By William P. Marchione, Ph.D., author of A Brief History of Smyrna, Georgia (2013), and the Chair of the Smyrna Historical Society’s Research Committee The following article summarizes the conclusions I reached in my February 2020 Black History Month lecture on the history of race relations Smyrna. The single most striking conclusion that I reached …
Recollections of Old Smyrna: Charles Mays Hamby
An Interview with Charles Mayes Hamby, Mayor of Smyrna, 1942-44, conduced by Mary Rodgers , a Campbell High School Student in 1975 Transcribed and Edited by Bill Marchione, 2019 Mary Rodgers: Where did you live in Cobb County? Mays Hamby: We lived on Love Street, corner of Concord Road in the old house that was torn …
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An Description of Smyrna from the 1930-45 Period
A talk by Melvin Holleman (1925-2014), entitled "Growing Up in Smyrna," delivered before the Smyrna Historical & Genealogical Society at the Smyrna History Museum on July 29, 1999. Transcribed and Edited by Bill Marchione Shortly after moving to Smyrna in 2009, while volunteering at the Smyrna History Museum, I made the acquaintance of Melvin …
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The Impact of 19th century Irish Immigration on Brighton
The following article appeared in the pages of the Allston-Brighton Tab about 15 years ago at a time when I was writing regular bi-weekly columns for that paper and for the Boston Tab on a broad range of historical topics. I'm posting it now as an adjunct to the article I posted a few days …
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A Lesson About Ethnic Bigotry Drawn from Brighton’s history
The following article by Michael Daly appeared some months ago in the "Daily Beast." John Kelly’s Forgotten History Lesson White House Chief of Staff John Kelly hails from the Brighton section of a Boston, whose 18th century grandees included a Yankee Protestant manufacturer who so detested Irish immigrants that he refused to hire them as …
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Oral Interview with Max Bacon, Part 2
This is the second excerpt from a four hour long interview that I conducted late in 2017 with Smyrna's long-time Mayor Max Bacon. William Marchione: Why don’t we talk about your schooling for a bit. How old were you when you entered school for the first time? Max Bacon: Six years old. They had a …
An Interview with Max Bacon, Part 1
Introduction In the fall and winter of 2017 I conducted two lengthy videotaped interviews with long-time Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon. The following is the first of a series of excerpts from those interviews that I plan to publish on this blog over the next few weeks. The illustrations appearing here were mostly provided by Mayor …
The Bacon Years: Smyrna Reinvented
In recent weeks I've been conducting interviews with Smyrna Mayor Max Bacon, who has held office since 1985, and has presided over a fundamental transformation of the city into one of the most desirable and dynamic Atlanta suburbs. What follows is the last chapter of my book A Brief History of Smyrna Georgia (History Press, …
Water for the City: A Short History of Boston’s Water Supply System
The City of Boston has one of the finest water supply systems in the country. This series of articles on the history of the system was first published in 1999 in three installments in the Boston Tab and Allston-Brighton Tab newspapers. Then in May 1999, I presented a lecture on the topic at Brighton's Cleveland Circle …
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Brighton Center Walking Tour: Part 2
Contemporary Map of Brighton Center #9: Vantage Point: Dighton Street & Chestnut Hill Ave. intersection facing Brighton Square Park Brighton Square Park: This green space on the opposite side of Chestnut Hill Avenue, now known as Brighton Square Park, is the closest thing that Brighton has to a town common, but it was in fact …
Local Historian North & South 