The story of how Marietta got its name isn’t etched in stone—or even in ink, for that matter. In a city with roots stretching back to the early 1830s, the origin of its name has become a blend of fact and local lore, leaving residents to wonder: Who—or what—was Marietta?
The most widely accepted theory connects the city to Mary Cobb, the wife of U.S. Senator and Judge Thomas Willis Cobb, after whom Cobb County was named.
With Cobb’s influence looming large during the county’s early years, it’s easy to see why naming the city after his wife might have felt like a natural choice. But if that’s the case, no official documents from the time have survived to seal the story…