MARIETTA
HISTORY
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MARIETTA HISTORY

Talk About Rapid Transit
Harkens Back To The Past  

With all the talk of a rapid transit system for Cobb County, it's a challenge that is not new to the area.
    Cobb's first experience with transit began in 1845 when the Western & Atlantic Railroad linked Marietta to Atlanta, allowing residents here to make excursions to the town to the south.

    As travel grew, the railroad put on trains to "accommodate" more local travelers. By 1887, fourteen accommodation trains ran daily between the cities. The round trip fare was a hefty sixty cents, which at that time was considered expensive.

Leo Frank
lynched in
Marietta

    By the early 1900's, there were so many people living in Cobb County who worked in Atlanta that a special line was needed to link the various residential areas with Marietta and Atlanta. To serve this need, on July 17, 1905, a street car service was initiated
between the cities.
    Marietta had its local problems as well. Many people living in east Marietta worked either on the square or at the Marietta Knitting Mill on Rose Lane. To fill the need, a "jitney bus" service was intitiated on April 2, 1915, from the L.E.Roberson home (now the Roswell Street Baptist Church), to the knitting mill. Fare was five cents, a "jitney."


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