Marietta in History
Virginia Crosby and Paving Cherokee Street
1888-1964
"The lady has led a useful life," wrote Robert Hudson in a 1950 Marietta Daily Journal article about Virginia Crosby. Brought to Marietta as an infant in 1888, Miss Crosby was a lifelong resident. Her father was a druggist with a store on the Square and the family lived on Cherokee Street. One morning Mr. Crosby said a cheerful goodbye to his family including 13-year old Virginia, walked to work, greeted his staff normally and then went into the bathroom and shot himself. His daughter would later fund Cobb County Library's Georgia Room in his memory.
The first woman to run for mayor of Marietta, Miss Crosby said, "I have a burning pride in anything that makes for a better Marietta…" She was a great admirer of Alice Birney, establisher of the Parent Teacher Association, and worked long and hard as a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution to establish the Alice Birney Memorial at Marietta High School. It is the only national memorial located on a high school campus. Miss Crosby also spearheaded the move to preserve the Birney home with the nation-wide "penny-a-child" donation drive.
Miss Crosby's proud heritage as a great-great-great-great niece (the number of "greats" varies from source to source) of George Washington's sister was put to practical use. In her possession were various pieces of Washington memorabilia and she charged admission to her home for those who wanted to see these treasures. The proceeds were used to fund a room at Kennestone Hospital as a memorial to General Lucius Clay. The sash that Washington wore at Yorktown, complete with bloodstains, was sold to J. P. Morgan for $3500 in 1939 and the money went to pave Miss Crosby's share of Cherokee Street.
May 31, 1900. Marietta Daily Journal.
February 16, 1939. Cobb County Times.
July 13, 1950. Marietta Daily Journal.
May 14, 1954. Cobb Atlanta Journal & Constitution.
Yearbook of the Fielding Lewis Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.