GeorgiaThe principal history museum in downtown Kennesaw, Georgia, is the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate built around 'The General,' the Western & Atlantic Railroad steam locomotive famous for its role in the 1862 Great Locomotive Chase. It opened in 1972 as the Big Shanty Museum, coinciding with the General's return to Kennesaw after a legal dispute over ownership, and was later known as the Kennesaw Civil War Museum before its current name. A major renovation completed in the early 2000s produced a nearly 50,000-square-foot facility with three permanent exhibits covering railroads in the Civil War, the Glover Machine Works locomotive-building collection acquired from Marietta, and the Great Locomotive Chase itself. Additional displays include soldier life and Georgia's Merci Boxcar, making it a leading destination for Civil War and railroad history.
Kennesaw Museum
Georgia history, up close and curated.
Kennesaw Museum is a museum in Kennesaw, Cobb County. It is one of 11 museums documented in Cobb County, among 377 historic sites cataloged across the county on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 34.0235, -84.6146 near Kennesaw. The nearest cataloged historic site is General, The (historic place), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Big Shanty, The Andrews Raid, and Site - Lacy Hotel.
This record is drawn from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
The principal history museum in downtown Kennesaw, Georgia, is the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate built around 'The General,' the Western & Atlantic Railroad steam locomotive famous for its role in the 1862 Great Locomotive Chase. It opened in 1972 as the Big Shanty Museum, coinciding with the General's return to Kennesaw after a legal dispute over ownership, and was later known as the Kennesaw Civil War Museum before its current name. A major renovation completed in the early 2000s produced a nearly 50,000-square-foot facility with three permanent exhibits covering railroads in the Civil War, the Glover Machine Works locomotive-building collection acquired from Marietta, and the Great Locomotive Chase itself. Additional displays include soldier life and Georgia's Merci Boxcar, making it a leading destination for Civil War and railroad history.
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