Today on the 4th of July we celebrate our nation’s independence from Britain. It is also the anniversary of the final assault of the Battle of Ruff’s Mill, fought along Concord Road in 1864, the culmination of several skirmishes over…
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While many of us may be glad to leave 2020 behind, I wanted to take a minute to celebrate some of our community’s accomplishments this past year. We got quite a number of our goals completed despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic. Here are a few of the highlights!
If you are interested in historic cemeteries, preservation, local history, or just being outdoors, consider participating in the upcoming Cemetery Preservation Workshop at the historic Ruff Family Cemetery. As you may remember, our Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge group…
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It is Halloween Night in the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District, and what could be more appropriate tonight than a 100-year old ghost story set right here in the place that used to be known as “Concord”. This is a…
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156 years ago today, July 3rd, 1864, Sherman’s army fought through the woods in our area of Cobb County, intent on destroying Johnston’s army and capturing Atlanta, the manufacturing base of the Confederacy. Today’s newsletter contains Captain Edward B. Moore’s…
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The Smyrna Public Library hosts a series of monthly lectures the first Sunday of each month. May’s lecture will be given online by Philip Ivester on the obscure history of the iconic Concord Covered Bridge. Are you curious about its…
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Cobb County Commissioners are hearing public comments on proposed changes to the County Code at the next two Board of Commissioners meetings. If you are receiving this newsletter, it is probably because you are interested in Cobb County Parks, Heritage…
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The LAMAR Institute invites you to participate in an exciting pursuit to locate the 1864 Battle of Ruff’s Mill and to identify and interpret its components across the landscape. The project, funded by a grant from the American Battlefield Protection…
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The Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District has been working with the LAMAR Institute out of Savannah on a proposal to research the Civil War battles fought around the Historic District in July of 1864. I am pleased…
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Tonight at 6 PM, October 14th, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is hearing another application for a Certificate of Appropriateness in the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District. You may remember this controversial issue from a couple of years ago. If…
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The fourth of July is upon us again! As we celebrate our Nation’s origins, and the dusk settles in, fireflies come out, everyone is in a celebratory mood, and the sound of booming fireworks begin all around us, it is…
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The Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge invite you to attend a special Annual Meeting of the organization on Sunday, May 19, 2019 at 3:00 PM. It will be at WellStar Vinings Health Park Chattahoochee Community Room at 4441 Atlanta…
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If you’ve been on a walk recently back into the woods around the Concord Woolen Mill ruins, you’ve surely noticed some blooms emerging after a long winter. The 100-acre park around the Silver Comet trail head is a great place…
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Last Year we shared a poem about Covered Bridges in the snow. This year’s Christmas poem comes from Cobb County’s Facebook Page. Merry Christmas! An Ode to #13, a Covered Bridge Holiday Poem; ‘Twas the night before Christmas, near the…
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The Georgia Partnership for Transportation Quality has selected the Concord Covered Bridge Rehabilitation Project as one of its prestigious winners, recognizing Cobb County DOT and consultant Arcadis for a challenging task done well. The Covered Bridge project, one of three…
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Previously, I mentioned my recent visit to the National Archives researching Cobb County history. Today I want to share another discovery from this trip: 1930s Aerial Photography! The oldest Cobb County aerial photography I have found is not from the…
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Last year in October, I posted about Sherman’s return to Ruff’s Mill three months after the 1864 battle there. Confederate General Hood had crossed the Chattahoochee and was determined to attack Sherman from behind, disrupting his supplies and communications, jeopardizing…
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I have always been fascinated with maps. Old maps; unfamiliar maps; maps that hold lost information; maps that show secret buried treasures; maps that walk you through dark unknown caves, etc…. The best birthday party I ever attended I was…
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We have all heard quite a bit about “Fake News” lately–probably much more than we really want to. But I think it will be interesting to look at a little incident from the 1870s that happened at the Concord Woolen…
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The day before the Battle of Ruff’s Mill was fought, the 50th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was sent out on a reconnaissance along Nickajack creek to ascertain details of the position of Confederates in southern Cobb County. The Union Army was…
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The Silver Comet Trail has been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of cyclists and joggers each year since its completion in the late 1990s. Most people know the trail was built on an abandoned railroad track, but not everyone knows…
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As a follow-up from this post from back in December, an application has been made to develop a modern residence in the center of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District. The applicant has re-submitted plans to the Historic Preservation Commission,…
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The Historic Concord Covered Bridge has a restricted height clearance of 7 feet. Although this limitation is well posted on approaches to the bridge, the occasional over-height driver inevitably ignores these warning signs and gets stuck in the protection beams…
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Spring is just around the corner; soon our parks will be blooming again, and we will see more and more people enjoying the Silver Comet Trail through Heritage Park and the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District. With Daylight Saving Time…
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The 2018 January Meeting of the Friends of the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District will be held on Sunday afternoon, January 21st, 2018 at 3:00 PM. The meeting will be held at Vinings Bank Community Room 4135 Atlanta Road…
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As 2017 has come to and end and the new year begins, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in the Concord Covered Bridge Historic District! For those of you who have become members, and to those of you who have donated generously in 2017, we say THANK YOU!
Here are just a few of the things we’ve accomplished this year:
From Cobb DOT’s website: After a four-month rehabilitation project, the historic Concord Road covered bridge near Smyrna will reopen to traffic Friday, Dec. 15, at 12:30 p.m. In August the Cobb County Department of Transportation (CCDOT) closed the one-lane bridge, which…
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The Covered Bridge Exposed, by Jeffrey Zygmont In wintertime one hundred years ago New Hampshire country people couldn’t go across a covered bridge upon a sleigh because the cover kept the snow away, and runners under sleighs won’t glide on…
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We need your help over the next few days. On Monday, December 11th, at 6:00 PM, the Historic Preservation Commission will be meeting to discuss an application to build a modern house in the heart of our Historic District. This…
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Many residents of Cobb County know about the Battle of Ruff’s Mill, fought in and around the mid-1800s milling community just outside present-day Smyrna. What many do not know is that Sherman’s army returned to Ruff’s Mill in October, 1864,…
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