in Turkey.



Ancient Smyrna was the home of the Christian martyr Polycarp.



In pioneer times, this was also an important place to meet and socialize since long distances typically separated neighbors. A brush arbor, under which people would gather, was built near a fresh water spring that once ran through the area to identify the meeting place.



In 1836, the State of Georgia authorized construction of the Western and Atlantic Railroad from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The railroad ran through the heart of what is now downtown Smyrna onward to Decatur 19 miles away. The train tracks are in essentially the same location upon which they were built more than 160 years ago. Terminus, which later became Atlanta, had not yet been established.



In 1838 the Smyrna Episcopal Methodist Church is believed to have been established. The church is now known as Smyrna First United Methodist Church. In 1840, the land used as the Methodist meeting area became known as the Smyrna Camp Ground. It was available to all religious denominations for use. Within a few years the camp ground was well known as a religious center throughout Northern Georgia.



After land was donated and properly titled, the Methodists built a log cabin church in 1846. They also established Smyrna Memorial Cemetery in 1838. Title was officially granted to this land in 1848 even though the cemetery is believed to have been in use for the previous decade. The Methodists built new and larger churches in 1911 and 1968.



Both the camp ground and cemetery were on Land Lot 522, District 17, Section 2. That land was awarded to Wiley Flanigan of Campbell County, Georgia in the 1832 land lottery. He took possession of the land on July 1, 1843 and later formally donated some of it for the cemetery and camp ground. Other donors were erroneously credited with donating the land in the past. Mr. Flanigan's 10 plus year delay in establishing residency on his land after the lottery was attributed as the most likely reason why the vacant land began being used as the meeting place, camp ground and cemetery.



After the completion of the Western and Atlantic Railroad in 1842, the area began to grow. It was known by several names until 1872—Varner's Station, Ruff's Siding, Neal Dow, and Ruff's Station. The city was incorporated with the name Smyrna in 1872.



The nearby Bell Bomber plant that produced B-29 bombers during World War II was reopened by Lockheed in 1951, and became a catalyst for growth. The city's population grew during the next two decades, from 2,005 in 1950 to almost 20,000 by 1970. We covered Bell Bomber and Lockheed with GNW#133 (Part 4)



The restaurant scene in the film Joyful Noise was shot at Howard's Restaurant in Smyrna in 2011.



The city's official symbol is the jonquil (a flower). Known as the "Jonquil City", it derives this name from the thousands of jonquils that flourish in gardens and along the streets in early spring.



The Atlanta Bread Company has its headquarters in Smyrna.



Smyrna was the site of the corporate offices of the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling.



In 1991, the city began a community redevelopment project known as "Market Village," in order to create a well-defined downtown. Included were a community center and 28,000-square-foot public library. A mixed retail and residential district was modeled after an early 1900s city village, including a square with a fountain. This, and other expansions have revitalized the downtown area. Further redevelopment has occurred throughout the city—including thousands of new homes – mostly cluster homes, townhouse and condo communities replacing older neighborhoods.



"Market Village" in the city center often has open-air concerts and festivals. There are also various small parks such as Cobb Park, public pools such as Aline Wolfe Center for the elderly and Tolleson park pool for all ages, tennis courts and playgrounds and a linear park with walking trail along Spring Road.



Notable People

Notable People  from the area include U.S. Representative Bob Barr..



Actress Julia Roberts attended Fitzhugh Lee Elementary School, Griffin Middle School, and Campbell High School.



Baseball stars who both played infield for the Atlanta Braves Gerald Perry & Ron Gant.



Passion City Church Senior Pastor/Passion Conferences and sixstepsrecords founder Louie Giglio.



Football player Tay Glover-Wright.



Voice over actor and animator C. Martin Croker was born in Smyrna. Croker is best known for his work on the cult classic show Space Ghost Coast to Coast.



Recording artist and actress Kelly Nelon Clark was a long time resident and calls Smyrna her hometown.



Recording artist and composer Benn Jordan currently owns a home and recording studio located in Smyrna.



Recording artist and composer Pat Terry is a life long resident of Smyrna.



Eschel Rhoodie, the South African Minister of Information from 1972 to 1977, resided in Smyrna after emigrating to the United States..



Still on Smyrna so encore of Smirnoff GNW gals.