First Sunday Lecture Series

The Metamorphosis of Downtown Smyrna,
1875 to 2002

Sunday January 10, 2016
3PM - 4PM
Smyrna Public Library

By: William P. Marchione

What forces fostered the development of a thriving commercial district in and around Atlanta Road's Spring Street intersection in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

What factors led to the complete demolition of that once thriving commercial center in the late 1980s, and to its reincarnation into the modern, planned downtown of our day?

Urban historian Dr. Marchione will analyze the rise, fall, and rebirth (the metamorphosis) of downtown Smyrna in this slide/lecture

First Sunday Lecture Series

The Corner Store & its Role in African American Culture

Sunday February 7, 2016
3PM - 4PM
Smyrna Public Library

Speaker: Dr. Seneca Vaught, Kennesaw State University

Dr. Seneca Vaught will discuss the historical role the “corner store” (often called “Mom & Pops” or “bodegas”) has played in African-American culture and how it has evolved over time.

Dr. Vaught is an Assistant Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at Kennesaw State University in the Departments of History and Interdisciplinary Studies.

First Sunday Lecture Series

An Historical and Architectural Walking Tour of Smyrna's Williams Park Neighborhood
Sunday March 13, 2016
3PM
Pergola in Williams Park on Roswell Street
(Do Not Meet at Library)

Speaker: Casey Clavin

An Historical and Architectural Walking Tour of Smyrna's Williams Park Neighborhood. Participants should gather at the pergola in Williams Park on Roswell Street - will be limited to the first 24 people who RSVP to wpmarchione@gmail.com or 857-919-0505.

The Williams Park neighborhood of Smyrna (the streets lying east of Atlanta Road, opposite Market Village) contains the largest concentration of older structures in the city, many dating from the 1885 to 1925 period, a unique architectural ensemble that could well qualify as Smyrna's first National Register Historic District. The area also has a fascinating history. Casey Clavin, who has given much attention to the architectural history of this interesting neighborhood, and local historian Bill Marchione, will co-narrate this walking tour of the city's oldest neighborhood, a tour that will also feature visits to the interiors of some of Williams Park's most interesting residences.

The Williams Park walking tour is being co-sponsored by the Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council (SACC) and the Friends of the Smyrna Library (FOSL), as one of the Smyrna Library's regular "First Sunday" programs.

Free Admission

First Sunday Lecture Series

Hiking Cobb County
Sunday, April 3, 2016
3:00-4:00 p.m.
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Jonah McDonald, author of Hiking Atlanta’s Hidden Forests

Mr. McDonald will discuss west and north metro hikes, particularly those in Cobb County, making note of native birds, wildflowers, historic sites, and champion and sentinel trees to spot on your way.

Jonah McDonald is the founder of an outdoor guide service providing hiking, camping, backpacking, and outdoor education programs throughout the Southeast. As an educator and naturalist, he has designed and taught wilderness and outdoor programs for several Atlanta-area independent schools. McDonald thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2002. Hiking Atlanta’s Hidden Forests was inspired by his many days spent exploring the greenspaces of metro Atlanta.

Free admission
  

First Sunday Lecture Series

Where in the World is CREATWOOD?
Sunday May 1, 2016
3:00 pm
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Nancy McGee, lifelong Smyrna resident

This presentation will focus on the families that came from West End Atlanta to the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the area that they occupied. It will also discuss how the land and land use of the neighborhood evolved over the century that followed and the memories and achievements that are linked to the CREATWOOD families and area.

Nancy McGee, who grew up in the CREATWOOD neighborhood, and who has done much original research on the topic, will make this presentation.

The First Sunday Lecture Series is sponsored by the Friends of the Smyrna Library.

FREE ADMISSION.

First Sunday Lecture Series

A Window on the Past: Smyrna, 1953
Sunday June 5, 2016
3:00 pm
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Bill Marchione, Ph. D., author of "A Brief History of Smyrna, Georgia"

The recent discovery in a closet at the Smyrna Public Library of an album containing over 150 photographs (many never seen before), newspaper clippings, and documents describing Smyrna as it was in 1953, at the very beginning of its transformation into one of Cobb County's major cities, furnishes a fascinating "Window on Smyrna's Past."

Bill Marchione, Ph. D., author of "A Brief History of Smyrna, Georgia" (2013), and co-chair of the Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council's History Committee will describe and analyze this treasure trove of recently uncovered historical material.

The First Sunday Lecture Series is sponsored by the Friends of the Smyrna Library.

FREE ADMISSION.

First Sunday Lecture Series

A History of Aunt Fanny's Cabin: Nationally Known Local Restaurant
Sunday July 10, 2016
3:00 pm
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Tommy H. Jones, Architectural Historian, National Park Service

Originally situated on Campbell Road two miles south of downtown Smyrna, Aunt Fanny's Cabin Restaurant was founded in 1941 by socialite Isolene Campbell on the grounds of Argyle Farm, the wealthy Campbell family's local country retreat. This local restaurant, which specialized in southern cooking, was for over four decades one of the most popular eateries in greater Atlanta and arguably the most famous landmark in Smyrna.

Tommy H. Jones, retired architectural historian in the National Park Service's Southeast Regional Office is the expert on the history of this unique local eatery. A talk not to be missed!

The First Sunday Lecture Series is sponsored by the Friends of the Smyrna Library.

FREE ADMISSION.

First Sunday Lecture Series

Yazoo Land Fraud
Sunday August 7, 2016
3:00 pm
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Dr. George Lampaugh, Ph. D., author and historian

Yazoo land fraud, in U.S. history, scheme by which Georgia legislators were bribed in 1795 to sell most of the land now making up the state of Mississippi (then a part of Georgia's western claims) to four land companies for the sum of $500,000, far below its potential market value. News of the Yazoo Act and the dealing behind it aroused anger throughout the state and resulted in a large turnover of legislators in the 1796 election. The new legislature promptly rescinded the act and returned the money. By this time, however, much of the land had been resold to third parties, who refused the state's money and maintained their claim to the territory. The dispute between Georgia and the land companies continued into the 1800s. The state of Georgia ceded its claim to the region to the U.S. government in 1802. Finally the issue was reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, and in 1810 Chief Justice John Marshallruled in Fletcher v. Peck that the rescinding law was an unconstitutional infringement on a legal contract. By 1814 the government had taken possession of the territory, and Congress awarded the claimants more than $4,000,000. The fraud was named for the Yazoo River, which runs through most of the region. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

The First Sunday Lecture Series is sponsored by the Friends of the Smyrna Library.

FREE ADMISSION.

First Sunday Lecture Series

The Odd Couple: Historic Preservation and Transportation
Sunday, September 11, 2016
3:00 pm
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Sandy Lawrence, Cultural Resources Section Manager. Georgia DOT

Sandy Lawrence has an M.A. in Historic Preservation from the University of Georgia and is currently the Cultural Resources Section Manager for the Office of Environmental Services at the Georgia Department of Transportation in Atlanta, Georgia. In this role, she supports the archaeology and history teams at the Department in the performance of their responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the Georgia Environmental Policy Act.

The First Sunday Lecture Series is sponsored by the Friends of the Smyrna Library.

FREE ADMISSION.

First Sunday Lecture Series

The Jonquil City Historical Trail
Sunday, October 2, 2016
3:00 pm
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Representatives from the Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council

The Jonquil City Historical Trail is a project being led by the Smyrna Arts & Cultural Council. It encompasses 60 historic locations along Atlanta Road from Windy Hill Road to Brawner Hall have been cataloged, described and mapped to historic photos of each location. A grant is being pursued to begin the design of the physical aspects of the trail.

The First Sunday Lecture Series is sponsored by the Friends of the Smyrna Library.

FREE ADMISSION.

First Sunday Lecture Series

William Shakespeare and the First Folio
Sunday, November 6, 2016
3:00 pm
Smyrna Public Library, Meeting Room

Speaker: Robert Williams, Director, Sturgis Library at Kennesaw State University
Robert Williams was for twenty-five years director of the Sturgis Library and the founder and curator of the Bentley Rare Book Gallery. For the last four years of his career at KSU he was also the assistant vice president for libraries and rare books. For nearly twenty years he has taught a "Great Books" class, first for the College of Continuing Education and more recently for the Department of Museums, Archives, and Rare Books.

The First Sunday Lecture Series is sponsored by the Friends of the Smyrna Library.

FREE ADMISSION.