Union Chapel, Marietta, Georgia

The ruins of Union Chapel, also known as Nesbitt Union Chapel, are situated on Powder Springs Street between Marietta and Powder Springs, in Marietta, Georgia. The original chapel consisted of a single room, with a stony façade and Gothic-style arched windows and door. The building had deteriorated significantly by the 1940s, becoming unsafe for use. By the early 21st Century only a corner of the original has remained standing. The Nesbitt/Union Chapel played a significant role in the religious, social, and agricultural history of Cobb County, in addition to its association with several of the County’s prominent, early families. Currently, the Chapel ruins are barely visible from the road, obscured by trees and heavy underbrush. The ruins of the Nesbitt Union Chapel, constructed of rammed earth in the Gothic Revival style, are architecturally significant for the unusual material and a style uncommon in religious architecture in rural Georgia.

As a center of worship, the Chapel is both unusual and significant in its inclusion of all denominations. Its location three miles distant from Marietta seems trivial today, though undertaking that journey along dirt roads in a horse-drawn buggy would have been arduous even under ideal conditions. The Chapel allowed local families to worship close to home, regardless of their religious affiliation. Several Marietta congregations adopted the Chapel as a mission, rotating services for Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, and Presbyterian parishioners. The inter-denominational nature of the Chapel reflected its group of Trustees, which included Episcopalians (Irwin and Starnes), Presbyterians (Nesbitt), and Baptists (Ward).

The earliest reference to the property—2nd Section, 17th District, Land Lot 7—is in the 1832 Gold Lottery of Georgia, when it was deeded to William Alexander. A warranty deed recorded September 7, 1882, documents a transaction between Marietta Savings Bank and R.L., possibly Rebecca Lanier, Nesbitt (Cobb County Deed Book G, p. 203). The property was deeded by Robert T. and Rebecca Nesbitt to a group of five trustees in December 1886 (Cobb County Deed Book J, p. 24). Those trustees were James G. Hughes, Robert C. Irwin, Robert T. Nesbitt, Hugh N. Starnes, and John R. Ward.

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