Marietta in History
Goats and Hogs in the Square
Late 1860s
Following the Civil War, downtown Marietta presented a checkered face. Burned-out buildings sat next to new ones. Streets were still littered with rubbish from the devastation of Sherman's army. Goats ruled the Square, fearless and inquisitive. Ladies took to carrying umbrellas to fend them off, but the goats soon developed a taste for umbrellas and would trail the ladies from store to store, nibbling impudently. The ladies were not amused.
In 1869, the City Council ordered each business owner around the Square to repair or replace the dilapidated sidewalk in front of his business with brick or rock. New shade trees and shrubs were also planted as the town attempted to refurbish itself. But the goats ate the plantings and free-ranging hogs rooted up the new sidewalks.
The Square got its first pump in May of 1870 and it was considered a great sign of progress. Replacing the labor-intensive rope and bucket, the pump seemed a modern marvel. It brought its own problems, however, because a resulting muddy patch on the west side of the Square soon became a hog-wallow. The City Council admonished citizens to pen their animals, but it was years before the Square was livestock-free.
Temple, Sarah Blackwell Gober. The First Hundred Years.