Established in the 1830s as a shanty town for railroad construction workers the city of Kennesaw, Georgia has come of age. It was once little less than a whistle stop town on the railway between Terminus (later to be named Atlanta) and Cartersville a few miles to the north.
During the Civil War the town, still known as Big Shanty, was the site of the famous locomotive chase when "The General" was stolen by yankee spies and chased all the way to the city of Ringold by another locomotive running in reverse. (History)
Now home to over 28,000 residents and a median household income just over the national average Kennesaw was named one of the Top Ten Towns In Which To Raise A Family by Family Circle Magazine in 2007.
In part due to the rapid growth of Kennesaw State University the median age for Kennesaw is 33.4 years which makes Kennesaw residents, on average, younger and better paid than the average US citizen.
Kennesaw State University was founded in 1963 as Kennesaw Junior College by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. The school's inaugral year was 1966 and had an enrollment of just over 1,000 students. The author's sister attended classes during those first years as did the author some years later. (History)
Today Kennesaw State University is the third largest University in the state of Georgia with over 22,500 students from around 140 countries.
Continually growing numbers of students are looking to Kennesaw not only for education but many are staying in the area to continue their careers. Since the drive to hundreds of thousands of high paying jobs is generally less than 20 miles from the area it is easy to stay put and take a lead roll in the rebuilding of America.
(Photo courtesy of a KSU student on Twitter)
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