First Sunday Lecture: Smyrna's Historic Belmont Farm

Dr. William Marchione presented his original research of Smyrna's historic Belmont Farm at May's "First Sunday Lecture." He did a fantastic job of putting both the people involved and the remarkable agricultural practices into historical context. Thank you, Dr. Marchione!

Lecture Description:

Speaker: Dr. William P. Marchione, author A Brief History of Smyrna, Georgia

In the period 1905 to 1930, the City of Smyrna transformed itself into a fast growing commuter suburb, but the surrounding countryside, containing more than 200 farms, remained almost entirely agricultural. One of these farms, lying just north of downtown, Belmont Farm, was established in 1910 under the leadership of three dynamic entrepreneurs, Ed Wight, Loring Brown, and J. Gid Morris. Belmont Farm became the single most productive farming establishment in the entire state of Georgia, a mecca of advanced farming and animal husbandry methodologies. Join us for this examination of the golden age of farming in Smyrna and the economic forces that ultimately undermined this unique enterprise.

The First Sunday Lecture series is sponsored by the Friends of Smyrna Library and Smyrna Library.