Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Cobb County Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is a core county of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north-central portion of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. It is the state's third most populous cou ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States, located within the greater

Atlanta metropolitan area Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...

. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under its 1887 charter. According to the 2020 census, Kennesaw had a population of 33,036, a 10.9% increase in population over the preceding decade. Kennesaw has an important place in railroad history. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Kennesaw was the staging ground for the

Great Locomotive Chase The Great Locomotive Chase (a portion of the Andrews' Raid or the Mitchel Raid) was a military raid that occurred April 12, 1862, in northern Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia during the American Civil War. Volunteers from the Union Army, led by civ ...

on April 12, 1862. Kennesaw is home to

Kennesaw State University Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia with two campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in the Kennesaw area and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was founded ...

, an R2 research institution and the third-largest public university in the state of Georgia.

Etymology

The name "Kennesaw" is derived from the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

word ''gah-nee-sah'', meaning 'cemetery' or 'burial ground'.

History

As the

Western and Atlantic Railroad The Western & Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia (W&A) is a railroad owned by the State of Georgia and currently leased by CSX, which CSX operates in the Southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was f ...

was being built in the late 1830s,

shanty town A shanty town, squatter area, squatter settlement, or squatter camp is a settlement of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks, typically made of materials such as mud and wood, or from cheap building materials such as corrugated iron s ...

s arose to house the workers. These were near a big spring. A grade up from the

Etowah River The Etowah River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 waterway that rises northwest of Dahlonega, Georgia, Dahlonega, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, ...

became known as "the big grade to the shanties", then "Big Shanty Grade", and finally "Big Shanty". It was officially incorporated as the city of Kennsaw in 1887.

Civil War

Camp MacDonald, a

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

, was located there from 1861 to 1863. During the

, Big Shanty was the site of major fighting in the

Battle of Kennesaw Mountain The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was fought on June 27, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. The most significant frontal assault launched by Union Army, Union Major general (United States), Major General William T. Sherman ...

, part of the larger Atlanta Campaign.

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Kennesaw Battlefield Park preserves a Civil War battleground of the Atlanta Campaign, and also contains Kennesaw Mountain. It is located at 900 Kennesaw Mountain Drive, between Marietta and Kennesaw, Georgia. The name "Kennesaw" derives fro ...

, located southeast of the city limits, now contains many of these historic areas. Much of the surrounding land has been developed, and many of the buried artifacts have been searched for and taken by people with

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. A metal detector consists of a control box, an adjustable shaft, and ...

s. Some artifacts of the Civil War are still on display in the visitor center of Kennesaw Mountain.

Later history

L.C. Chalker purchased a tract of land adjacent to the Kennesaw Cemetery from J.W. Ellis in 1934, which was sold for burial purposes. Chalker purchased another adjacent to the first parcel in 1948, which was also to be used for a cemetery. The Chalker family managed these portions of the cemetery until they were sold to the City of Kennesaw in the mid-1950s. The earliest known burial is the infant Lucius B. Summers, who was interred in 1863. Other grave markers date as far back as the 1860s to the 1890s. Civil War veterans are buried here. The Kennesaw Cemetery is still in use. In March 2004, First Lady

Laura Bush Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...

designated Kennesaw a Preserve America Community.

Geography

Kennesaw is located in northwestern Cobb County, bordered by the city of Acworth to the northwest.

Kennesaw Mountain Kennesaw Mountain is a mountain between Marietta and Kennesaw, Georgia in the United States with a summit elevation of . It is the highest point in the core ( urban and suburban) metro Atlanta area, and fifth after further-north exurban count ...

is located southeast of the city limits in the battlefield park. Its

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

is the highest point in the Atlanta metro area, at an elevation of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. The city was renamed for the mountain.

U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miam ...

and

State Route 3 The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3 (disambiguation)#Roads, M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3 (disambiguation)#Roads, N3. For roads numbered 3A, see ...

pass through the city as Cobb Parkway, leading southeast to Marietta and northwest to Cartersville.

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

passes just northeast of the city limits, with access from exits 269, 271, and 273. Via I-75, downtown

is to the southeast, and

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, is northwest. The iconic peaks of Kennesaw Mountain are visible from the bridge over Interstate 75 that crosses over the city limits of Kennesaw. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Kennesaw has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.08%, is water.

Climate

Kennesaw has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Cfa''). On November 22, 1992, an F-4 tornado caused 34 injuries.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 33,036 people, 12,803 households, and 8,250 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 29,783 people, 11,413 households, and 7,375 families residing in the city. There were 12,328 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 58.9% White, 22.3% Black, 10.8%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race, 5.3% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

(U.S. Census), 4.7% of other races, and 3.0% non-Hispanic mixed of two or more races. There were 11,413 households, out of which 38.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 15.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.18. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.

Economy

Personal income

The median income for a household in the city was $61,355 and the median income for a family was $75,465. Males had a median income of $46,953, versus $42,809 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $27,165. About 8.2% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

Tourism

Several festivals are held annually. Every April the annual Big Shanty Festival displays over 200 arts and crafts booths along with 20 food booths downtown featuring several local businesses and entrepreneurs. Over 60,000 people from around North Georgia attend the festival. The festival begins with a parade through downtown.

Government

The

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

is located downtown, just off Main Street (old U.S. 41 and

, later State Route 293). It contains the offices of

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

, a basement jail, a municipal

9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...

call center and other offices. It is the public-safety answering point for the city of Kennesaw and the neighboring city of Acworth, and dispatches the separate

police department The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...

s of both cities. Calls for fire services are relayed to and dispatched from Cobb County's 911 center, and serviced by the Cobb County Fire Department, as neither city has its own

fire department A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organi ...

Wireless Internet in city parks

In 2008, the city of Kennesaw awarded a bid to

Digitel Wireless Digitel Wireless is a wireless broadband integrator associated with primarily rural and agricultural projects in the Southeastern United States. It is best known for involvement in public and private funded projects that have compound results su ...

for the implementation of city

wireless Internet Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided mediu ...

. In March 2008, the city of Kennesaw announced the grand opening of four new wireless areas: Swift-Cantrell Park and Adams Park, and the train depot area across from the

Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History is a museum in Kennesaw, Georgia, that contains a collection of artifacts and relics from the American Civil War, as well as from railroads of the state of Georgia and surrounding regions. Th ...

. The city has also provided

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

in the Ben Robertson Community Center.

Crime statistics

In 2001,

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful Force (law), force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, vio ...

rates were about 60% below national and state rates. Property crime rates were from 46 to 56% below national and state rates. From 1999 to 2011, Kennesaw crime statistics reported that both property and violent crimes had decreased, though from 2003 to 2008 the trend in both violent and property crime rates slightly increased. The increase in crime rate overall is attributed to the population growth rate of 37.41%. The population growth rate is much higher than the state average rate of 18.34% and is much higher than the national average rate of 9.71%.

County services

The Cobb County Public Library System operates a Kennesaw branch library. The Cobb County Police Department serves unincorporated areas, including the

Town Center Area Community Improvement District Town Center Community Improvement District (Town Center CID) is a self-taxing district in unincorporated Cobb, the Town Center CID region is an area of 6.25 square miles, lying roughly within Cobb Parkway to the west, Chastain Road and McCollum Pa ...

and

(in addition to KSU's own police).

Gun law

Kennesaw is noted for its unique firearms legislation, passed in response to a handgun ban in

Morton Grove, Illinois Morton Grove is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,297. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The village is named after former United States Vice Presi ...

. In 1982 the city passed an ordinance ''

ec 34-21 EC or ec may refer to: Arts and entertainment * EC Comics, an American publisher of comic books * ''Electric Circus'', a Canadian television program * Eric Clapton Stratocaster, signature model guitars by Fender Businesses and organisations Gove ...

K-Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History

A similar law was passed in 2000 in the city of

Virgin, Utah Virgin is a town in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 596 at the 2010 census. The first settlement at Virgin was made in 1858. It is located along the Virgin River (for which it is named), and not far from Zion Nationa ...

, making it the second city in the United States to require residents to own guns.

Nelson, Georgia Nelson is a city in Pickens and Cherokee Counties, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,145. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. History The city is named for John Nelson, an early landowner, farmer, and ri ...

;

Nucla, Colorado Nucla is a Colorado municipalities#Statutory town, statutory town in Montrose County, Colorado, Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The population was 585 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 711 in 2010 United State ...

; and

Gun Barrel City, Texas Gun Barrel City is a town in Henderson County, Texas, United States. Its population was 6,190 at the 2020 census, an increase over the figure of 5,672 tabulated in 2010. History The town began as an unincorporated community known as the "Ol ...

, also followed suit.

Local attractions

consists of around of nature trails and historic Civil War battle sites. * The Kennesaw State University Bentley Rare Book Room and Archives

Education

Public schools Public school may refer to: *Public school (government-funded), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging private schools in England and Wales *Great Public Schools, ...

are operated by the

Cobb County School District The Cobb County School District (CCSD) is the school district which operates public schools in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. The school district includes all of Cobb County except for the Marietta City Schools, though a number of sch ...

. Elementary schools include Big Shanty Intermediate., Bullard, Chalker, Hayes, Kennesaw, and Lewis. Middle schools include Awtrey, Lost Mountain, McClure, Palmer, and Pine Mountain. High schools include Harrison High School,

, North Cobb, and Kennesaw Charter Science & Math Academy. Private schools include Sunbrook Academy at Legacy Park, Sunbrook Academy at Stilesboro, and Mount Paran Christian School.

is located within the city and is part of the

University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates gener ...

Sports

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, the

Atlanta Blaze The Atlanta Blaze were a professional men's field lacrosse team in Major League Lacrosse (MLL). The Blaze became the ninth team in MLL as an expansion team for the 2016 Major League Lacrosse season, 2016 season and played its home games at Atlanta ...

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001 Major League Lacrosse season, 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This w ...

spent their first year of play as an expansion franchise with home games at

Fifth Third Bank Stadium Fifth Third Stadium, known as Kennesaw State University Stadium until 2013, is a stadium near Kennesaw, Georgia, that is primarily used as the home for the Kennesaw State Owls football team as well as the KSU women's soccer and women's lacros ...

on the campus of Kennesaw State University. The team relocated in 2019.

Notable people

Darvin Adams Darvin Adams (born January 5, 1990) is an American professional gridiron football, football wide receiver. Adams is a two-time Canadian Football League (CFL) champion, winning the 107th Grey Cup and 108th Grey Cup as part of the Winnipeg Blue Bo ...

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

player *

Caroline Cossey Caroline Cossey (born 31 August 1954), also known as Tula, is a British model, actress, activist, and author. She appeared in the 1981 James Bond film '' For Your Eyes Only'' as an extra. Following her appearance in the film, she was outed as ...

, English model *

Jesse James Dupree Jesse James Dupree (born Jesse Dupree; September 22, 1962) is an American musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter in the rock band Jackyl, founded in 1991. As a solo performer, he released albums in 2000 and 2 ...

, lead singer of rock band

Jackyl Jackyl is an American rock band formed in 1991. Their sound has been described as hair metal and southern rock. Their self-titled debut album has sold more than a million copies in the United States with hit singles like "Down on Me" and "Wh ...

Yan Kaminsky Yan Bronislavovich Kaminsky (; born July 28, 1971) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player who played in the Soviet Championship League and National Hockey League between 1989 and 1995. He played for Dynamo Moscow, Winnipeg Jets, and ...

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

left winger *

Ron Lester Ron Lester (August 4, 1970 – June 17, 2016) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles in the films '' Varsity Blues'', '' Not Another Teen Movie'', ''Good Burger'', and the television series '' Popular''. Career Lester's first act ...

, actor *

Justin Fields Justin Skyler Fields (born March 5, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with the Georgia Bulldogs, he played college football for the Ohio State B ...

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

quarterback playing for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

* Payne Lindsey, documentary filmmaker and podcast host of '' Up and Vanished'' and '' Atlanta Monster'' * Scott F. McAfee, judge on the Fulton County Superior Court and Georgia Inspector General from 2021 to 2023 * Sean O'Pry,

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

* Mathew Pitsch, member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House has 100 members elected from an equal number of constituencies across the state. Each distr ...

from Fort Smith from 2015 to 2019; former resident of Kennesaw *

Dansby Swanson James Dansby Swanson (born February 11, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves. The Arizona Diamondbacks selected him first ...

, infielder for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Lucas Till Lucas Daniel Till (born August 10, 1990) is an American actor. His work spans film and television, and his accolades include five Teen Choice Award nominations. Till began his career in the early 2000s with roles in independent films, before ga ...

, actor *

Brian Voss Brian Voss (born August 4, 1958) in Cornelius, North Carolina, is a professional ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association since 1982. The right-hander owns 25 PBA Tour titles (12th all-time), including one major champi ...

, professional

ten-pin bowler Tenpin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The goal is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll of the ...

on the

PBA Tour The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for tenpin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Headquartered in Mechanicsville, Virginia, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Reg ...

References

External links

City of Kennesaw
official site
Municipal Code, Kennesaw, GA
{{Authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Cobb County, Georgia Cities in the Atlanta metropolitan area